Michigan's Nearly Mile-Long Sandy Beach Offers A Quintessential Upper Peninsula Experience Full Of Beauty

The Midwest is full of hidden gems, no place more so than the Upper Peninsula of Lake Michigan. Better known as the UP, this remote, forested region boasts some of the most incredible natural scenery you'll find anywhere else in the country. What makes this area even more unique is that it's surrounded by three Great Lakes, including Lake Superior, a majestic lake featuring an epic circular road trip.

With roughly 1,700 miles of shoreline and beaches to explore in the UP, it's no surprise that this region is home to some of Michigan's best national parks and sites like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This wild shoreline overlooking Lake Superior is known for its multicolored sandstone cliffs, pristine beaches, beautiful waterfalls, dense forests, and miles of hiking and backpacking trails.

There are six beaches found within the park. While you can't go wrong with any of them, TripAdvisor lists Miners Beach as one of the top five in the whole of the UP. It's a stunning, sandy beach that stretches for nearly a mile along Lake Superior. You can easily spend an afternoon or an entire day relaxing on the beach and exploring the shoreline. From the beach, you'll enjoy a panoramic view overlooking the turquoise waters of Lake Superior and the area's namesake, colorful forested cliffs — or "pictured rocks."

The Upper Peninsula is known for its pristine beaches, and Miners Beach is no exception. Located about a 20-minute drive east of the town of Munising, there are two small parking lots on the east and west ends of the beach.  From the main parking area on the west end, a small boardwalk takes you through a jack pine forest to a platform overlooking the beach with panoramic views of Lake Superior's sparkling waters and soaring sandstone cliffs. The mile-long sandy shoreline offers much to explore, from scenic strolls to swimming in Lake Superior's majestic turquoise waters (though it remains icy cold even in summer).

On the far west side of the beach, you can swim in the warmer pool of water where Miners River flows into Lake Superior. From there, you'll also be able to see Miners Castle, a layered rock formation on a forested rocky promontory, which is one of the most famous landmarks in the park. This is also one of two spots in the park where you can glimpse Bridalveil Falls. Here, water cascades over the cliff and along the rocks down into Lake Superior at an unusual 45-degree angle. There's a second, smaller waterfall visible from Miners Beach, called Elliot Falls, on the far eastern side of the shoreline.

If you'd prefer to hike to Miners Beach, you can park at the Miners Castle Trailhead and take the steep, mile-long trail from Miners Castle down to the beach. Or, consider the 1.2-mile round-trip hike to Miners Falls, which follows a forested path to glimpse the 50-foot gushing falls that are the most powerful in the park. Keep in mind that while pets are allowed at Miners Beach and on the Miners Falls Trail, they are not allowed on trails that go along the top of the cliffs, including the Miners Castle Trail.

Getting to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Miners Beach is no easy feat. The UP is a remote place, with only a handful of small regional airports. Either way, it's best accessed via car. Pictured Rocks is slightly less than five hours from Milwaukee, arguably the closest large metropolitan area. Pictured Rocks has two visitor centers, the Munising Falls Visitor Center on the west end of the lakeshore and the Grand Sable Visitor Center, about 2 miles from Grand Marais on the eastern side. While Pictured Rocks is not a national park, it is managed by the National Park Service. As such, you'll need to pay a fee of $25 per vehicle to visit. Visitors with the annual America the Beautiful national parks pass get in for free.

Pictured Rocks has three campgrounds — Little Beaver Lake, Twelvemile Beach, and Hurricane Falls — with a total of 65 campsites that must be booked ahead online. If you can't score a campsite or you simply prefer less rustic accommodations, there are plenty of lodging options in the Upper Peninsula's pristine and breathtaking paradise of Munising. Pictured Rocks is also a popular place for backpacking, although backcountry permits can be hard to come by.