van buren state park

Autumn is our favorite time of the year. Every weekend during the fall, we follow the fall color down the Lake Michigan shoreline. For us, a visit to Van Buren State Park usually means the end of our fall color weekend treks. We love to hike the trails and photograph the fall color. Because there were only a few other people on the trail during our visit, we took our time and listened to the sounds of nature. Fall is the only time of the year that we have visited this State Park but I am sure it is worth a visit any time of the year.

We went to Van Buren State Park on a perfect sunny fall day. The fall colors were in full swing and the Lake was beautiful blues and greens. We took many pictures.

It was great to find a dog friendly beach in South Haven. We were told it was the unofficial dog beach there.

If you are from out of state it's $9 a day to take a car but free on bicycle. The ride from South Haven is pretty flat. The beach area is nice with restrooms nearby. We found it to be less crowded than the intown beaches.

We stopped by the beach while we were in town and it was a nice time. We only had a few hours to explore so we may have missed out by not traveling far enough up and down the beach. We spend a lot of time at the Warren Dunes in Sawyer, MI so this one just felt small by comparison. We only saw one real large dune for climbing and it was already pretty crowded, despite it being early on a Friday morning. My kids really enjoyed climbing that dune and loved the view from the top. The beach was clean and there was plenty of parking. Definitely worth a visit if you have the Michigan DNR annual pass and don't have to pay for individual visits.

My family and I stayed here for two nights tent camping. The campsites are nice, some privacy, some shade.The walk to the beach sure felt like it was a solid mile. The dunes were cool to run down - pretty substantial in size. The beach was awfully rocky - i was surprised. Reminded me more of Lake Huron - you'll want beach shoes.Faciliites were just okay. I didn't think the bathrooms and showers were horrifying but as others say - could use updating. Playground was a bad joke. The campground host didn't even acknowledge me until I initiated - and even then it was a cursory "hi."Fellow campers varied...with a progressive group expressing some of their alternative love-making techniques very loudly at 1030 PM - didn't need that in front of my 6 and 8 year old. I called the rangers - I didn't notice any change with their blarring music for about 30 minutes before I finally fell asleep.I don't think I'll be running back - it was really, just okay.

This small state park is near South Haven, MI, which is an interesting coastal town. We stayed at the campground in our travel trailer one night as a stop-over on our way farther north. There were not enough campsites that were shady, so we were out in full sunshine. The campground seemed quiet and clean. There is a trail to walk from the campground to the beach, but it was much too long, so we drove to the beach.

If you are on a budget for a family vacation like I am, you can't go wrong with this place. The State Park is very nice. We loved our spot, but I recommend that you go to their website to view the campsites to make sure you like it. You can walk to the beach but I recommend that you drive the 3 minute drive from your campsite down to the beach parking lot. The beach is stunning and my boys loved snorkeling for the beautiful rocks in Lake Michigan. Unlike other campgrounds this one gives you a large bundle of wood for your fire at a decent price. Just to the right of beach is a big sandy climbing hill for kids and adults to tackle. The Sunsets were great! I will be back!!! South Haven is such an interesting town with lots to offer.

It was good experience in the state park as we were in the town for our fifth year anniversary. This town is really busy in summer. We had great time in south haven.

O. K., then. I'm a tourist.(but) I highly recommend this place. Plenty of parking. Large beach. Gorgeous sunsets. Excellent radio reception. What better way, than to spend Your day off? Most of You, won't be coming here, in the wintertime. That's O. K., too.

We camped with our dog (several years ago) as I couldn't find a dog friendly hoyel in area. Very nice beach and tent capming site. Only negative is the loud truck traffic noise coming from i96.

Nice campground. The sites offer a lot of privacy that is not found in all state parks. There is a hike to the beach. You can drive, but there still is a walk. That is the only thing keeping it a five star. The beach is fantastic!

After reading these reviews and having been to VB State Park in OH, Trip Advisor needs to change the title for the park people are reviewing in MI.

Beautiful beach area, with amenities. Clean bathrooms, nice benches, lots of shaded areas with picnic tables. Easy to access, large parking lot.

Not as scenic as Warren Dunes but was very clean and plenty of parking. Spent the rest of the day enjoying the sand and water after being disappointed at Warren Dunes. So if your not going to climb a dune, go to warren instead.