In most states some portion of beaches are public land and all members of the public have a right to use that portion of the beach. The ability to walk along the beach is known as lateral beach access.

But the land between where people can park or walk to the beach and where they can enjoy the beach is often private property, making it difficult to provide access to the public while protecting personal property rights. The ability to reach the beach is known as vertical beach access.

Laws regarding public access to beaches vary from state to state but many states recognize the public trust doctrine, a legal doctrine that certain natural resources such as beaches are owned or held by the government in trust for the public’s use and enjoyment and that the government has an obligation to protect and maintain these resources for the public.

In Michigan, the public trust doctrine applies to the state's Great Lakes shores, granting the public the right to walk along the lakebeds and shores up to the ordinary high water mark. This means that while private property may extend to the water's edge, the area below the ordinary high water mark is held in trust for public use, allowing for lateral beach access. However, vertical beach access, which is the ability to reach the beach from upland areas, can be more complicated due to private property rights. Michigan does not have a comprehensive statute that provides for statewide vertical access to the Great Lakes shores, and access points are often determined by local ordinances or through public parks and road ends. Property owners adjacent to the lakeshore cannot exclude the public from walking along the shore below the high water mark, but they can restrict access across their land to reach the shore. Therefore, while the public has the right to enjoy the beach along the water's edge, reaching the beach may require using designated public access points.