Pere Marquette offers exceptional access to beautiful Lake Michigan, one the world's natural treasures. There is ample paid parking. Weekend day rates are $15. There is a snack stand, offering ice cream, nachos, and other treats, as well as beach equipment rentals. The sand is soft and visitors will enjoy spreading out on the expansive beach. The water is clear and features a sandy bottom. Just north of the snack stand is The Deck, the preeminent dining establishment in this area of Muskegon. The establishment features al fresco dining and stunning views of Lake Michigan. There are swings and other fun view points. If you're in Mitten, Pere Marquette is worth the drive. You simply cannot beat Lake Michigan's splendor. read more

August came along and Nate and I still hadn't been to the lakeshore, so we hopped in the car and drove to Pere Marquette Park beach on a cloudy Sunday recently. The beach was completely empty when we arrived around 11 am and stayed pretty quiet the whole time. Parking at the beach is $20, which I thought was incredibly expensive, but it's good for the whole day. I'm used to parking for free at state parks since I have a recreation pass. It was a bit windy, but not chilly - although the water was freezing. I personally enjoy an overcast day at the beach, so we packed a picnic and some chairs and just sat and read for a bit. The beach is large, with lots of room to spread out. There's a nice smaller playground, a snack bar with ice cream and hot food, a little store for beach essentials like sunscreen, and super clean bathrooms. The restroom I used was a huge, single stall room with a bench- really nice for changing and probably great if you have little kids. I was impressed by how clean the bathroom was. We walked to the pier and checked out the lighthouse, which was a nice little walk. The Deck is right on the beach and is a great spot for live music, drinks, and food. I'd be curious to see this beach in the peak season - I'm sure it probably gets pretty busy. read more

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Beautiful beach, wasn't super busy when we went. A lot of families, great for hanging out in the water. We got there at 11am everyday and were able to get a spot right by the water. Also the deck is a walk away and has great food & drinks. read more

Absolutely love this place. The views are something from a movie. You can sit there and day dream all day read more

Pere Marquette Park - Absolutely top 10 best sunsets you will ever catch in Muskegon! Ever. bring ur lady here. u getting treated like a king tonight. Trust me! - Parks Near Me - Muskegon, Michigan

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This is a great park/beach. We chose to park away from the playground equipment. Even being the week of July 4th it was never extremely crowded. You can park the entire day for $7. The beach and water were clean. My family had a great time. read more

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The heat and summer doldrums got me down at the end of last month so I took a three day vacation to Sleeping Bear Dunes and Traverse City. And instead of taking 75 north upstate I took 96 west and drove up the west coast of the Mitten State from there. One day I swam at three different beaches and Pere Marquette was easily the best. In fact, it was the only beach I swam at twice. After a late morning dip I made the long walk out to the red lighthouse out at the end of the pier, looked out at gorgeous Lake Michigan and snapped a bunch of pics and then walked back and went right back in the water for a good long while. This beach stretches on and on, stays nice and shallow for aways out into the second deepest Great Lake and isn't super rocky where you first wade in. The water was absolutely perfect on that late August Monday. They have foot baths by the bathrooms, too. That's something I'm looking to rank beaches on now as, like Anakin Skywalker, I'm not the biggest fan of sand. Cringe dialogue and bad acting aside, Darth Vader Elect had a point there if you ask me. I didn't eat at The Deck but I saw they have their own separate Yelp listing anyway. I also saw on here that there's a bike path that stretches along the beach and then back into the adjacent woods, too. Good to know, and although I didn't bring my bicycle along on this trip maybe that's something I'll hit up in the future. I figured there had to be something besides playground equipment to make this place get dubbed a park as opposed to beach. read more

A nice little beach near the USS Silverside Museum. It offers a great view of Lake Michigan and was super clean. My guess is that it's less busy during the summer than other beaches, due to it being a little out of the way. Still a great beach to enjoy the Sun and the Lake. Overall 5 stars. read more

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Super clean large beach with best beach bar in the Midwest. "The deck" sifted sand , public bond fire areas

As a teen, this was one of my favorite beaches. Not commercialized like Grand Haven or South Haven, Saugatuck. So after a number of years I headed back to enjoy. Paid parking now! Oh boy, Muskegon's money-grab. I left, went to G.H. Parked for free. read more

Very cool place. The scenery was beautiful with a couple cool lighthouses that you could walk to (only one for real, I didn't know how to get to the other one). The walkway to the LH was a little odd but looked nice with all the large rocks along the sides (ones you could climb on). The restaurant was really nice! The food itself was fine -- nothing that stood out -- however the view was fantastic! Lastly, the weather was I'm from a very humid area so everything in Michigan felt like what I'd imagine CA feels like -- the road quality is a different story though. read more

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J-Boards - rent paddle boards You will have a blast! Located between the pier heads. Awesome clean beach. The sand is well groomed and everything kept up by the city. You can spend an entire day & evening at this beach. Food, drink, sports & of course sun, water and sand! read more

Pretty self explanatory... great beach, clean, water was invigorating and titerating.. water was 53° for a hot July day which made it perfect read more

Pere Marquette Park - Parks Near Me - Muskegon, Michigan

Beautiful park and beach, bike paths everywhere and a 1.63 bike loop around the beach and through the woods. Exceptionally clean beach with free parking. read more

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A beautiful beach that I swear has to be one of the longest public beaches on Lake Michigan. It is always very clean. There is a group of hiking buddies that clean up the beach once a week. So thankful to live in Muskegon and by this beautiful beach! read more

Was relatively quiet on a Sunday evening and made for a lovely and romantic place to watch the sunset. Walking along the sea wall to the lighthouse was a nice stroll and walking to the other lighthouse was perfect too! A refreshing change from the busy and popular Grand Haven. read more

Went on July 5th so quiet. Very windy so we didn't stay long. But very nice beach. Clean, lighthouse nearby, has a bar/restaurant on the beach with yummy BBQ, outdoor patio and live music. Tons of volleyball courts but the nets weren't set up. read more

Pere Marquette Park - Parks Near Me - Muskegon, Michigan

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I've traveled to beaches all over the world and this is one of the nicest. Huge stretches of soft white sand and clean salt-free water. The restaurant there is amazing too. read more

A little tricky to get to if you don't know your way to the Beachwood-Bluffton part of Muskegon. A great city beach with some playground equipment (slides, tunnels, etc.) and a lot of volleyball courts - believe 40. A little bit of a walk from the parking lot to the water. A lot of people there. read more

Great beach, they have lots of space, bathrooms and playgrounds. Short walk to the light house, a different park with playground and also uss silverside. There is free parking all along the beach. A couple restaurants nearby and other parks and beaches that you can walk to. The water can be tricky if your not a native Northerner as its never really "warm". But it is nice. This beach can get very windy, take that as a + or - read more

Pere Marquette Park - Parks Near Me - Muskegon, Michigan

Awesome place to enjoy a nice walk on the beach and grab a bite to eat at The Deck while watching the sunset. The beach is always clean. The public bathrooms are clean for the most part. In the summer you can rent kayaks and paddle boards from a mobile business by the breakwater parking. read more

Great beach, lots of space, bathrooms available. Playground also on the beach so nice for kids to have a change from just the beach. One concession stand available for snacks, not too expensive. Lots of free parking available read more