Holland State Park

The waters of Lake Michigan are beautiful and relaxing any time of the year but here at Holland State Park it’s so much more enjoyable.
The beach here goes on forever and is very well kept and the park rangers and employees are very helpful.
The sand volleyball nets are in great shape and there’s 16 of them to choose from.
The restrooms are very clean as well and there’s rarely a line even on a busy day.
The little restaurant serves great food and they do a great job of getting your order to you fast and just the way you like it.
The lighthouse is beautiful and you can walk out on the break wall about 1000 ft and watch the sunrise or sunset. Fishing on one side and swimming on the other. Everyone has an option.
The beach also has char coal grills if you want to bring a group out and enjoy the day and barbecue.
2 cabins on site to rent and a every park if you want to take the family on vacation.
Also it’s a short walk into the quaint town to get groceries, ice cream, quick bites to eat or have a nice meal at the local restaurant.
Give the piece of heaven a try and you’ll be happy you did.

(8÷17÷15) I arrived by bicycle to tent camp overnight while touring the breweries in Holland and Saugatuck (Douglas). I used the DNR website to make my reservation, and it works great! They even had pics online of several of the sites themselves. Check-​in was smooth and efficient, and I was directed to my site. Large site (#110) right up against a hill with nice tree coverage, but the whole Lake Macatawa — Pines Loop seemed nicely wooded. I had a nice fire pit, and there was an ample supply of firewood for sale ($ 4.00 @). The campground is family friendly, and people seemed respectful of the 10pm quiet hours. I slept great with the frogs singing me to sleep. The next morning I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the restroom facility included showers, even though the website did not specify them! Very clean restrooms and large clean showers! Although the park is several miles from Holland on bike, it’s mostly bike path/​sidewalk, and not a bad ride. There appeared to be every type of recreation available nearby — including ultra-​light air tours of the beach — but I was here for the beer! I give this park my highest recommendation, and I look forward to staying here again! It is very much worth the money!

I give the Beach 4 stars for Lake Michigan. However I give The water 0 stars. If you like to swim with garbage this is your kind of place. There was all matter of floating debris in every direction in the water. Plastic, paper, etc. everything! I felt like Han Solo stuck in a garbage dumpster. I have spent my entire life in the Midwest living in Chicago and swimming in Lake Michigan there. How can Chicago have cleaner water than «Pure Michigan»?? Someone needs to do something. My 10 year old started cleaning and we ended up with a bag full of stuff in 5 minutes. She couldn’t make a dent but she knew someone had to try. Why is she in the minority???

Great State Park with lots of campsites. $ 11 for an annual pass that goes until your plates renew. Restrooms were clean and local businesses along the main strip (outside the park) were very friendly.
Avoid the food inside the park at the beach area — sort of like 5 clowns at a circus that can’t seem to get anything done, cleanliness of that area was disgusting, no food safety practices in place, and flies/​gnats in the onions and relish. (Couldn’t find the food establishment in Unilocal so that review is here as well since its in the park.)
Reminder…wear your sunscreen at the lake!

Okay if you live in SW Michigan you don’t need this review. You’ve been to the lake shore and you know.
If you visiting, well your trip is not complete until you’ve visited one of the lake Michigan beaches, and Holland State Park is one of the best.

Holland State park is a treat to visit — summer, winter, fall and spring. It’s great to see all the ice forming in the winter.

One of the best state campground in Michigan’s lower peninsula. Very clean bath house if you stay before the collage kids go back to school. The beach is clean. In Oder to get close to the waters edge need to get there early. Would recommend this campground hands down.

I enjoyed a lovely afternoon by myself swimming, getting some sun and just plain relaxing! The bathhouse had toilets, dressing rooms and showers and were fairly clean. The beach was busy but not overwhelming. The water was very cold but felt great on the hot, humid day we had! I can’t wait to come back and hopefully spend a weekend in a camping cabin!

