Holland State Park sits in Park Township, about four miles west of Holland on the north side of the channel that links Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan. The 140 acres split into two separate units, and both have buoyed swim areas. The Lake Michigan unit is the one most people mean: roughly a quarter mile of pale, fine sand, a beach house with restrooms, changing courts and the Beachplace concession, an accessible playground, and an accessible walkway out onto the sand with two beach wheelchairs available to borrow. The Lake Macatawa unit, across the road by the campground, has a smaller beach, a sand volleyball court, a designated dog beach and a county boardwalk for fishing.

The water on the Lake Michigan side is clear, cold and shallow a long way out. The bottom is sand with a series of offshore bars, so you can wade a good distance before it drops. Swim buoys mark water under five feet deep, and DNR staff reset them roughly every two weeks as the bars shift. They are typically in place from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and once they come out the stretch is no longer a designated swim area. Lake Macatawa warms weeks earlier and stays calm when Lake Michigan is rough, which is the reason to know both units exist.

Currents are the real hazard here. The channel pier sits at the south end of the Lake Michigan beach, and the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids writes a surf zone forecast for Ottawa County that names this beach specifically. Even its Low swim risk rating carries the warning that dangerous currents may exist at any time near piers, breakwalls and river outlets. Michigan state parks have no lifeguards. The beach flies green, yellow and red flags, and under double red flags entering the water from the beach is against state law, with a narrow exception for wind-powered and self-propelled board riders. A public camera, MiHollandCAM, has streamed live conditions from the park since 2020 so visitors can check the water before they drive out.

Entry runs on Michigan's Recreation Passport rather than a gate fee. Michigan-plated vehicles pay $15 a year, or $29 for two years, bought at license plate renewal, with a $5 convenience fee if you buy it anywhere else. Out-of-state plates pay $42 annually or $12 for a single day. There is no daily rate for a Michigan-registered car. Alcohol is prohibited throughout the park at all times.

Expect company. The DNR counted roughly 2.4 million day visits in 2019, and summer weekends fill the lots by late morning. Two campgrounds hold 309 sites between them, 98 of those paved and just over the dune from the water, plus two camper cabins looking down the channel. Big Red, the Holland Harbor Light, stands on the far side of that channel and outside park land, which is why the classic photograph of it gets taken from this beach rather than from beside it.