The cottage is a member of The Gordon Beach HomeOwners Assn offering private beach access with a soft Westerly breeze and rising lake water temperatures. Only a 75 minute drive from Chicago and a 90 minute drive from Naperville. This beach front cottage offers the beautiful sunsets of the summer and the clean sandy beaches of Eastern Shore of Lake Michigan. Our 3 bedroom 900 square foot cottage has been the owners weekend retreat until 2008, then they converted the cottage to a rental. Situated on 5/8 of an acre this heavily shaded property offers open space of lawn to play baseball or croquet, or to just sit on the front deck, drink a cold lemonade and enjoy the warm lakefront breeze. The stairs to the beach are fifty feet away where you can situate yourself on the expansive private beach area (patrolled on weekends to keep strangers off) or sit on the public community beach. The private beach is an association beach shared by Gordon Beach families. We have been using this site successfully for 13 years. When comparing properties in this site, check the property address on Google Earth (not Maps) to ensure that the owners description matches the proximity to the Beach or lake front. Most do not match up. Our kitchen was recently updated along with new living room furniture. The second floor has a built in Queen size bed and custom bunk beds with a master suite bathroom and shower. Our beach chairs and umbrellas are always new. We welcome the privilege of hosting your family or group.
Property manager
Summer McCall
Languages
English
Add dates for prices
Amenities
Kitchen
Washing machine
Dryer
Pet-friendly
Air conditioning
Outdoor space
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Pets allowed: dogs less than 23 kg per pet (limit 2 pets total)
Dogs only.
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Smoking
Smoking is not permitted
Check-out instructions
The host requires you to complete the following before checking out:
Load and start the dishwasher
Remove leftover food and drinks and take out the rubbish
No we’d to strip th beds.
Failure to complete these may result in a negative review from the host.
Important information
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a deadlock
We should mention
A car is required for transport to and from this property
About the area
Union Pier
Located in Union Pier, this cottage is on the beach. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Lake Michigan and Warren Dunes State Park. Round Barn Union Pier Tasting Room and Local are also worth visiting. Fishing and swimming offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with cycling and hunting nearby.
Union Pier, MI
What's nearby
Union Pier Beach - 2 min walk - 0.2 km
Townline Beach - 2 min walk - 0.2 km
Gordon Beach - 16 min walk - 1.4 km
St. Julian Winery - Union Pier Tasting Room - 5 min drive - 2.9 km
Four Winds Casino New Buffalo - 8 min drive - 8.1 km
Getting around
New Buffalo Station - 7 min drive
South Bend, IN (SBN-South Bend Intl.) - 46 min drive
Restaurants
The Buffet at Four Winds Casino - 13 min drive
McDonald's - 8 min drive
Four Winds Sports Bar - 13 min drive
Timbers at Four Winds Casino - 15 min drive
The Stray Dog Bar & Grill - 8 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is Private Beach Steps to the Beach. pet-friendly?
Yes, this property allows dogs (limit 2 total) with a maximum weight of up to 23 kg per pet.
What time is check-in at Private Beach Steps to the Beach.?
Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.
What time is check-out at Private Beach Steps to the Beach.?
Checkout is at 10:00 AM.
Where is Private Beach Steps to the Beach. located?
Nestled on the beach, this Union Pier cottage is just steps away from Townline Beach and Lake Michigan. Union Pier Beach and Wilkinson Village Heritage Museum are also within 15 minutes.
Reviews
10
Exceptional
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Cute, clean cottage steps from an immaculate beach. Family of six, three day trip, all went smooth. Owner very nice and attentive. Fun little town, hope to be back again.
Our stay was wonderful - we had two families of 4 with kids ages 1-4 years old. Our favorite amenity was the heated outdoor shower that we used daily to rinse the sand off the kids and all their gear before entering the house. The private beach access and proximity to new Buffalo restaurants was our reason for booking and we will most likely be back next year.
Perfectly clean and kept cottage just steps from the beach. Easy drive to food and restaurants. Would definitely stay again. Owner very easy to work with.
This little cottage was perfect for weekend getaway and the location is amazing!!! We enjoyed the beautiful Lake MI private beach steps away and the beach chairs they had for us were perfect...we’ll be back!
The cottage is perfectly located with easy access to the beach. The home is well equipped with everything you'd need including beach towels, beach chairs & umbrellas, sand toys, bathroom amenities, WiFi, etc. The host, John, was quick to answer any questions or concerns and made the check-in/check-out process seamless.
Thank you for a great stay!
Property is just as manager stated and as shown in pictures. We had family of 6 with plenty of room. Perfect if you want to enjoy a beach vacation, location is excellent. Very thoughtful manager who thinks of everything and makes process easy! We had a wonderful time!
