Last Updated on September 28, 2026 by Adrienne
Southwest Michigan’s lakefront – dotted with charming towns and sandy beaches – is an easy day trip from Chicago and many other Midwest cities. It took us far too many years of living in Indiana before we made it here, but we finally drove up for a day this summer. Since we had our dog with us, we centered our trip around Warren Dunes State Park, which has a large dog-friendly beach. Here’s how we spent our day along the Southwest Michigan lakefront.
Union Pier Social
We started our day with lunch at Union Pier Social in Union Pier, Michigan, which has a lovely dog-friendly patio and a big menu of hearty dishes like burgers and pizza. Our waitress doted on our dog and all of us enjoyed our meal here.
Warren Dunes State Park
If you’re visiting Warren Dunes with a dog, you’ll want to park in the furthest north parking lot. The dog beach begins just north of that parking lot and continues for a long ways. The actual dunes here are bigger and more impressive than at the Indiana Dunes state and national parks, though the parks are similar in many ways.
I love swimming in Lake Michigan – the water is so refreshing on a hot day!
Michigan Local Harvest Fruit Stand
After our beach day, we headed back towards home and just south of Warren Dunes State Park we stumbled upon Michigan Local Harvest, an awesome fruit stand selling local produce as well as products like jams, pies and cider (open seasonally from mid-May to early September).
Oink’s Dutch Treat
Before heading home, we made one final stop at local favorite Oink’s Dutch Treat in New Buffalo. The ice cream was excellent and lived up to the hype!
Every time I visit Michigan, I wonder why I don’t spend more time here. We’ll be back!
