Discover St. Joseph

After a week of rain, came the weekend. Yesterday was an autumnal day, I don't care what the calendar says. It was very cool (low 60s), very windy (I had trouble standing still on the bluff), and it threatened rain all day. D and I made our way to Lake Bluff Park late morning. The Farmer's Market was open for business and the tents were all set up for the Epicurean Classic. The first thing we noticed at the Farmer's Market was the abundance of offerings. Homegrown Michigan sweet corn was available in abundance but the prices were quite high ($.50 per ear). Not only were the last of the summer fruits (raspberries, peaches, etc.) still available, but the first of the autumn fruits (apples) were too. The day lilies and gladioli of summer were replaced with the sunflowers and mums of fall. But the most obvious produce to signal autumn was the pumpkins! Yikes! I was sooo not ready to see pumpkins! But like it or not, autumn is here. We made our way around the food vendor's ...

Jean Klock Park Beach is just "a few houses" north of St. Joseph's Tiscornia Beach in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Like Tiscornia Beach, it has beautiful views of the lighthouses on St. Joseph's north pier and a beautiful sandy shoreline on Lake Michigan. There's a newly paved parking lot at Jean Klock Park but you do have to pay to park. There's also a pretty new pavilion that reminds me of the Shadowland Pavilion at Silver Beach . I understand there's a concession stand and playground equipment at Jean Klock but I didn't see those things when I was there. I did notice that the beach grass grows closer to the water at Jean Klock than it does at the other beaches. It sort of has a more natural, less commercial look to it than the other beaches in the area do. West Michigan beaches are terrific! Why does everyone from the Detroit area want to go Up North? Other beaches of interest in the St. Joseph area: Silver Beach Lion's Park Beach Tiscornia Beach

Tiscornia Beach, in the city of St. Joseph, Michigan, is the beach immediately north of Silver Beach . Like St. Joseph's Lion's Park Beach , it too is an unattended/swim-at-your-own-risk beach. You can't beat the beautiful shallow, sandy beaches of Lake Michigan here! Tiscornia Beach is owned by the city of St. Joseph and there is a fee for parking. The beach includes access to the north pier which has the city's two lighthouses and is a popular fishing spot. The beach has no playground equipment or picnic tables although there is a picnic shelter with tables off the beach near the parking lot. This beach has public restroom facilities but no concession stand. It is less popular than Silver Beach or Lion's Park Beach for beach goers, but often more popular with boaters who will frequently drop anchor in the area. You can boat-watch the many boats that come and go between he piers and up the St. Joseph River. And if you like to photograph sunsets, you can get some wo...

A few blocks south of Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan, is Lion's Park Beach. This beach is smaller than Silver Beach but still has a lot of amenities. It also has some advantages. For instance, there is a parking lot that runs perpendicular to the beach. If you're lucky enough to get one of the spots nearest the beach you'll have a much shorter walk to get into the lake than from anywhere at Silver Beach. And, there is no charge for parking at Lion's Park Beach so admittance is free :-) . Lion's Park Beach has a nice variety of playground equipment, a permanent bathroom structure, and two picnic shelters. Like Silver Beach, it too has a nice view of the lighthouses and piers. It's bordered on the north by a residential area and on the south by the water treatment facility. Across the road and behind the beach (to the east) is the John and Dede Howard Walking Trail which has an access area at Lion's Park Beach. There are no lifeguards on duty at Lion...

With months of summer behind us now, I've had a good chance to spend time at each of the four beaches in the immediate St. Joseph area as well as the south beach at South Haven. So this will be "Beach Week" here on the Discover St. Joseph blog and each day I'll share with you what I've observed about each beach. If you're a beach lover like I am, you're in for a treat! Without a doubt the most popular beach in the St. Joseph area is Silver Beach. It's the one you see from Lake Bluff Park in downtown St. Joe. Silver Beach, which used to be the home of the Silver Beach Amusement Park, is owned and managed by Berrien County. There is a nominal fee for daily parking or an annual pass can be purchased. There are concessions available at S.O.S. (Schu's On Silver Beach) consisting of soft drinks, fries, burgers, hot dogs, brats, cookies, etc. In addition to the concession stand, Silver Beach has a beautiful and well maintained sandy beach. Lake Michigan c...