Top Things to do in Berrien County
Top Hotels in Berrien County
- 1. Best Western Benton Harbor-St. Joseph
- 2. The Inn at Harbor Shores Resort
- 3. Four Winds Casino Resort
- 4. SpringHill Suites by Marriott St. Joseph Benton Harbor
- 5. Boulevard Inn
- 6. Tru by Hilton Saint Joseph
- 7. Holiday Inn Express & Suites St. Joseph
- 8. Fairfield Inn & Suites New Buffalo
- 9. Baymont by Wyndham New Buffalo
- 10. Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph
Countries
Things to do in Berrien County, Berrien County: The Best Nature & Parks
Discover the best top things to do in Berrien County, United States including Whirlpool Compass Fountain, Love Creek Nature Center and County Park, Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve, Mud Lake Bog Nature Preserve, Madeline Bertrand County Park, Silver Beach County Park, Weko Beach Park, Oselka Marina, Warren Dunes State Park, Sarett Nature Center.
Restaurants in Berrien County
1. Whirlpool Compass Fountain
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 198 reviews
Reviewed By MzMBB - Chicago, United States
This is a great place for the family, it caters to the adults and children, so much to do here and the whirlpool Compass Fountain is hours of fun especially on a hot summer day! Endless fun then grab pizza or ice cream.
2. Love Creek Nature Center and County Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By susansR8341FV - Philadelphia, United States
We saw the autumn colors first hand while hiking on their winding trails. In the past we went there for cross country try skiing, so it was fun to see the trails without the snow. Nice park building but we stayed outside due to pandemic.
3. Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 107 reviews
A living museum of delicate ecosystems.
Reviewed By marjieP
There is so much to see and do SAFELY at Fernwood Botanical Gardens! If you're not a member, buy a membership. It's inexpensive for so much PLUS you have reciprocity in many gardens throughout the states. There a Frog Pond. There's a hiking path, formal gardens, a prairie, herb gardens, statuary and sculpture throughout the acreage, water wheel, creeks, nature center, and an education center. The education center has a window wall through which you can view birds feeding, flying, squirrels, etc. PLUS a library, seating area for reading, and a huge meeting room. Fernwood is also an excellent place for weddings, large gatherings with social distancing and masks during COVID times. On Saturdays, 8-10 AM members can walk their dogs, sit at a fire pit. OMG I forgot: There's a RailRoad Garden with trestles, waterfalls, creeks, replicas of local landmarks including Notre Dame , Buchanan Pears Mill, the wonderful old depot in Niles, drawbridge. $ HO gauge trains have tracks that weave in and out of 'mountains'. It's just a good Place to BE, summer and winter ( Cross Country Skiing in Winter !) another oops: the Children's Garden : a mobile huge Elephant sculpture, Giant Daffodil Sculpture, a Captain's prow with a slide, hopscotch, sand box , etc. et. I better stop.. Go see for yourself. I'd say to stay the day, but if you only want to go for an hour... do that.
4. Mud Lake Bog Nature Preserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
5. Madeline Bertrand County Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
6. Silver Beach County Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 782 reviews
Reviewed By PalmTreeSeeker4ever - Maumee, United States
We took our kids to Saint Joe’s as young kids 30 years ago. Now we are taking our grandkids to Saint Joe’s and boy, has it grown! We highly recommend this area... between Silver Beach pizza, the Compass splash pad, the wonderful beach with nice restrooms, snack stand and the carousel we couldn’t ask for any more fun. They were too old for the great playground right on the sand! The only down side is that I think the beach could be cleaner. So many cigar tips, and other debris. I think they need a beach Zamboni (like in Florida) to clean the sand... or people to quit polluting it! Hotels are very pricey near the beach. We stayed just off of 94 and it was much more reasonable. Only a 16 minute drive to the beach and they have free parking downtown if you don’t mind walking a bit or on the beach parking for $12.00/day. We liked that they had lifeguards posted also. We will go back again... ????
7. Weko Beach Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 100 reviews
Reviewed By christyjoy68 - Elkhart, United States
Such a great beach. Clean and uncrowded. I love that the restrooms are centrally located and easily accessible. One of the great benefits to this beach is that there are a few trees along the edge of the parking lot, giving lovely shade to the hot sand. A resource officer made the rounds regularly and kept things under control. All in all, a great experience.
8. Oselka Marina
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 45 reviews
Oselka Marina, located on Lake Michigan in beautiful New Buffalo, Michigan, is a full-service marina. Amenities include:*** Boat & Yamaha Waverunner Rentals ****• Seasonal and transient floating slips with swimming pool, cable TV and wireless internet • Valet Boating In/Out Service • Indoor Heated Winter Storage, Indoor Non-heated Winter Storage, and Outdoor Winter Storage with Shrink Wrap • Valvtect Gas & Diesel Sales • Certified Mercruiser Service & Parts • Ship's Store & Snug Harbor Mini Mart including Hershey's Ice Cream • New, Pre-owned and Brokerage Boat Sales on site, presented by Basa's Marine and The Mariner Network • Marina Grand Resort, on site luxury accomodations, including Bentwood Tavern, and offering luxury residences for sale
Reviewed By U4665WHsamh
My friends and I did the yacht cruise with captain Bill. The yacht was in great shape and made for a great experience, and captain Bill was exceptional. Would highly recommend anyone to do this in the future and I look forward to doing it again.
9. Warren Dunes State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 552 reviews
Reviewed By A2196MXevas
We loved the Dunes!! My teen daughter and i drove less about 1 1/2 hrs from Chicago and it was a very nice getaway. We went on a Wednesday and there were some people but not crowded. Family-friendly beach. People were considerate of COVID and wore their marks to the bathrooms. I will definitely come back and explore their campgrounds next time.
10. Sarett Nature Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 51 reviews
Reviewed By FrankD834 - South Bend, United States
A coworker had mentioned Sarett to me as a place I should check out for hiking. He has family that lives in that area and had visited many times over the years. I dragged my 16yo daughter out of the house and off we went. The center itself is closed due to the virus, but all the trails are open and the butterfly house is open with reserved time slots. We just hiked. First we headed out to the Tree Top Walkway and checked it out. It is an impressive structure that looks like a railroad trestle. After that, we headed to the low country trails as I wanted to the the River Trail. The River Trail is rugged, but not too difficult. There are a lot of boardwalk and bridges down in the swampy areas. There are parts of the trail that are completely surrounded by tall grass, which feels like you are walking through a tunnel. It is pretty amazing and makes you feel like you are in the wild, even though there is a road 100 yards from the trail. The trail open up as you get close to the Paw Paw river, but watch your step, there is a bunch of poison ivy in the area. We did do a few of the off-shoot trails from River too, like Tamarack and a few small paths to swampy areas. We had a great time and my daughter loved it, which is pretty good since she's too cool for about everything these days. She wants to go back in the fall when the leaves change. I'm all for that.
