Beaches, big dunes, and a luge run on the lakeshore

Muskegon County’s stretch of Lake Michigan is one of the best playgrounds on the west side of the state. Pere Marquette Park in the city of Muskegon is a wide, sandy public beach with a pier and lighthouse — an easy spot to spend a summer afternoon. Just up and down the shore, two state parks protect some of Michigan’s most impressive sand dunes. Muskegon State Park has miles of Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake shoreline, forested dunes, and a wooden blockhouse — a replica of a 1930s original — that sits on the highest point in the county. A few miles south, P.J. Hoffmaster State Park has towering dunes, miles of wooded trails, and the Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center, where exhibits explain how the dunes formed and a long stairway climbs to a view over the lake.

The real surprise comes in winter. Tucked inside Muskegon State Park, the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex (also called the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park) has one of only a handful of luge tracks in the entire country — and unlike the Olympic training tracks, this one is built for regular people to try. You can also cross-country ski, ice skate, and ride a zip line there.

If you’d like to visit: Muskegon State Park and P.J. Hoffmaster State Park are both on the Lake Michigan shore near Muskegon and Norton Shores, and you can find hours, maps, and a Recreation Passport at michigan.gov/dnr. Details on the luge and winter sports are at msports.org.