The Best Small Towns in the Great Lakes to Chill Out In 2024
Eight lucky states and one Canadian province touch five sea-like freshwater lakes: Erie, Huron, Superior, Michigan, and Ontario. The refreshingly lush Great Lakes Region is on the global radar for summer chillouts by the waters and beach enjoyment. There are also thousands of smaller lakes and trails through marshes, state parks, and dunes.
Gaylord offers top views from the highest elevation in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan’s two massive peninsulas that touch four of the Great Lakes. Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, is home to a historic downtown district, the winner of the Great American Main Street Award, while Indiana's Beverly Shores flaunts a string of beaches and Century of Progress Homes—architectural feats of contemporary design and technology for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. In 2024, the small towns rule the scene, attracting visitors away from the big, well-known cities that bustle with crowds and noise and into the Great Lakes region.
Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
Baileys Harbor is often overlooked near the end of the state's famed Door Peninsula, which juts far into Lake Michigan. Offering great water activities like swimming along the town's own scenic sand strip at Anclam Beach Park, it is also among the top places in the US to learn kiteboarding, and then chill out next door at the casual Baileys Harbor Cornerstone Pub. Baileys Harbor hosts several festivals, like Beerfest and Autumnfest, in time for the incredible foliage at the sprawling refuge, Mud Lake State Wildlife Area, to the north. Home to iconic attractions like the historic Cana Island Lighthouse near the refuge and its original keeper's quarters from the 19th century, visitors can enjoy seasonal tours of both and views from the top.
Engulfed in wilderness, Peninsula State Park is about 10 minutes to the other side of the peninsula with a pack of activities, like trails, a golf course, a campground, and another lighthouse. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is a beautiful piece of history, in use from 1868 to 1926 and restored with exhibits about its keepers and period furnishings. From the friendly Door County Alpaca Ranch to Lakeshore Adventures Zipline with a long swinging bridge walk, there are plenty of options for outdoor recreation. In the evening wake, take a ten-minute drive from Downtown Bailey's Harbor to the Peninsula Players Theatre in the artsy town of Fish Creek for a lakeside performance in a historic venue on 16 wooded acres, staging classic and contemporary works since 1935.
Beverly Shores, Indiana
Juxtaposing the often-rugged Lake Michigan shoreline, Beverly Shores is a real architectural feat with stunning beaches. Offering to chill out in every style with easy-on-the-eye views, the small town is surrounded by Indiana Dunes State Park. Visitors can explore the dune landscape via hiking, cross-country skiing, birding, and campsites. Take the Great Marsh Trail right between downtown and the popular Dunewood Campground, just on the other side of the highway. Home to a fifth Century of Progress house, the Cypress Log Cabin, as well as the ground level of the House of Tomorrow, people can admire the exteriors along Lake Front Drive or right from Kemil Beach, which spans the town to central Beach, with Lake View Picnic Area in between.
Flaunting contemporary design and technology for their time, the Century of Progress Homes were built to wow audiences at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and transported here by barge, planting the seed of the new resort community. The whole 15-mile coastline is encompassed from West Beach to Mount Baldy, with a string of beaches and other dune shore communities to explore. With easy access to the cooling waters, Lake Michigan beckons for a dip, swimming, and fishing. In the fall, visitors can enjoy the park's changing leaves and the annual architectural tour, while the Beverly Shores Museum and Art Gallery is a great side-stop within the Beverly Shores train station at any time.
Cheboygan, Michigan
Located on the shores of Lake Huron, which doesn’t get all the love it deserves, Cheboygan is one of the most underrated Michigan towns. As a quieter town, visitors can explore without crowds, including a number of lighthouses, like Cheboygan Crib Light and the Cheboygan Pier Light at the end of the pier. Cheboygan Front Range Light, from 1880, is a museum just off Main Street, next to the Eagles building. Home to two marinas, the inland Anchor In Marina is next to the scenic Pier M. 33 restaurant. Burt Lake State Park offers 2,000 feet of sandy shoreline, while Cheboygan State Park features marshes, dunes, and wetlands, as well as a seven-mile lakefrontage with rocky shores and a beach to relax.
This tranquil beach town of under 5,000 people with extremely scenic views over the lake is perfect for culture and nature fans. The remarkable Victorian-style opera house, built in 1877, is a real vision from the outside, with the Victorian soul completely intact to experience over a performance. Chill out at Duncan Bay Nature Preserve, which features a scenic boardwalk. The next-door Bois Blanc Island attracts solitude lovers and creatives to explore more interesting sites and peaceful nature. Don't miss the Historical Cheboygan County Museum and hit Hack-Ma-Tack Inn & Restaurant for the famous whitefish dinner, while Cheboygan Brewing Company highlights classic German brews.
Gaylord, Michigan
Gaylord, named after a prominent lumber baron, Augustine Gaylord, during its early lumber industry, flaunts some of the top views from the highest elevation in the Lower Peninsula. Quickly thriving as an outdoorsy mecca with everything for the comfort creatures, Gaylord's City Elk Park is home to the wild animals right in the heart of town, while the Wild Museum is a family-run museum with North American wildlife, a theater, and a gift shop. Bask in the calming vibes of the surrounding parks or enjoy the hiking, biking, and birding trails for any level and sights to taste, like Bavarian Falls Park and Aspen Park. Nestled in the heart of northern Michigan, almost centrally between Lake Michigan and Huron, it is under an hour east of Little Traverse Bay.