Definitely somewhere to stop in at while visiting. The beach is very clean and the water is freshwater, making it very pretty. We got there in the evening so the water was freezing. That didn’t stop us from spending almost 3 hours there regardless. You can see the Big Red Light house from the beach too since its right across the channel!

Maybe a tough critic having Siesta Key Beach (Sarasota FL, usually in the top 10 in the world) as our beach for the last 10 years. I just wanted to cry when I saw the sandy garbage landfill, ashtray looking beach when visiting Holland State Park! First weekend in August, not bad parking at all, nothing like our beaches, and ours are free.
The beach was littered with so many absopure water bottles I thought maybe they were just bottling water and shipping it directly from the beach! There were straws, lids, juice box tops & chip bags everywhere, bottle tops, plastic rings, and more cigarette butts than I could pick up in my lifetime! I collected garbage off and on every time I saw something I thought might harm the water or wildlife, needless to say, didn’t enjoy my visit with my kids and grandkids.
I wanted to get some photos of Big Red so I walked up to the mouth of Lake Macatawa to photo shoot across the the way, a woman with two kids were looking for trash cans to throw their popped inner tube, water bottle and capri sun foil pouch. She gave up instead of walking all the way to the parking lot to toss it and just dropped everything in the rocks! I had all I could do not to cause a scene and yell at her in front of her kids and tell her what a loser she is and not setting a good example! I then picked it up and walked it all the way to the parking lot with tears streaming down my face.
Maybe I’m just venting, how disappointed I am with people in general, although I believe Michigan DNR State Parks, whatever they are called here need to get more trash cans AND recycle cans and have them up and down the beach halfway between the water and parking lot, every 30 feet like they do at our beaches. The trash cans are changed several times a day by county workers driving small 4 wheelers.
Also beyond disappointed that the two trash cans at the end of the boardwalk were only for garbage! RECYCLE Michigan!!!
I’m giving three stars only because beyond the trash, the beach and water itself were breathtaking.
Love my Mitten State, please take care of her.

Great beach but that is about all there is to do there other than RV camping. If you want to hike, save your $ 9 and park in one of the free boardwalk parking lots just East of the state park. From there you can walk on extensive walking paths along Ottawa Beach Drive or hike the trails of the state park free of charge. If you want to swim or lay out, then this is a great place for you.

This is one of my favorite places along Lake Michigan:
a.) wide sandy beach, like Warren Dunes, but a less rowdy crowd;
b.) some shady spots for afternoon respite like Saugatauck, but not so far a walk to the parking lot;
c.) interesting and easy approach with shopping opportunities, unlike Van Buren State Park; and,
d.) though I love the Traverse City area, the water here is swimably warm more of the summer.

Nice park and a good beach area. The weekend we were here the weather was only about 68 and windy. We still enjoyed walking the beech and out the pier. We also walked through the campground. It was basically a big parking lot which I wouldn’t like but I guess to be that close to the beech that’s what you get.

One of the best beaches I’ve been to in southwest Michigan. Clean, big, fine sand. It sucks that you have to pay to get in, but maybe this limits crowds?
Went here one evening in late May, and it had some people but was by no means crowded. Has a snack stand with bathrooms (didn’t go in — are there showers?).

