Lakes near Dearborn Heights with sandy beaches

Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark

The biggest beach park within easy reach of Detroit's western suburbs, with two sandy beaches on Kent Lake: Maple Beach and Martindale Beach, each with changing rooms, a playground and mats laid across the sand to the water. Canoes, kayaks, paddleboats and stand-up boards rent near Maple Beach, and the Splash 'n' Blast spray ground alongside adds two 240-foot water slides. Free all-terrain and floating beach wheelchairs are kept at Martindale. There are no lifeguards, and on hot summer weekends this is one of the busiest parks in the system.

Stony Creek Lake at Stony Creek Metropark

Two separate sand beaches sit on opposite sides of Stony Creek Lake: Eastwood Beach, the larger of the pair, with paved walkways, changing rooms, showers and the Grill & Chill concession, and Baypoint Beach, with accessible parking and a family changing room. Both have basketball courts nearby, and free beach wheelchairs are available at Eastwood. The park posts no lifeguards and asks swimmers to enter at their own risk. It is the northeast corner option, closer to Macomb County than to the Ann Arbor side of the metro area.

Lake St. Clair at Lake St. Clair Metropark

A 600-foot sandy beach on Lake St. Clair, backed by a bathhouse with heated showers and coin lockers. The draw for families is everything around it: the Squirt Zone spray ground with geysers and water cannons, and a 50-meter pool with two 120-foot flume slides and an inflatable obstacle course. Gear rentals run out of the Beach Shop. There are no lifeguards on the beach, and the lake here is shallow and wind-exposed, which is why it is also the region's kiteboarding and windsurfing spot.

Lake Erie at Sterling State Park

The only Michigan state park on Lake Erie, and the only option here where the sand fronts a Great Lake rather than an inland lake. A mile of shoreline runs past a beach house with restrooms and changing stalls, a 256-site campground and a set of man-made lagoons that draw walleye and perch anglers. More than 500 acres of the park is protected Great Lakes marsh and lake plain prairie, so birdwatching is as much a reason to come as swimming. The River Raisin Heritage Trail links the park to downtown Monroe.

Kent Lake at Island Lake Recreation Area

The quieter, undeveloped end of the same Kent Lake that Kensington Metropark sits on, with a buoyed swim area and an accessible beach house with restrooms and vending machines. The park keeps a deliberately natural feel across 4,000 acres of hardwoods and meadows, and the Huron River running through it is a designated State Natural River with an accessible kayak launch near the swim area. Mountain bikers and triathletes train here, and there is a large shooting range on site, so expect to hear it on some days.

Bishop Lake at Brighton Recreation Area

A sand beach and buoyed swim area on Bishop Lake, one of nine lakes inside a hilly 4,947-acre park west of US-23. An accessible walkway runs to the water and a water chair can be borrowed. Five campgrounds, including an equestrian-only one, make this the easiest of these lakes to turn into an overnight trip, and a 35-mile trail system pulls in hikers, mountain bikers and riders from the stables. Dogs are welcome along the other lakes but not on the swim beach itself.

Proud Lake at Proud Lake Recreation Area

About 3,000 acres straddling the Huron River in Oakland County, roughly 40 minutes from downtown Detroit. The catch for day trippers is that the buoyed swim area sits inside the modern campground rather than in a separate day-use beach, so it suits campers better than a carload arriving for an afternoon. Paddling the river between Proud Lake and Kensington is the signature outing, with paddlesport rentals and a concession store at the campground. Dogs are allowed along the whole shoreline except the swim beach.

Pontiac Lake at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area

The day-use beach sits on its own entrance off Williams Lake Road, with a spacious picnic area, grills, a playground and a fenced dog park near the gate. The beach is a short walk down sidewalks from parking, and the park recommends bringing a wagon for coolers and chairs. Two universally accessible fishing piers stand near the beach on a 600-acre lake known for bass and pike. Note that the modern campground and A-frame cabin are closed for the rest of the 2026 season while a sanitation station and solar project are built.

Teeple Lake at Highland Recreation Area

Teeple Lake holds the designated swim beach in a rolling 5,900-acre park with more than ten inland lakes. The accessible beach house in the day-use area includes restrooms and a picnic shelter, and EnChroma viewers on the south side of Teeple Beach let colorblind visitors see the full spectrum. Beyond the water there are 44 miles of trails shared by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians, plus the Haven Hill Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark. Dogs are allowed on the other lakes but not on the swim beach.

Big Seven Lake at Seven Lakes State Park

A 1,434-acre park north of the metro area holding six lakes and over 230 acres of water. The main swim area is a buoyed stretch in the day-use area on Big Seven Lake, with a beach house, modern restrooms and changing courts, and an accessible walkway down to the water. A second designated swimming beach with a playscape sits in the campground along Sand Lake, so campers get their own. This is the farthest drive on the list from the Dearborn Heights side, up near Holly and Fenton.

Cass Lake at Dodge #4 State Park

The smallest park here by a wide margin, a 139-acre peninsula on the north shore of Cass Lake, and the one whose whole reason for being is the sandy beach. It holds a mile of shoreline on the largest inland lake in southeast Michigan, with a buoyed swim area, an accessible pier and a carry-in kayak launch beside it. Because Cass Lake is one of the busiest recreational lakes in the region, expect boat traffic just past the buoys; vehicles without trailers are directed to the Bay parking area.

Belleville Lake at Van Buren Park

By far the shortest drive from Dearborn Heights, straight down I-94 to Belleville. The beach is a small east-facing strip of shoreline at the southeast corner of the park, open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a buoyed swim line and a posted capacity of 50 people. Park staff monitor it in season but no lifeguard is on duty. The rest of the park adds trails, a bike path, a play structure, rentable pavilions and a community garden, and the same hill becomes a sledding run in winter.