On the Lake Michigan Shore, Fall Is When the Fences Go Up

At Laketown Beach, orange fencing runs along the dune between the parking lot and the water. The old wooden stairs were 32 years old when crews took them out in spring 2025. The new aluminum ones are supposed to go in this fall. The township wanted them done by Memorial Day 2026. The contractor moved installation to after Labor Day instead, said the work would take about three weeks, and set completion for Nov. 25.

Laketown isn't the only place on this stretch where that happened. From Ferrysburg south to Casco Township, the work on beach stairs, boardwalks and piers keeps landing after Labor Day. The summer fees stop, and the construction starts. This guide follows the shore north to south, with the dates as published as of Oct. 9, 2026.

The fee calendar ended weeks ago

The paid season is short at almost every public access on this coast, and most of it closed by mid-September.

South Haven's change this year matters more than it looks. In May 2026 the city switched beach parking from $10 a day to $3 an hour and raised the weekly pass from $30 to $50. The extra revenue pays for lifeguards on South Beach, the first in about 20 years. Under hourly pricing, a long beach afternoon in July cost more than it did in 2025. Since Sept. 15, it costs nothing again.

Getting to the beach free is the easy part this fall. Getting down to the water is harder, and that depends on who is building what.

Grand Haven: one pier closed until 2028, one boardwalk nearly done

The biggest project on the coast is at the mouth of the Grand River. Grand Haven's North Pier, which you reach from North Shore Drive in Ferrysburg, closed to pedestrians on May 8, 2026. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a new wave attenuator there, at an estimated cost of about $12.4 million. Crews are replacing 425 feet of steel sheet pile and concrete with a stone rubble mound. The goal is to cut down wave action and make the channel safer for smaller boats.

The work schedule shows why fall is the busy season. The Corps works from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting, from about March to November. It stops for major holiday weekends and the Coast Guard Festival. Fish spawning rules normally limit work from March through June, although the Corps got a waiver for 2026. Take out the summer pauses and the spring restrictions, and the open stretch of the calendar falls between Labor Day and the November shutdown, which is now.

Sources give different end dates. WOOD TV8's May 2026 beach guide says the pier will stay closed through the summer of 2028. Visit Grand Haven's North Pier listing, updated in July 2026, says late 2028. The later estimate is the newer one, but neither is a confirmed reopening date. The Corps says the beach is still reachable from the sidewalk, and the Fisherman's Pier parking area stays open.

Across the channel, the South Pierhead got stabilization work this summer. The Corps planned to place about 300 tons of armor stone between July 9 and 13, with short pedestrian closures near the lighthouse during the work. That was a brief job in the middle of summer, and no fall closure for the South Pier has been published.

Closer to downtown, the City of Grand Haven began boardwalk repairs at Lighthouse Connector Park on Thursday, Sept. 17. The city expects to finish during the week of Oct. 12, which is next week. No completion notice has been posted yet, so check the city's news page before planning a walk there that weekend.

Ottawa County's beaches: open, with one overlook detour

Tunnel Park is open, but its signature feature is under construction. Ottawa County Parks lists the dune climb overlook stairs as under construction. Visitors can still reach the overlook by the wooded trail near the south shelter. The park stays open until the first snowfall, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., so that trail is the way up to the view for as long as the season lasts.

Kirk Park has no construction posted. Its change is on the clock. From Oct. 16 through Feb. 28, closing time moves from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the modern restrooms close for winter. On a late-October evening, the sun goes down not long before the gate closes, so 8 p.m. doesn't leave much time after sunset.

Laketown Beach: the stairs that moved from spring to fall

Laketown Beach on 142nd Avenue is the clearest example of a project sliding into fall. Laketown Township trustees approved up to $210,255 for new aluminum stairs. The installer is Holland-based Lakeshore Concepts LLC, and the stairs come from EZ Beach Steps in West Olive. They are built to be adjusted as the shape of the dune changes, which the old wooden stairs could not do. The township's own notice places the new stairs through "The Bowl."

The beach itself is open. Until the new stairs are in, there are no steps from the dunes down to the water, and fencing keeps people off the dune. No published update yet confirms that installation has started, so the Nov. 25 target is a schedule, not a finished job.

Two more decisions are due before the end of the year. The township applied for two DNR grants:

• Passport Grant: $150,000, with a $50,000 township match
• Trust Fund Grant: $371,200, with a $159,250 township match

The grants would pay for more steps from the parking lot and at the top of the dunes, a viewing platform, benches, signage, parking lot fencing and landscaping. The township expects to hear by year's end. In May the township also approved buying 0.70 acres north of the parking lot, which brings the park to about 9.5 acres. The purchase price was $220,000. A state grant covers most of it, leaving the township about $55,000. Officials have not decided how the new land will be used.

Farther south, the next round is already scheduled for fall

The pattern continues past this year's calendar. At Casco Township Nature Preserve, 770 Blue Star Highway in South Haven, the beach stairs were destroyed in 2020 and access has not come back since. The township's "Back to the Beach" project would restore it in phases. The first phase includes a viewing platform and temporary beach stairs. Construction depends on larger state grants. If those come through, work is expected to start in late summer 2027. Lakeshore Women Who Care Allegan County has already contributed to the project.

On the Kalamazoo River, Saugatuck Township is working to acquire Riverside Park, a proposed 119-acre public park and nature preserve. As of August 2026, the Michigan Legislature had approved and appropriated a $2.5 million Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant toward the purchase. The Land Conservancy of West Michigan's September page says the land is still private and closed to the public. After acquisition, the township's first access plan is modest: parking, signage, maps and a short interpretive trail.

A fall shoreline route that works with the schedules

If you plan a free October or early November beach walk around the work, the published dates point to something like this:

1. Grand Haven, after the week of Oct. 12: Try the Lighthouse Connector Park boardwalk once the city confirms the repairs are done. Plan on the beach and the Fisherman's Pier lot, not the North Pier.
2. Kirk Park, before 8 p.m.: The shorter hours start Oct. 16, and the restrooms close for winter.
3. Tunnel Park, by the wooded trail: Take the trail near the south shelter to the overlook while the stairs are under construction, any time before the first snowfall.
4. Laketown Beach, with a later visit in mind: The beach is open now. Steps down to the water are scheduled by Nov. 25.
5. Oval Beach and South Haven, fee-free: Oval Beach Park is listed as open year-round, and South Haven's parking enforcement ended Sept. 15.

The next dates to watch are the Grand Haven boardwalk completion next week, Laketown's stair deadline of Nov. 25, and the Laketown grant decisions due by the end of December.

Knowing which stairs, boardwalks and piers are open, and when, is part of what Andrea Crossman Group tracks along this shoreline all year, from the Grand River to the Kalamazoo and down to South Haven. If you'd like to talk about how the shoreline works season by season, or about the stretch of beach outside your door, we're glad to help you Discover Lakeshore Living.