Warren Dunes State Park

About this park

Warren Dunes State Park protects roughly 1,500 to 1,950 acres along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in southwestern Michigan's Berrien County, becoming a state park in 1930 after a donation from the Warren Foundation, a philanthropic organization established by local businessman Edward K. Warren. The park's towering sand dunes, the most dramatic rising to Tower Hill at roughly 240 to 260 feet above the lake, make it one of the most striking dune landscapes anywhere along the Great Lakes shoreline. Those same steep, open dunes have made Warren Dunes one of the few Michigan state parks where hang gliding is permitted with a permit, a genuinely unusual activity among the system's parks and a reflection of just how exposed and wind-swept the dune faces are. Three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline give visitors extensive beach access, while six miles of hiking trails wind through the forested dune country inland from the water. Two campgrounds, a modern 182-site campground and a more rustic semi-modern Hilldebrandt area, give visitors a choice of camping styles, and the park's location just 90 miles from Chicago and roughly 12 miles south of St. Joseph has made it one of the most heavily visited state parks in southwest Michigan, drawing substantial day-trip traffic from the Chicago metro area throughout the summer season.