Hey Chicago summer lovers!
Most people who don’t live here assume Chicago is a city you experience from the inside: museums, restaurants, architecture, sports. What they might be surprised about is that Chicago has 28 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and about 27 publicly maintained beaches, all of them free.
At the time of this article, 4 beaches are closed indefinitely due to erosion, so it’s important to check the Chicago Park District’s website before heading out.
We find that most Chicagoans stick to one beach and don’t bother exploring all their options. North Avenue gets crowded, Montrose gets discovered, and the entire South Side of the lakefront goes largely unvisited by people who live in the same city. This guide covers what’s at each major beach, not just the well-known ones, so you can pick the right one for your day.
We’re the Ben Lalez Team, and we’ve been helping families buy and sell homes across Chicago for over a decade. Every week, we put out an article about something useful or interesting about the city. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want these in your inbox.
Okay, let’s get into it!
How The Chicago Beach System Works
Beach season runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Swimming is allowed only when lifeguards are on duty, which is daily from 11am to 7pm. Outside those hours, red flags go up, and swimming is not permitted.
Each beach posts a flag indicating current conditions.
- Green means swimming is allowed and water quality is acceptable.
- Yellow means use caution.
- Red means no swimming, whether due to weather, strong currents, or water quality.
The Chicago Park District publishes daily swim status online by beach, and it’s important to always check before you leave home. Weather conditions affect access, and after heavy rain, runoff pushes bacteria levels higher near the shore.
The rules are the same across all beaches:
- no alcohol
- no glass containers
- no smoking
- no dogs on the sand except at designated dog-friendly areas
- grilling is allowed only in designated spots, and hot coals go in the metal barrels provided.
Park District staff enforce these at the busier locations, so make sure you know the rules.
Downtown Beaches
The central beaches draw the largest crowds and have the most amenities. They’re what most people picture when they think about Chicago having a lakefront.
North Avenue Beach is the loudest, most active beach in the city. The beach house is shaped like a ship and features restrooms, lockers, and Castaways Bar and Grill, which offers both counter service and sit-down dining with lake views. Volleyball courts stay busy on weekends, and on-site rentals cover jet skis, kayaks, paddleboards, and bikes. If you want energy, activity, and a social scene, this is the beach for you.
Oak Street Beach is in the Gold Coast, just south of North Avenue, and has the most photographed skyline backdrop of any beach in the city. The shot from Oak Street looking back at the Chicago skyline is the one that ends up in travel guides and real estate listings. Concessions are on-site, and the underpass near the beach has a mural by artist Jeff Zimmermann that is popular for photos. The stretch of sand is shorter than North Avenue, but the views are better.
Ohio Street Beach is just east of Navy Pier in a protected cove, which makes the water calmer and the overall experience quieter than the other two central options. Open-water swimmers and triathletes use it regularly for training. The sheltered cove is easy to navigate and connects directly to the Lakefront Trail for running and cycling. If you want a beach close to downtown without the North Avenue crowd, Ohio Street is the one.
North Side Beaches
Moving north from North Avenue, the beaches take on more of a neighborhood character. The crowds shift from citywide social scene to local regulars.
Montrose Beach is the largest beach in the city by area. There are volleyball courts and water sport rentals, but what sets Montrose apart is everything else. The Montrose Dunes and Bird Sanctuary is located directly adjacent, a protected natural area that draws bird watchers and people who want to walk. There’s also a designated dog-friendly section where dogs can run off leash in a fenced area near the water.
Foster Beach at Foster Avenue is the North Side beach for dog owners who don’t want to make the trip all the way to Montrose. It has a designated dog-friendly area, concessions, restrooms, and lifeguards in season. The crowd is mostly local, so you can usually find a spot, even on a busy weekend.
Osterman Beach, known to locals as Hollywood Beach, is further north near Edgewater. It’s another neighborhood beach with sand, lifeguards in season, and lakefront trail access. If you live on the Far North Side, this is likely your closest option. The smaller street-end beaches like Lane Beach in Edgewater follow the same logic: direct lake access, almost entirely local crowd, no concessions, no rentals, just sand and water.
South Side Beaches
The South Side beaches are less crowded than anything on the North Side. Several have better parking, and some are located next to institutions that make for a full day rather than just a beach trip.
31st Street Beach is the most accessible South Side option, at 31st Street Harbor and with skyline views looking north toward downtown. Amenities include concessions, restrooms, parking, a playground, and lakefront trail access toward the Museum Campus.
57th Street Beach is inside Jackson Park, directly next to the Museum of Science and Industry. It’s a good option for families who want to split a day between the museum and the lake. The beach is straightforward, with sand, water, and park facilities nearby, and the Jackson Park has lots of green space to enjoy.
63rd Street Beach has one of the more historically significant beach houses on the lakefront, a Prairie-style structure from 1919 that has been restored. Just south of it is South Shore Beach, which sits on the grounds of the South Shore Cultural Center, a building that was originally a private country club before the Chicago Park District acquired it in 1974. The Cultural Center has a golf course, gardens, a ballroom, and event spaces built into what is now a public park.
Rainbow Beach is further south and combines swimming with one of the city’s oldest public gardens and a natural dune area called the Rainbow Beach Dunes. The amenities are quite good: concessions, playgrounds, restrooms, Wi-Fi, handball courts, and a fitness center. It functions as a full community park with a beach attached, and it draws a consistent local crowd.
Calumet Beach is the southernmost beach in the city, near the southeastern border. It’s uncrowded by any central beach standard, almost entirely local, and not on most people’s radar. For residents of the Far South Side, it’s the neighborhood beach. For anyone else, it’s a reason to explore a stretch of the lakefront that the rest of the city ignores.
Choosing the Right Beach
A few scenarios worth working through before you load the car:
For the most active social scene, North Avenue and Oak Street are the obvious choices. They’re the busiest for a reason, and both offer full on-site amenities.
For open-water swimming or triathlon training, Ohio Street Beach has the protected cove and the cleanest transition to the Lakefront Trail.
For dog owners, Montrose and Foster both have designated off-leash areas. Montrose has more space. Every other beach on the lakefront prohibits dogs on the sand.
For combining a beach with a cultural site, 57th Street is next to the Museum of Science and Industry, and South Shore sits on the grounds of the South Shore Cultural Center.
For a neighborhood beach without downtown energy, Foster, Osterman, 31st Street, and Rainbow all deliver.
For parking, the South Side beaches are generally easier. The North Side central beaches are designed around transit and bike access, and parking reflects that.
One More Thing On Water Quality
Blue-green algae blooms occur in Lake Michigan during warm months and are harmful to both people and dogs. The Park District posts advisories, and the daily swim status includes current conditions by beach. Check before you go, especially after a stretch of hot days when bloom conditions are most likely near the shore.
Final Thoughts
Chicago’s lakefront is one of the things this city has that most American cities don’t: 27 free public beaches, open all summer, reachable by transit from almost anywhere in the city. Most residents pick one and stick with it. So if you’ve spent every summer at North Avenue and never made it to South Shore or Rainbow, go check them out.
And if you’re thinking about buying somewhere close to the shoreline and proximity to the lakefront is important to you, give us a shout. It comes up in almost every conversation about the North Side neighborhoods, and we have a ton of suggestions for you when you’re ready to look.
Make sure to stock up on that sunscreen, and see you out there on the sands!
