Location: North of Empire. From M-22 going north, turn left on Lacore St. and drive about a mile to the end of the street where it turns right and becomes Valley Road. Turn left onto Bar Lake Road and drive about 2 miles to the parking lot for North Bar Lake.
Parking Lot: There is a large paved parking lot.
Restrooms: An accessible vault toilet is located at the parking lot. There is another accessible vault toilet near North Bar Lake.
Water: Drinking water is not available at this beach.
Boat Ramp: There is no boat ramp.
Beach Access: There is an accessible packed crushed stone trail from the parking lot to North Bar Lake, which is about 750 feet. From the end of this trail at North Bar Lake, the trail becomes soft and sandy and becomes steep as it goes over the fore dunes to Lake Michigan. This soft sand trail is about 600 feet long.
Click on the link to see a detailed description of the beach. This report describes obstacles you might encounter from the parking lot to the water’s edge. Cell phone coverage may be limited in the Park, so download and save. North Bar Lake detail
Points of Interest: The smaller North Bar Lake is often warm in the summer, so families with small children like to swim there and play in the shallow outlet of the lake as it flows into Lake Michigan. Depending on the wave action of Lake Michigan, there may or may not be an outlet from North Bar Lake. Sometimes it is completely blocked by sand.
