The park is home to three campgrounds, sandy beaches, scenic sand dunes, an iconic lighthouse, wetlands, marshlands and forests. It is situated between Hamlin Lake and Lake Michigan, with several miles of beautiful shoreline along both lakes.

Visit the park's website for more information.

The large, historic Lake Michigan Beach House was one of the first structures built in the park and was completely restored in 2015. The beach house functions as a seasonal visitor center, with park resources exhibited, covering topics including Great Lakes ecology and dune ecology. The beach house also offers public restrooms and a concession stand in the summer months.

If you find that it is too cold to swim in Lake Michigan, try the beach at Hamlin Lake. This large inland lake is generally warmer for swimming and still features a beautiful sandy beach with a smaller modern beach house. From this beach house you can rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and fishing boats to use on Hamlin Lake. It is the best of two worlds – or beaches!

Big Sable Point Lighthouse
Friends of Ludington State Park

This historic Great Lakes lighthouse has been completely restored and opened to visitors daily from May through October. The United States Coast Guard has transferred ownership to Ludington State Park, and we keep the light burning in the tower for those still sailing on Lake Michigan.

Volunteer lighthouse keepers staff this historic structure, giving tours, maintaining the buildings and grounds, and staffing the gift shop. For 150 years it has stood at the isolated tip of sand dunes protruding out into Lake Michigan, giving visitors a real sense of what it must have been like to live and raise a family here.

To reach the lighthouse, you must walk almost 2 miles. We do ask for a small donation if you would like to climb the 112-foot tower, where the view of Lake Michigan and miles of golden, sandy beach stretches out to the horizon, and thousands of acres of untouched wild dunes unfold before you. Don't forget your camera and drinking water.

The lighthouse is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 1 through Oct. 31. For tour information, visit the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.

Short trails to long trails – we have them all at Ludington State Park. The trails give you an experience not only with nature but also with history. Some of the trails were carved out by Native Americans long before Europeans set foot in the area. Some trails can be traced back to the logging era, and others were laid out by the men of the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Ludington.

We have trails through forest and some that sweep across the open sand dunes. Some trails climb high up on the dunes to open on vistas of Lake Michigan, the lighthouse, Hamlin Lake and miles of undeveloped sand dunes. Shelter buildings along selected trails provide a peaceful spot to rest and reflect on your stay.

In the winter months, the trails become highways for cross-country skiers and snowshoers. The forest of the sand dunes provides excellent shelter from the harsh cold winds coming off Lake Michigan during the winter, giving visitors greater use of the forest trails. The trails are the roads by which our feet propel us through this unique coastal dune ecology.

See the map of trails and meeting site locations for interpretive programs.