Explore the shoreline

Great Lakes coastal places

Find coastal towns, lighthouses, beaches, parks and maritime stories along the Great Lakes.

19 places in this view · Save a favorite or use the map to get your bearings.

Get your bearings

Find your next shore stop.

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Towns Lighthouses Parks Grouped pins expand when selected.

11 of 19 places mapped. 8 remain in the list without a map pin. Unverified locations and precise shipwreck sites are not plotted. Pins are representative locations, not verified entrances.

Black-and-white basemap by OpenStreetMap. Great Lakes highlighted in color. Hold Ctrl (or Command) while scrolling to zoom. Use two fingers on touch screens.

Lake outlines: Natural Earth (public domain). Town centers: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Not for navigation.
Coastal town Illinois · Lake Michigan Chicago A world-class city with a miles-long Lake Michigan waterfront. Explore place
Photo: NorbertNagel · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chicago Skyline Sunrise March 15 2026 - 02.jpg by NorbertNagel · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Point Betsie Lighthouse A landmark white tower on the Lake Michigan shore. Explore place
Photo: Belle montano-zygmunt · CC BY 2.0

Pt Betsie lighthouse Frankfort Michigan.jpg by Belle montano-zygmunt · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

National Lakeshore Michigan · Lake Michigan Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Expansive dunes, forest and long beaches on Lake Michigan. Explore place
Photo: en:User:Grod028 · Public domain

Sleeping Bear Dunes.jpg by en:User:Grod028 · Public domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Traverse City A northern Michigan favorite between bays and rolling countryside. Explore place
Photo: Phoenix-Five · CC0

Downtown Traverse City from Wayne Hill.jpg by Phoenix-Five · CC0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Big Sable Point Lighthouse A black-and-white tower beyond the dunes north of Ludington. Explore place
Photo: Bailiwick Studios · CC BY-SA 2.0

Big Sable (29688853832).jpg by Bailiwick Studios · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Cana Island Lighthouse Door County's island beacon on the open-lake side of the peninsula. Explore place
Photo: August Schwerdfeger · CC BY 4.0

Cana Island Lighthouse 2020-09-07.jpg by August Schwerdfeger · CC BY 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Michigan · Lake Michigan Holland Harbor Lighthouse Michigan's familiar 'Big Red' lighthouse at the entrance to Holland's harbor. Explore place
Photo: Rodney Campbell · CC BY 2.0

Holland Harbor Lighthouse 2.jpg by Rodney Campbell · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

State Park Illinois · Lake Michigan Illinois Beach State Park A protected Lake Michigan shoreline north of Chicago. Explore place
Photo: Yinan Chen · Public Domain

Gfp-illinois-beach-state-park-shoreline-of-lake-michigan.jpg by Yinan Chen · Public Domain. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

National Park Indiana · Lake Michigan Indiana Dunes National Park A mosaic of dunes, wetlands, woodland and beaches on southern Lake Michigan. Explore place
Photo: Indianadunes · CC BY 4.0

Part of the Dunes Succession Trail at West Beach, Indiana Dunes National Park.jpg by Indianadunes · CC BY 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

State Park Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Kohler-Andrae State Park Wisconsin dune trails and sandy Lake Michigan shoreline near Sheboygan. Explore place
Photo: Djngsf · CC BY-SA 4.0

Kohler Andrae State Park near Sheboygan Wisconsin, Sand Dunes and Cordwalk Trail.jpg by Djngsf · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Ludington A ferry port framed by Lake Michigan beaches, dunes and lighthouse trails. Explore place
Photo: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ludington light at sunset (21099533911).jpg by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Indiana · Lake Michigan Michigan City Indiana's lakeside city with a lighthouse skyline and sandy beach. Explore place
Photo: Dan Previte · CC BY 2.0

Michigan City East Lighthouse aerial 2021 - Michigan City, Indiana.jpg by Dan Previte · CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Milwaukee Lakefront museums, public beaches and river neighborhoods on Wisconsin's coast. Explore place
Photo: Isaac Rowlett · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dji fly 20241201 160430 0031 1733092392756 photo.jpg by Isaac Rowlett · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan New Buffalo A compact southwest Michigan harbor with a beach-town pace. Explore place
Photo: BigBear_in_IN · CC BY-SA 3.0

New Buffalo Harbor, MI - panoramio.jpg by BigBear_in_IN · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

State Park Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Peninsula State Park Door County's Green Bay shoreline, with woodland trails and harbor views. Explore place
Photo: Richie Diesterheft from Santa Barbara, CA, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0

Ephraim Wisconsin from Eagle tower in Peninsula State Park.jpg by Richie Diesterheft from Santa Barbara, CA, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Michigan · Lake Michigan Petoskey Little Traverse Bay views and a historic downtown in northern Michigan. Explore place
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0

2009-0619-Petoskey-marina.JPG by Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Sheboygan A Wisconsin harbor town where Lake Michigan meets art, beaches and dune country. Explore place
Photo: Jordan M. Lomibao · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sheboygan.downtown.jpg by Jordan M. Lomibao · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Coastal town Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Sturgeon Bay Door County's shipbuilding town and a bridge between bay and open lake. Explore place
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 2.5

SturgeonBayWisconsinBay.jpg by Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 2.5. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.

Lighthouse Wisconsin · Lake Michigan Wind Point Lighthouse A tall Wisconsin light station on Lake Michigan just north of Racine. Explore place
Photo: User:JeremyA · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wind Point Lighthouse 071104.jpg by User:JeremyA · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; display crops vary.