Van Buren State Park
Van Buren State Park is nestled on the outskirts of South Haven and just north of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. That might not sound that appealing, but damn if this park isn’t gorgeous. The over 200-site campground is located behind the main parking area for the day-use area, and many of the sites are very secluded and roomy.
A short walk from the campground will lead you to the day-use area and lots of hiking opportunities. On our first day there, we took a hike to the dog beach. It was extremely windy, and the dunes were wicked, but it was eerily beautiful. We walked as far down the beach as we could, eventually hitting the signs for the nuclear power plant. The plant closed in 2022, but it is scheduled to reopen.
The next day, we hiked the dunes further north in the park, which was quite majestic. After a steep dune hike, we were greeted with a view of Michi Gami I won’t soon forget, and a hell of a hike back up after I sprinted down it with Addilyn & Michael. Even though it rained for a lot of our trip, I enjoyed our time at Van Buren State Park greatly.
I got to listen to Michigan beat Minnesota by 25 on the radio; we cooked burgers on the campfire and had way too many s’mores. Who wouldn’t love that?
