[Southsider2k12]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/col...0,4999406.story

By ERIN BLASKO South Bend Tribune

7:27 p.m. EDT, July 29, 2012
MICHIGAN CITY - Park at the end of California Avenue, among the homes and cottages nestled against the backside of the low dune. See the trail? Take it. Ascend to the top, past the windblown trees and swaying beach grass. Pause. Listen to wave after wave crash and die on the shore. Take in the panoramic view. Observe the stoic light, alone in the distance to the west. And to the east, the windswept beach stretching to the horizon.

Satisfied? OK, descend now. Enjoy the soft, hot sand. Observe the young boy flying his kite. The man in the floppy hat, metal detector in hand, sweeping the flat expanse in search of some precious object. The tents and umbrellas. The afternoon homesteaders bathing in the shallows. The tired beach chairs turned toward the sun.

Now look for a spot by the water. Not too close, though. The lake is restless here. It stretches and yawns. It extends its cool hand up the beach. It floods castle moats and encircles young children and unsuspecting mothers. OK, spread a blanket out on the sand. Apply some sunscreen. Feel the warm sun. Listen to the gulls. Relax.

Welcome to Sheridan Beach, a quiet patch of sand stretching about four miles east along Lake Michigan's southern shoreline, from Michigan City, through Long Beach to the Indiana-Michigan state line, past modest summer rentals and enormous, modern lakefront homes, low dunes and modest bluffs, and miles of pristine shoreline.

Unlike contiguous Washington Park Beach to the west, which includes a concession stand, a boat launch, a zoo, a massive marina, and vast amounts of parking, Sheridan Beach is basically undeveloped. Aside from a few trash barrels, the broad expanse of sandy shoreline exists in its natural state, spectacularly undisturbed.

(Washington Park is just a short walk up the beach, for anyone interested).

Access to Sheridan Beach is available via a number of public access trails, or "stops," along picturesque Lakeshore Drive, a two-lane road that winds its way through Washington Park and then shoots straight west parallel to the shoreline, opening up here and there to reveal great, yawning expanses of water.

Each stop provides access to a boardwalk or sandy pathway leading up and over a small dune to the beach. Parking is tight, especially later in the day. There are no lots. Beachgoers must contend with renters and homeowners for the limited number of on-street spots along Lakeshore Drive and the many narrow, one-way streets leading away from the drive and down toward the beach.

Husband and wife Angela and Dan Reeves of New Albany, Ind., and the couple's two young children visited the beach on a recent weekday. The family, on vacation for the week, brought along a couple of beach chairs and a large umbrella for shade.

The couple chose Michigan City over Florida, Angela said. Partly to support the local economy, but also because of how beautiful the beaches are.

"Compared to Florida it's less expensive and less crowded, and the beaches are just as beautiful as the Gulf Coast," Angela said.

"And the water's not as salty; it's fresh water," her husband added.


Respect the beach

Sheridan Beach begins in Michigan City. From there, it stretches east into Long Beach, a small, mostly residential community set along the lakeshore. The Michigan City Parks Dept. maintains the beach up to Stop 14, or Blanchard Court; the town of Long Beach maintains it between there and stop 36, or the state line.

Visitors to the beach in Michigan City, and also to Washington Park, must abide by certain rules, including, but not limited to:

No alcohol within 50 feet of roadways and parking areas (alcohol is permitted on the beach);

No glass containers;

No pets on the beach; and

No fires (portable gas grills are OK).