Menonaqua Beach, Petoskey State Park, Petoskey, Michigan

Petoskey State Park, home of Menonaqua Beach and its spectacular sunset, is located at the “tip of the mitt” of the western side of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Michigan is colloquially known as the “mitt catches the bunny” due to the shapes of the Lower and Upper peninsulas. The address of this state park is 2475 M-119 in Petoskey.

The beach house for Petoskey State Park provides ample amenities for the sun-seekers at its famous Menonaqua Beach. A Tuesday morning on July 1st, 2025, will not see many beachgoers, but on the Fourth of July holiday, the park’s staff building up the road will begin turning cars away at noon.

While Menonaqua Beach was empty during the morning, the noon hour saw more cars in the parking lots and more people enjoying the beach. Petoskey State Park is open for day use from 8 am until 10 pm, with registered users able to stay late. The volleyball court was busy from noon until the dinner hour.

The beach house has just about anything a beachgoer needs for a long summer day on Menonaqua Beach. Adventure-seekers can rent kayaks and paddleboards and select life jackets in various sizes. Two hotdogs and nacho chips with cheese sauce are $12.00, plus 6 percent tax of $0.72, for a total of $12.72.

While this beach has many amenities and features, there are no lifeguards here. The only guidance provided relates to swimming conditions; which today is given a green flag, indicating calm conditions and the exercise of caution. A rip current can develop at any time in addition to choppy water.

The white caps at Menonaqua will increase throughout the day. The water temperature is brisk but will grow warmer throughout the week into the holiday weekend beginning on Friday. The swimming area, marked by buoys, faces west into Little Traverse Bay. Harbor Springs is to the north and Petoskey is to the south.

The Petoskey State Park has 303 acres or 123 hectares in Bear Creek Township in Emmet County. This was a leather tannery, but the city of Petoskey purchased the beach part of it in 1934. The tannery was torn down in 1961, and Michigan redeveloped the area as a state park for the 1970 season, taking over from the city.

What sand dollars are to Fort Myers Beach, Petoskey stones are to Menonaqua Beach. These fossilized corals come from rocks that glaciers peeled off from their colonies millennia ago. Some days are better for finding them than others; the rough stones often don’t reveal their sought-after rugosa shapes until polished.

Besides Petoskey stones, other fun finds at Menonaqua Beach include pudding stones, granite stones, quartzite, and the Charlevoix stone. The Charley stone is similar to the Petoskey Stone, but smaller with smaller hexagonal formations. About 25 lbs (11.34 kg) in beach stones can be gathered per person per year.

At 3:30 pm, the air temperature at Menonaqua Beach has reached its daily high of 72 degrees F (22.22 C). The beach is warmer when the sun is out. The choppy waves and the gusty winds prompt most beach-goers to bundle up. Although the sand is nothing but footprints at this point, it looks groomed in the mornings.

This image was taken just south of the swimming beach at Menonaqua, past the boardwalk leading up to the beach house, at the dog-friendly portion of the beach. The water is full of sparkling diamonds at 4:30 pm but the sun-seekers are heading out. However, sunset-seekers are coming to enjoy the end of the day.

North of the swimming beach at Menonaqua is a nice view of Harbor Point in Harbor Springs. There is no known translation available for the word Menonaqua; only that this beach was named for the long-closed Menonaqua Inn on Beach Road off of M-119. But what is known is that the sunset here will be spectacular.

The day is ending where it began, just behind the beach house as beach-goers are getting out of the water for the last time this evening. The concession stand closed an hour ago. The time is 8 pm, with barely a cloud in the sky and crystal-clear visibility for miles. Sunset-seekers are arriving in droves with chairs and blankets.

At 9 pm, the sun has a half-hour left to show the day’s last beach-goers its oranges, pinks, and reds. Some beach-goers are recording and laughing with joy while others are just sitting back and taking it all in. The waves are calmer now and the winds have died down. A few gulls are still flying overhead.

The paddleboards and kayaks are put up for the night, as the day draws to a close. People are walking up and down the beach as the sun hangs for a moment over Harbor Point. As the editor of this page since July 2008, it has been absolutely joyful work to bring these images to Great Lakes beach-goers.

This is the last image for The Lake Effect; this is the sunset of this blog. There is quite a difference in beach-going when the purpose is documenting instead of leisure. After 17 great summers, it’s time to put the camera away and just enjoy the wonderful blue waters and white sands of the many Great Lakes beaches I have yet to visit.