Beaches in Illinois

1. 57th Street Beach

57th Street Beach is one of Chicago's most popular swimming beaches, located within Jackson Park at 57th Street's terminus at the Lake Michigan shoreline. Though developed beachfront has existed at the site since the park's original landscaping by famed park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1871, it was not renovated into a swimming beach until 1899, following the completion of Chicago's Drainage Canal. Today, it offers unprecedented views of the Chicago skyline for swimmers, along with a long-distance swimming area spanning between 55th Street and the beach's ADA-accessible pier. Paid parking is available near the beach, with limited street parking also available to the west of Lake Shore Drive. After a swim, beachgoers can visit the Museum of Science and Industry or visit the dog-friendly Promontory Point.

Address: 57th Street Beach, 5700 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611, Phone: 312-74-BEACH

2. 63rd Street Beach

63rd Street Beach is a family-friendly beach within Chicago's Jackson Park, located at the terminus of E. Hayes Drive at the Lake Michigan shoreline. The beach was originally developed as part of Olmsted and Vaux's 1888 renovations to the park and became a popular public swimming beach following the completion of the city's 1899 Drainage Canal.

Its historic 1919 Classical Revival-style bath house, fully renovated in 2000, is available for use by beachgoers, boaters, and day campers, featuring prime lake view balconies, open-air galleries, and an interactive water feature. There are showers and restrooms available for visitor use.

Address: 63rd Street Beach, 6301 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60637, Phone: 312-742-PLAY

3. Calumet Beach

Calumet Beach is a lovely public beach within Chicago's Calumet Park, which was originally developed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1905 as an urban oasis for the city's crowded immigrant neighborhoods. The park, which was not completed until the 1930s, is named for the Norman-French term chamulet, or pipe, a reference to peace pipes traded between French traders and indigenous Great Lakes tribes. Distance swimming is permitted at the beach's southern end parallel to the Lake Michigan shoreline, with an ADA-accessible beach walk provided for visitors with mobility concerns. Public amenities include concession sands, restrooms, and showers.

Address: Calumet Beach, 9801 S. Avenue G, Chicago, IL 60617, Phone: 312-74-BEACH

4. Clinton Lake State Recreation Area

Clinton Lake State Recreation Area in DeWitt is one of Illinois' most popular state parks, spanning 9,300 acres within DeWitt County within the state's east central area. The park is anchored around the 4,900-acres Clinton Lake, which serves as the cooling body of water for Exelon Power Station, and is overseen by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Outstanding conditions for catfish, crappie, walleye, and bass fishing are offered, with boat launches available at the park's West Side and Mascoutin Access Areas and a fishing pier available at its Spillway Access Area. Sailboating, motorboating, swimming, and sunbathing are also popular during the summer months, with a 1,000-foot sand beach area available for use by visitors of all ages. Hiking trails and hunting areas are available, with more than 300 campsites offered for overnight use.

Address: Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, 7251 Ranger Road, DeWitt, IL 61735, Phone: 217-935-8722

5. Howard Beach Park

Howard Beach Park is a 3.93-acre public park and beachfront in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. The park was developed in the early 20th century as a response to apartment-dweller population growth in the city's Far North Side, named in honor of prominent 20th-century Chicago banker Howard Ure, a descendant of one of the city's famed early pioneer families. Since 1959, the park has been overseen by the Chicago Park District, though the beach has been operated as a municipal beach since at least 1921. Today, visitors can swim at the beach when lifeguards are on duty between Memorial Day and Labor Day or relax within the park's green spaces, which are home to a children's playground and ample public seating. Limited street parking is available nearby, with public access provided via the city's CTA buses and Red Line rapid transit system.

