The Union Pier Listing Says "Beach Access." Here's What That Actually Buys You.
September 17, 2026
September 17, 2026
Walk the boundary between a public beach and a private one in Chikaming Township this year and you will likely find a stake in the sand. Since December 2025, the township has been planting small signs at these boundary lines that, as Harbor Country News reported, read plainly: "public beach access ends here, private beyond this sign, only shoreline walking is permitted." Parks Director Joe Martin brought one to a township board meeting that month to show officials what residents and visitors are now seeing on the ground.
That sign exists because "beach access" had started to mean too many different things to too many different people, and a listing description in Union Pier can use the phrase to describe at least three legally distinct arrangements. If you're comparing cottages here, the difference between them matters more than square footage.
A house near the water in Union Pier might be near a township beach, a beach associated with a private group, or a shoreline where public walking is allowed. All three get called "beach access" in casual conversation, but the details of what access a particular property includes need to be checked.
The confusion happens because all three can put you on the same stretch of sand. The distinction is in what each arrangement lets you rely on.
Chikaming Township maintains seven beaches, including resident-permit beaches: Townline Beach, McKinley Beach, Miller Beach, Berrien Beach, Pier Beach, Harbert Beach, and Cherry Beach, the largest of the group and the only one with meaningful parking. Most of the others are narrow road ends with little to no parking, walked or biked to by the people who live nearby. At the December 2025 meeting, Martin gave the board exact measurements for three of them: Townline Beach at 110 feet across, McKinley Beach at 60 feet, and Pier Street at 66 feet.
A township beach permit does not come with your closing documents. Access to township permit beaches runs through a resident permit, and the township's own site currently states that no additional applications are being accepted for the present cycle, that no waitlist has been established, and that the number of available permits for the next cycle won't be announced until after the renewal period closes on February 1, 2027. If you're buying a house near one of these permit beaches today, in September 2026, you are not buying a beach right. You are buying proximity to a beach whose access is rationed by the township on a schedule that has nothing to do with your closing date.
That's not a criticism of the system. Cherry Beach alone was deeded to the township by the Warren family back in 1922 and remains open to the public. The permit system is how the township keeps a limited resource fairly distributed among residents. But a buyer who assumes "walking distance to Townline Beach" is functionally the same as "beach rights included" is working from the wrong mental model.
The other version of "beach access" in Union Pier listings points to private associations with names like Gowdy Shores, Gordon's Beach, Timberlane, and Luna Gowdy Beach. If a listing mentions one, check the property's documents to see what access, if any, is included.
Before you're deep into a purchase agreement, ask for any association documents and use title work to check what access, if any, the specific property includes, along with practical details such as beach and shared-pier maintenance, guest use, and disputes between member cottages.
The distinction matters because two houses a block apart in Union Pier can both be marketed as having "beach access" while offering different arrangements. Confirm what access, if any, comes with the specific property before you rely on the listing language.
There's a third category that applies no matter what the deed says or whether you hold a permit: the public's right to walk the Lake Michigan shoreline below the ordinary high water mark. Michigan's public trust doctrine on the Great Lakes allows this kind of passage even along private and association beaches, which is exactly why the township's new stake signs draw such a careful distinction. The stake marks the boundary described in the sign between the private beach area and shoreline walking. The wet sand below it is open to foot traffic regardless.
This is worth understanding before you buy, not after, because it shapes what privacy actually looks like on a private Union Pier beach. A recorded deed to Gowdy Shores or Gordon's Beach doesn't mean nobody else will ever walk past your beach chair. The shoreline itself stays open the way it does everywhere else on the Great Lakes.
Union Pier's short-term rental picture was actively in motion as of late 2025. Chikaming Township formed a short-term rental review committee in December 2025 after two public discussion meetings that drew heavy turnout, and the board extended a moratorium on new short-term rental licenses into February 2026 while that committee worked through recommendations. Township Supervisor David Bunte described the goal as finding a middle ground between rental owners and full-time residents, not a permanent restriction.
If part of your Union Pier plan involves renting the cottage out, the beach access question and the rental licensing question deserve separate verification before you write an offer. A permit beach is issued to township residents on an annual basis, which raises real questions about whether a rental guest inherits any beach right at all versus simply walking distance to a public shore. Given how recently the township revisited its rental rules, the safest move is to confirm current licensing status and any beach-related conditions directly with Chikaming Township rather than relying on how a listing was marketed even a few months ago.
A few questions worth resolving before you're under contract:
None of these questions are unusual to ask in Harbor Country. They're just easy to skip when a listing photo shows a sunset over open water and the caption says "steps to the beach."
Does living near a township beach mean I'll automatically get a permit? No. Permits are issued to township residents on a cycle set by Chikaming Township, and the current cycle shows no waitlist and no guarantee of availability until after the renewal period closes in February 2027.
Can I still walk the shoreline in front of a private association beach? Below the ordinary high water mark, yes. The public trust doctrine on the Great Lakes allows shoreline walking even along private and association beaches, which is exactly what the township's new boundary signs are marking.
If a listing says a house has deeded beach rights, how can I check what's included? Review the title work and, where the beach is managed by an association, its governing documents before closing.
Union Pier rewards buyers who read past the listing description. If you're comparing cottages here and want a second set of eyes on what a specific property's access actually includes, Brian Waite has spent a decade working Southwest Michigan's lakeshore market and can help you sort out what's in the deed from what's just a nice walk to the water. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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