Gaylord is also home to the 45th Parallel Marker and just ten minutes to Arbutus Beach just south on the Otsego Lake and the Otsego Lake State Park with a campground. Whether you choose the Otsego Resort right in town or the popular Otsego Lake County Park and other campgrounds around the lake and state park, think of Gaylord as your one-stop shop for all to chill out with top views in the fresh forest breath, with shops like Jay's Sporting Goods to gear up for hiking the trails or glide the pristine waterways of the winding rivers to the north and over 90 sparkling inland lakes around.
La Pointe, Wisconsin
La Pointe on Madeline Island, one of the most chill-worthy places in Wisconsin, offers easy access to the largest of the 22 Apostle Islands via a private plane or a quick ferry ride from Bayfield. If you are after adventures, the Big Bay State Park and the popular Big Bay Town Park along the Big Bay shores offer access to hiking, the Big Bay Sand Spit, and Bog State Natural Area. The scenic park encompasses vast acres of pure Badger State wilderness, a Lake Superior beach, and seven miles of shoreside trails. Choose the Inn On Madeline Island on the island's "civilized" southwestern end, with lighthouse views, a pretty library nearby, and the easy Madeline Island Preserve Capser Trailhead at hand. The two miles of sand beach are secluded and virtually crowdless, so you can enjoy swimming and fishing, just like chilling out should be.
Visitors can also learn to stand-up paddleboard, with paddleboards, canoes, and kayaks available for rent nearby from Madeline Island rental companies. Take the boardwalk for a guided stroll along Big Bay Beach in between the waves and the towering trees overlooking the spectacular largest lake in the world by area. To dine, you have a few reputable options right by the beach, like Beach Club and the top-rated bar, Tom's Burned Down Cafe, which once burned in a fire. Don't miss Madeline Island Museum for local lifestyle from the past of the Apostles, including dress, and just down the road past the beach, Woods Hall Gallery and Studios for unique crafts.
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
If you are looking to chill out in Wisconsin on a beach, Sheboygan Falls is next door to the “Malibu of the Midwest,” the larger town of Sheboygan, aka the “Freshwater Surf Capital of the World.” Visitors can settle in the small-town feel to enjoy attractions, serenity, and minute access to the western shore of Lake Michigan for beachy pleasures, with eight incredible beaches to choose from. Just one hour from Milwaukee, Sheboygan Falls is home to niche shops for gifts, specialty items, furniture, jewelry, flowers, and plants, as well as one of the premier archive research centers in the Midwest. Surrounded by wetlands, visitors can explore many endemic plants and 150 bird species, including over 20 warblers.
With the Sheboygan and Mulett Rivers through the heart, there are plenty of town greens, like the beautiful River Park with trails and spaces to relax by the waters, as well as the Bull at Pinehurst Farms Golf Course. Downtown Sheboygan Falls is a great place to wake up for a morning stroll through the Historic District, which encapsulates over 40 restored buildings from the 1800s. Having received the Great American Main Street Award, visitors can enjoy unobstructed views, shopping, and historic walking tours available for insights. Away from the crowds, it is a great place to browse for local restaurants without queuing and hit the popular EVANS, a historic clothing store for every modern traveler and fashionista.
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Nestled between the aptly named East and West Twin Rivers, Two Rivers is a picture-perfect riverside town with great beaches, nature trails, and museums. Just 45 minutes south of Green Bay, visitors can enjoy riverside strolls and hikes through the refreshing Woodland Dunes State Natural Area. Woodland Dunes Nature Center & Preserve features a scenic boardwalk, while Neshotah Park offers a great sandy beach just a hop north of the nostalgic Two Rivers North Pierhead Light, a postcard-like view from your mind's eye of a desolate light beaten by the waves.
The nearby Lighthouse Inn is a great place to stay, 20 feet from the shore of Lake Michigan, with an indoor swimming pool, continental breakfast, and a delicious seasonal menu on-site. Home to a thriving fishing industry and the birthplace of the ice cream sundae in 1881, Two Rivers is replete with small family businesses. After dinner at the popular River Family Restaurant, right between the two rivers, save room for dessert at Renée’s Specialties: Makers of Popcorn, Chocolate, Ice Cream, Gelato, and Italian Ice. Another family favorite just a walk north of downtown, London Dairy Alpacas is home to smiling creatures over a verdant acreage for close interactions.
The Great Lakes, the biggest group of lakes on Earth, encompass the largest lake in the world by area, Superior, and Lake Michigan, the world's largest lake entirely in one country, the US. Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostles in Lake Superior, is virtually crowdless to escape "civilization" at Big Bay State Park and enjoy swimming and fishing along its two-mile secluded sand beach.
The tiny, serene towns on the shores of the immense lakes offer everything a water adventurer and tranquility lover desires, including lighthouses, and beyond the waters, seafood, farm-to-table dining, and breweries. Home to marshes, dunes, wetlands, and a seven-mile lakefrontage, Cheboygan boasts a number of lighthouses, museums, and a historic Victorian-style opera house.