Address: Howard Beach Park, 7519 N Eastlake Terrace, Chicago, IL 60626, Phone: 312-74-BEACH

6. Illinois Beach State Park Resort

Illinois Beach State Park Resort preserves the beautiful Lake Michigan dunes region, which has long been recognized as one of Illinois' most unique geological features. Though preservation efforts in the area date back to the 1880s, the first parcels of land were acquired for the state park in 1948, with additional sections added through the early 1980s. Today, the park is a haven for hikers and bikers, with more than seven miles of trails offered throughout the park, including trails available for use by cross-country skiers. During the summer months, the park's sandy shores serve as a popular swimming beach area, with fishing permitted at areas within the park's north and south units, including an ADA-accessible pier offered at Sand Pond. Other amenities include a full-service marina, 241 overnight campsites, which is home to 96 rooms and suites, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a restaurant and cocktail lounge.

Address: Illinois Beach State Park Resort, 1 Lake Front Dr, Zion, IL 60099, Phone: 847-625-7300

7. Lake Bluff Sunrise Beach, Illinois

Lake Bluff Sunrise Beach is a charming public beach and park in Lake Bluff, offering two swimming beaches open to the public during the summer months, with lifeguards staffed on duty during peak times.

The park's northernmost beach also offers opportunities for visitors to swim with their dogs, with dog swimming tags available at the city's nearby recreation center, while a boating beach offers kayak and paddleboard rentals, storage areas for watercraft, and sailing lessons offered by the Lake Bluff Yacht Club for visitors ages 18 and older. Complimentary beach chairs and beach games are available for visitor use, along with day-use picnic shelters, a volleyball court, and a children's playground area.

Address: Lake Bluff Sunrise Beach, 455 Sunrise Dr, Lake Bluff, IL 60044, Phone: 847-283-0850

8. Lake Shelbyville

Lake Shelbyville is an 11,100-acre reservoir spanning throughout Shelby and Moultrie Counties, created from the damming of the Kaskaskia River in Shelbyville in the 1960s. The lake is overseen as a public recreational area by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, with its surrounding Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Eagle Creek and Wolf Creek State Parks border the lake, with five federal campgrounds available at Coon Creek, Forest Woods, Lithia Springs, Lone Point, and Opossum Creek. Manmade public beaches are offered at Dam West Recreation Area, Sullivan Beach, Wilborn Creek Recreation Area, and Wolf Creek State Park, with a number of coves on the lake available for use by anglers. Three full-service marinas are offered at Lithia Springs, Findlay, and Sullivan, with a number of resorts and campgrounds available throughout the area for overnight stay.

Address: Lake Shelbyville, 315 East Main, Shelbyville IL 62565, Phone: 217-774-2244

9. Lane Beach

Lane Beach is a public beach in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, located at the terminus of Thorndale Avenue at the Lake Michigan shoreline. The beach, which was known as Thorndale Avenue Beach and Park throughout much of the 20th century, was renamed in 1975 in honor of philanthropist and civic leader George A. Lane. Since 1959, it has been operated by the Chicago Park District as one of the city's 18 public municipal street-end beaches, offering opportunities for public swimming between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year. Lifeguards are staffed on duty in season, with ADA-accessible features offered, including a soft-surface accessible children's playground. Limited street parking is available nearby, with bus and Red Line rapid transit stops located nearby.

Address: Lane Beach, 5915 N. Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60660, Phone: 312-74-BEACH

10. Leone Beach

Leone Beach is one of Chicago's 18 street-end municipal beaches, located at the terminus of Touhy Avenue at the Lake Michigan shoreline within the city's Rogers Park neighborhood. The beach is located at the site of a former Rogers Park Water Company pumping station, which was acquired by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation in 1919 and renamed in honor of former Bureau lifeguard supervisor Sam Leone in 1966.

Today, public swimming is offered at the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, with lifeguards staffed on duty during certain times.

Distance swimming is offered parallel to the shoreline between Lunt and Farwell Avenues, with a kayak launch available nearby for public use. On the shoreline, the beach's public park area offers an ADA-accessible children's playground, with baseball fields, tennis courts, and other athletic activities offered at its public field house.

Address: Leone Beach, 1222 W. Touhy Ave, Chicago, IL 60626, Phone: 312-74-BEACH