But you can get your dose of sun and sand on less-than-lavish budgets, too. Just a quarter mile from the beach, the Snooty Fox (13416 Red Arrow Hwy, Harbert, 800-382-0836, www.snootyfox.com; $95/night or $475/week) has rustic one-room log cabins that sleep up to four in two queen-size bunk beds. Bathrooms are private but not attached to the cabins, and a main lodge has a kitchen, library and sauna. If you prefer midnight trips to the john sans flashlight, the Firefly Resort (15657 Lakeshore Rd, Union Pier, 269-469-0245, www.fireflyresort.com; from $100/night) comprises 18 one- and two-bedroom cottages, painted in summery colors with outdoor grills and pretty flower gardens.

If you’d rather play house (think a week-long sleepover with a group, complete with dinner parties), Executive Group Realty (9 N Barton St, New Buffalo, 269-469-6892, www.e-g-r.com/rentals) lists houses for hire on its website from $950 a week in Harbor Country towns including Sawyer, New Buffalo, Union Pier, Lakeside and Grand Beach.

At the Beachwalk Resort (208 Beachwalk Ln, Michigan City, 800-814-7501, www.beachwalkresort.com; high-season weekly rates from about $1,100), a community of pastel-colored, picket-fenced homes just southwest of the Michigan state line, the rental homes have cutesy names like Life’s a Peach and Shore Thing, as well as access to a putting green, swimming pool and tennis courts. It’s also just across the street from the beach.

Away from the waterfront and the crowds, Ginger Seegers runs the three-room Treasure House Bed & Breakfast (210 S Elm St, Three Oaks, 269-756-2117; $85–$95/night), so named because the previous owners found vintage movie posters hidden within the walls of the 105-year-old Victorian. Each room has a queen-size bed, and one has a private bath.

You’ll forgo frills but still have access to a heated swimming pool at the Warren Dunes Motel (12033 Red Arrow Hwy, Sawyer, 269-426-4774, www.warrendunesmotel.com; from $57/night). Rooms have queen-size beds, some come with kitchenettes, and there are outdoor grills and picnic tables on the grounds.

If you’re really into roughing it, the Dunewood Campground at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (219-874-2658, www.nps.gov/indu/pphtml/camping.html; $15/night) is only a mile and a half from the beach. It’s got 53 drive-in and 25 walk-up sites with restrooms and showers, and is open through October 31.