This house is a perfect location steps away from the beautiful beach. The house was clean & comfortable & the hosts are very friendly & great communicators. Check in was a breeze. My kids loved the sweet little loft bunk beds. The town is simply charming. We enjoyed a peaceful weekend and would definitely recommend!!
John is an amazing and very accommodating host!! The house exceeded our expectations in every way. The location is ideal and the house, while compact, is very very functional and extremely well provisioned!!! Tons of towels, comfy beds, a shed full of beach essentials…..and a huge yard was the added bonus! Wonderful getaway… with we could have stayed longer.
I had a wonderful time staying at this property for a weekend get away. The property is steps away from a private beach! John the owner was extremely kind and helpful with the check in process. The home was very clean and cozy. Would definitely recommend!
For starters, John is a wonderful and super attentive host! His place was an amazing location to the beach and to downtown Union Pier. The house is darling with a huge yard! Would definitely recommend!
Home was not opened for the season. Bathrooms and bedrooms were cleaned. Floors were dirty. Furniture slip covers were stained and visably dirty. Living room rug is filthy. Outside decks and furniture were filthy and covered with branches and leaves. Both screen doors were missing spring closure mechanism. Air conditoning was not ready to go. A fuse at the unit had not been turned on. The outdoor grill would not light. I was told by the owner on the Tuesday prior to arrival that house was prepped and ready and the decks were to be power washed Fri am. Not the case. Deck stairs covered in vines in back.
In short, this property is amazing! When there is consensus among 3 adults and 4 kids (ages 9-17) "we want to come back here again!" that's all you need. Communication with the owner from the moment of reservation to the moment of departure was A+. When a beach umbrella went down, we had a new one within 30 minutes. Looking out the kitchen window at the lake while fixing meals is great. The lot is large, filled with stately trees, and the front and back porches are great to hang out between beach adventures. The location is perfect-stroll down the front sidewalk, walk about 40 paces, and head down the stairs to some scenic, accessible, family friendly shoreline. Immediate access to the private beach ensures you have plenty of room to spread out, not be in crowd, and have some privacy. The proximity is great so folks can run up and down to the house, use the restroom, grab a snack, and return for the next round of fun. There are beach umbrellas and chairs along with plenty of beach towels. The house is fully equipped, updated, and very cozy. It also has a real ambience to it-the thousands of laughs, stories of the day, and shared experience permeate the place if you just sit back and let it soak in. There is a wide variety of very nice shopping, dining, and sightseeing (e.g., Warren Dunes) opportunities within 15-30 minutes. The highlights among them are well cataloged in the info manual that comes with the house. The only question: when will we return?
My husband, our 3 children (9,6,4) and our English bulldog stayed at this cottage and absolutely loved our stay. Views of the Lake, and just a few steps towards the stairs and down to the Lake with a private beach. Just don’t forget the flag! The yard was very spacious where we played catch and kickball. A short walk to the bakery was very pleasant. The cottage it self was clean, comfy beds, clean showers, plenty of towels (both shower and beach towels). My kiddos loved the upstairs bunk beds! It was like their own little hideaway. I enjoyed having the washer and dryer as well. The beach was very clean and very convenient to walk up and use restroom or grab some lunch from the cottage. There was a fire pit where we enjoyed smoking some sausage and roasting marshmallows. We are definitely going back here!
Our family loved our stay in Union Pier. The house was clean and perfect for our family (2 teenagers). Very short walk to private beach (amazing sunsets). We'll be back!
Spent our 2nd summer at this adorable Beach Cottage. LOVE the house, location to the beach, and the property manager is easily reached with any questions. Definitely one of our favorite weeks of the summer!
Sheridan A.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2022
About the host
Hosted by Summer McCall
We currently live ,in Chicago and Union Pier is a great short trip to escape all of the weekend festivals, and leave the hustle and the bustle behind. We spend all day at the beach building sand castles and sand sculptures and getting knocked down in the water by the strong waves when the wind is blowing.
Why they chose this property
Location, location, location. This was the closest that I could get to the beach with out purchasing a lakefront property. Now lakefront properties are nearly unattainable and the rental rates on most are $3000 per night but much larger than our modest, comfortable cottage. We couldn't be happier listening to the waves from the Lake all night with the windows open and able to walk out to the beach every morning. When the heat and humidity rise, we crank out the central air conditioning, newly installed in 2019.
What makes this property unique
I had no idea how important access to a deeded private beach would be as I purchased the cottage in the middle of January. If you want to have a piece of privacy then this is your rental. We are strategically located at the public beach access with access to our private beach. There are many rentals in the Union Pier area but most advertise steps to the beach is one long half mile steps. You can leave all of your beach chairs and umbrellas and stuff at the beach, and come upstairs to have a lunch or take a quick nap. There is no need to move all of your beach chairs until either sunset or after you enjoy your beach side campfire and show your children how to make s'mores.