South Haven may be our second favorite beach town in Michigan to enjoy in the summer. The Black River flows through South Haven and out into Lake Michigan. Most of the restaurants and bars are on the south side of the river and so is the main beach. The municipal marina is also on the Southside within walking distance of downtown. There is a nice pathway from downtown all the way out to the beach as well so you can walk along the river watching to boats go in and out.
The beach is the big draw to this area in the summer so that is where you will likely be spending the majority of your time. While you are at the beach or at sunset would be a great time to walk along the pier and take in the views of the lake. If you want to do some fishing there are charter boats that leave from the municipal marina. There is also a sunset cruise boat that does tours. That boat also leaves from the municipal marina area.
Another boating option is to see the tall ships (replicas of older ships) in the area. They are anchored at the Michigan Maritime Museum when they are not out on the water. We have not been to the museum or on the tall ships ourselves. They do offer tours so you can go out onto the lake on these ships. We have seen them out on the water, they are cool to see and watch as they sail along. You can visit their website for more information on specific events and tours http://www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org/
There are several good food/drink options in town to enjoy. Here are a few of our recommendations:
Bunde’s Bakery- This place is on the north side of the river so it is a bit further away. It is still within walking distance if you are staying near downtown on the Southside of the river, just be prepared for a bit longer of a walk. You will walk through a park on the Northside and some residential streets with beautiful old houses. You can sit and enjoy coffee and baked goods there or get something to go. We were told the scones were very good so that is what we ordered and they were definitely worth the walk! They are more like a cookie than a true breakfast scone.
Clementine’s– Like most of the restaurants right downtown South of the river be prepared for a bit of a wait if you are looking for dinner on Friday or Saturday night. The restaurant is very large so wait times were not as long for us as some of the other restaurants. This place has a good variety of food on the menu. We had Salmon and Walleye and both dishes good but a bit overpriced in our opinion. You should definitely get the onion rings though!
Phoenix Street Café- We ate here for brunch on a Sunday morning. We really enjoyed the eggs benedict. They had a good variety of items on the menu.
Taste- This is a popular tapas restaurant right downtown. Do be prepared to wait if you haven’t called ahead for a reservation. They have a variety of small plates or tapas as well as larger more traditional dinner-sized portions if that is what you are looking for. They also have soups, salads, and sandwiches. The beef sandwich came highly recommended to us by some friends and we agree it is a must-try while you are there!
South Haven Brewpub- We stumbled upon this place while wandering around downtown on a Saturday afternoon. They have outdoor seating as well as indoor seating and they are fairly close to the waterfront. They have your standard pub food and several beer options. The food wasn’t the best we had in South Haven but if you are looking to try some different beers it is worth a stop to sit outside and enjoy a drink.
Wine Tasting
Several of the wineries from the Lake Michigan Shore wine trail have small shops/outposts in downtown South Haven. If you are up for some wine tasting you can walk downtown to 12 corners tasting room, Warner winery tasting room, or the Channel wine bar. This is also a nice option if there is a long wait for whatever restaurant you are going to for dinner. If you want to head out of town for even more wine tasting you can find the whole list of wineries on the Lake Michigan Shore wine trail here https://www.miwinetrail.com/winery-map/
There are also a lot of bars and restaurants right on the waterfront in South Haven that offer great views of the river. So even if you aren’t a boater you can still be right on the water. South Haven has something for everyone! We are looking forward to more summer adventures here and finding more great things to do!
Let us know your favorite summer beach towns, leave us a comment below!