Things to Do in St. Joseph, Michigan

This wide Lake Michigan beach sits at the river mouth, on the site of the old amusement park. It has 2,450 feet of shoreline, about 1,600 feet of it set aside for summer swimming, plus lifeguards, a concession stand, volleyball courts, kayak and paddleboard rentals and access to the South Pier. It’s open dawn to dusk all year.

★ Good to know Walking in is free; parking is paid from May through September and fills early, and the state Recreation Passport doesn’t apply here.

The original Silver Beach carousel ran from 1910 until the park closed and was later sold to Washington state. Locals then built a new one, hand-carved in Ohio, which started turning on January 2, 2010. It has horses, menagerie figures, a wheelchair-accessible sea serpent chariot and 18 rounding boards made from colorized local photos.

★ Good to know Two original 1910-era horses carved by Charles Carmel are on display in the small amusement park museum inside the carousel house.

Two lights, built in 1907, stand on the North Pier, joined by an elevated catwalk that let keepers reach them in heavy seas. The city bought them from the federal government in 2013 and restored them to their early-1930s look. Both lights and the catwalk are on the National Register.

★ Good to know Reach the pier through Tiscornia Beach; the Inner Light usually opens for Saturday tours in summer, weather permitting.

This free interactive fountain sits below the bluff next to the carousel, in Whirlpool Centennial Park. It runs from May through September and is the easy fallback when Lake Michigan is too rough for swimming.

★ Good to know It shuts down for storms and high wind, and it’s closed from October through April.

Krasl collects contemporary sculpture and sets much of it outdoors, so you can see work by Dale Chihuly, Richard Hunt and George Rickey around town at any hour. The center on Lake Boulevard has rotating gallery shows and year-round classes.

★ Good to know Its Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff fills Lake Bluff Park on the second weekend of July.

St. Joseph has two hands-on children’s museums. The Curious Kids’ Museum is on Lake Boulevard, and the Discovery Zone shares the Silver Beach Center at 333 Broad Street with the carousel.

★ Good to know Reserve tickets online before you go, and pair the Discovery Zone with a carousel ride next door.

Downtown St. Joseph sits on a bluff above the beach, with Lake Bluff Park and its band shell along the edge. From up here you look down on Silver Beach, the river mouth and the piers. Downtown’s shops and restaurants line State Street nearby.

★ Good to know Stop at the St. Joe Today Welcome Center at 301 State Street for maps and event info.

This downtown brewery on Pleasant Street, behind the post office, pours its own beers with a full food menu. Its signature trick is a smoked brown ale, infused with hickory smoke at your table.

★ Good to know It takes a waitlist by phone or online, which helps on busy beach weekends.