Holland, Michigan has a fire-red lighthouse, a climbable dune, and a secret tunnel through sand

Holland State Park’s beach pulls 2 million visitors

Four miles west of downtown Holland, Michigan, a wide crescent of sugar sand meets Lake Michigan at one of the state’s most visited parks.

The lighthouse at the harbor entrance has been painted fire-engine red for decades. A 157-foot sand dune towers over the water to the east.

And just up the road, a concrete tunnel cuts straight through a dune to another beach that most people drive right past.

Holland State Park packs more into 142 acres than you’d expect, and every season shows you something different.

Dutch settlers dug a harbor channel by hand

The land around Holland’s waterfront has a story that goes back to 1847, when Reverend A.C. Van Raalte led a group of Dutch settlers to the area.

They came because Lake Macatawa, then called Black Lake, had the potential to become a working harbor. There was one problem: sandbars and silt blocked the lake’s outlet to Lake Michigan.

Federal help never came, so the settlers dug the channel themselves. By 1900, more than a thousand ships a year passed through it.

The state park sits on land acquired from the City of Holland in December 1926.

Big Red has stood at the harbor entrance since 1907

The lighthouse at the south side of the channel connecting Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan didn’t always look the way it does now. The first light here was a small wooden structure put into service in 1870.

The current building went up in 1907 as a fog signal station, covered in steel plating to hold up against brutal Lake Michigan winters.

In 1936, the Coast Guard merged the light tower directly into the roof of the fog signal building, giving it the house-like shape you see today. Back then, it was painted pale yellow with a maroon base.

Red paint and a petition saved the lighthouse from abandonment

The lighthouse got its signature color in 1956, when the Coast Guard sandblasted the building and painted it bright red.

Navigation rules required any structure on the right side of a harbor entrance to be red, so the color wasn’t a style choice.

When the Coast Guard tried to abandon the lighthouse in 1970, residents pushed back hard, circulating petitions and writing letters.

The Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission formed in the 1970s, gave the lighthouse the nickname Big Red to build public interest, and took ownership in 1978. The commission still maintains it today.

The original Fresnel lens sits in the Holland Museum.

The Lake Michigan beach has more than sand and water

The beach at Holland State Park runs about a quarter mile along Lake Michigan, with buoyed swim areas marking the safe zones.

Two beach wheelchairs are available at no cost, and an accessible walkway leads directly to the water.

The beach house has restrooms, changing areas, vending machines, and Beachplace, which sells food, ice cream, and beach supplies.

Just off the sand, there’s an accessible playground on a rubberized surface with slides, spinners, and interactive equipment.

Beach volleyball nets and a basketball court give you more options if you want to stay out of the water.

Climb 200 stairs to the top of Mount Pisgah

Just east of the park, a boardwalk and stair system takes you to the top of a sand dune that rises 157 feet above Lake Michigan. The stairs are numbered every 25 steps, and benches sit along the way if you need a break.

When you reach the summit, you can see Lake Michigan, Lake Macatawa, Big Red, and the surrounding marinas spread out below you. A loop trail continues through wooded dunes at the top if you want to keep going.

Parking nearby is free, with a two-hour limit.

Paddle calm water on Lake Macatawa

Lake Michigan gets the attention, but Lake Macatawa runs right through the park and gives you a very different experience.

The water here is calmer, and the Macatawa Boat House at the park entrance rents kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards.

A small swimming beach on Lake Macatawa sits across from the campground entrance if you want to skip the bigger beach.

Fishing is popular along the channel walkway on the Lake Michigan side and along Ottawa County’s boardwalk on the inland lake. A boat launch with a fish cleaning station sits one mile east of the park.

Bike 20 miles straight to Grand Haven State Park

The Lakeshore Trail runs 20 miles of paved path parallel to Lakeshore Drive, connecting Holland State Park to Grand Haven State Park in one continuous route.

You’ll pass through Holland, West Olive, Port Sheldon, and Grand Haven along the way, linking two of Michigan’s most popular beach destinations.

Cyclists and pedestrians who enter the state park on the trail don’t need a Recreation Passport. The Ottawa County bike trail also runs through the park itself, so you can pick up the route without backtracking.

Walk through a sand dune at Tunnel Park

Just north of Holland State Park on Lakeshore Drive, Tunnel Park sits on 22 acres of Ottawa County land with a feature you won’t find at most beaches.

A concrete tunnel cuts straight through a sand dune and comes out the other side at the Lake Michigan shoreline. You can also climb a staircase over the dune to an observation deck.

The park has a playground, beach volleyball courts, picnic tables, grills, and restrooms.

On a packed summer weekend, it tends to draw smaller crowds than Holland State Park, making it worth the short detour north.

No lifeguards, so the flag system matters

Michigan state parks don’t have lifeguards, and Lake Michigan earns its reputation. Rip currents, structural currents near the piers, and fast-changing conditions make the water unpredictable.

The park runs a beach flag warning system: green means calm conditions, yellow means moderate hazard, red means high hazard, and double red means no one enters the water.

An electronic messaging board at the entrance shows current beach conditions, and a public address system announces flag changes throughout the day.

A live webcam lets you check conditions from home before you make the drive. Stay off the pier and channel walls no matter what the flags say.

Winter turns the shoreline into a different landscape

The park stays open year-round, and if you come between December and February, you’ll see something completely different. Lake Michigan’s waves and spray build dramatic ice formations along the pier and shoreline.

From the top of Mount Pisgah, the view stretches farther with the leaves gone, and the contrast of snow-covered dunes against dark blue water draws photographers from across the state.

Big Red framed in ice is one of the most recognized winter images in Michigan, and the park is far less crowded in those months.

Historic cottages line the shore near the park

Near the base of Mount Pisgah, a stretch of historic beach cottages dates back to the early 1900s. The area once held the Ottawa Beach Hotel, a grand resort that drew visitors from across the region.

The site covers 58 acres with 750 feet of Lake Michigan frontage and 2,400 feet of Lake Macatawa shoreline. The Historic Ottawa Beach Pumphouse Museum nearby tells the resort’s story and charges no admission.

Boardwalks along Lake Macatawa connect the cottage area back to the state park, so you can walk the whole stretch without getting back in the car.

Visit Holland State Park Beach in Holland, Michigan

Holland State Park Beach sits at 2215 Ottawa Beach Road, about four miles west of downtown Holland.

Michigan residents need a Recreation Passport, which runs $14 when you renew your license plates or $18 at the park entrance. The park has two campgrounds with 309 combined sites, some with full hookups.

Track chairs are available at no cost for visitors with mobility challenges, and free EV fast-charging stations are on-site.

Check the live beach webcam on the official website before you head out to see current conditions and flag status.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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