My initial thought on this park was that I’d give it 5 stars. However, on further consideration I think 4 stars might be more accurate since I think it should be free admission and unfortunately it’s not. If you park outside the park and walk in it is free, but rather than that hassle I just pay, grip about it and then get to fishing as quickly as possible since that is the highlight of any trip to this park. As much as the citizens of this fine state are taxed to death (unfortunately like those in every other state) there’s no reason in the world that they should have to pay to visit a state park which is supposed to be theirs. Oh well, that’s not going to change so I’d better shut up and step down off my soap box.
I’m not a beach lover, beaches are ok but to go and lay on the beach or do a lot of swimming it just doesn’t interest me, so my review is based on the fishing which for me is of much greater importance. I’m not a fisherman that keeps and eats his fish so I could care less whether I catch a carp or a salmon.
When I fish in the channel here I almost always target the large population of sheeps head that are so popular. I’ve heard that some of these fish can actually get up to around 20 to 24 inches, but I’ve never been lucky enough to hook into any anywhere close to that size. I’d guess my biggest as maybe 14 inches and that’s maybe more of fisherman’s tale than reality. However, I can say in all honesty these fish have got to be some of the best fighting fish pound for pound in Lake Michigan and connecting waters and I’ve caught salmon so I have some big fish to compare them too.
Normally I use a crappie rig with a very heavy weight on it since the currents in the channel can be very strong and just let it sit on the bottom of the channel and wait for the fun to start. If you’re not familiar with a crappie rig they can be bought in the fishing section and have 2 hooks on them so it therefore doubles the chances of getting a bit, they’re also great for sucker fishing. Remember 2 hooks per line is the max allowed by law so don’t get crazy with them. I prop the pole against the rail lining the channel and sit back and relax. WARNING: Keep a close eye on your rod because these little fish sometimes hit so suddenly and so hard that they could pull your rod right into the channel if you left it unattended or couldn’t get to it right away.
There are other game fish that can be caught and eaten from the channel at this park, but if you’re just looking for a fun time the sheeps head are a great fish to hook into. If you’ve got a younger person or an adult you’d like to introduce to the joys of fishing there’s no better way to get them hooked than to have them fish for a plentiful fish like the sheeps head that can literally bend their rod over time after time.

Great state park with a very clean beach!
We visited multiple times on a recent trip to the area. The beach was incredibly clean with lots of room to run around. It was busy on a Sunday afternoon/​evening but what do you expect for a weekend? It was much less busy on Tuesday when we visited aging.
Great walkway to walk along the channel from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan and good views of the lighthouse.
My son loved it there, trying to get him to leave was a challenge.
We have the state park pass on our license plate tab so paying for parking was not necessary.

I went with my family in early May. They didn’t have anyone on duty to collect the park fees. Which means we were able to enter for free!
I enjoyed walking to the end of the pier. It was also nice seeing where the river enters into Lake Michigan. The pier and the walk to it are nice. Holland has one of the best access to points in Lake Michigan along the south western coast of Michigan.

A must if you are in the area.
The entrance fee is $ 8 (as of August 2011) but it’s totally worth it and you want to support the State Park system, right? and when you really think of it — it’s quite a small price to pay to enjoy a long day of farniente at the beach…
Huge parking lot.
Great beach, with an access ramp. Clean, spacious, quiet… no highway noises around here; you have the lake for yourself and you can walk to the lighthouse if you are so inclined. Or cool down in the water. Or just stay lazily on the sand.
Great facilities: bathroom, showers, a large «beach convenience store» that sells sun lotion, swimsuits, towels, toys, food and about 25 different flavors of frozen yogurt.
About 15 minute drive from downtown Holland.

Awesome very sandy area! View of Lake Michigan as far as your eyes can see.
You pay $ 6 to get in and park :(The walk is very sandy. I say it’s worth it!

We paid something like $ 8 for an all-​day pass to park at the beach. I think you could walk in for free if you wanted (lots of teens were it looked like). Also I was told you can leave and come back if you wanted to eat lunch or what have you.
The facilites are great, showers, changing rooms, etc. Also there is a decent snack bar that also sells things like suntan lotion, clothing, swimsuits, chairs, beach toys, etc. The prices were very reasonable I thought.
The beach itself was large… big swarm of gulls had made a poopy mess that had to be avoided, but you can just walk around it. Be sure to bring some flip-​flops for the trek across the hot sand.
Although you can see the «Big Red» lighthouse, it is not publicly accessible! Lots of people fishing off the jetty, but I did not see anyone catch anything worth keeping while I was out there.
My suggestion, bring a little beach chair and a cooler with a couple drinks and sandwiches, and your 50 SPF sun block, and make a day of it.