Best West Michigan Beach town

[the urban politician]

Hi guys,

I need advice. I’m hosting some family this July on a road trip through parts of the Midwest and Canada. As a part of this trip we will be staying 1 night at a West Michigan beach town. I’ve been to some of them but I have a hard time deciding which one to stay in. The Traverse City/Sleeping Bear Dunes Area is a tad too far north, so I will save that for a future trip.

Our options seem to be:

Muskegon
Holland
Saugatuck
Grand Haven
South Haven
St Joseph
New Buffalo? Any others?

There will be 4 adults and 4 kids. Priorities include a fun beach, perhaps a nice lighthouse, easy access to a Main St style downtown with shops, restaurants, and places to get drinks.

All of the towns mentioned above seem to have these, is there any way to differentiate these? These guys are from California and may only visit one of these places once or twice in their lives. So if you wanted to show them a good time, which one would you choose?

Thanks again!