As a recent transplant to Milwaukee, I've tried to familiarize myself with the beaches and parks of my new home. I recently went to Bradford Beach to experience a more urban setting with a couple offerings other parks haven't provided. This beach is HUGE and vibrantly busy with singles, families, and groups soaking up rays and having fun. Need a cold beer? There's a tiki bar. Milkshake or hot dog? There's a snack pavilion. Dance party? Join the kids on the balcony of the bathhouse. No negatives other than parking, which is as nightmarish as a lot of the rest of Milwaukee. read more

Bradford Beach - Beach babes at Bradford - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The most popular beach in Milwaukee, Bradford Beach occupies 1.2 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline on Milwaukee's East Side. It was constructed in 1920, as part of Lake Park (designed by the same architect who designed New York's Central Park). It is a festive gathering area for Milwaukeeans during the summer, but on this rainy weekday, my wife and I pretty much had it all to ourselves. It is within walking distance from where we lived during the early years of our marriage, and we were glad it looked well. It is named for the avenue directly connecting into it (which was named for two prominent brothers and businessmen in the 1840's). read more

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It's a good day when there's some good waves at Bradford beach. I got these shot from about a month back, overall this beach is great. Besides sand making it not ideal for a picnic, the wasps have been really bad this year at buzzing around drinks and treats so as long as you don't have that it's rather a chill spot with some nice views. read more

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This beach is the best! There's nothing like Milwaukee in the summertime. Walking along the sand makes you feel like you're on vacation. There is plenty of space, even on the weekends, to spread out a towel and throw the football around. There are also a ton of volleyball courts and a tiki hut. The tiki hut has good and beverages. I got the piña colada and it was delicious! Overall amazing vibes! read more

Bradford Beach - Piña colada - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Enjoyed the Air & water show today with co-workers and suppliers. The weather was really good. The mission BBQ and Drinks that were provided were a PLUS!!! read more

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Even in the Winter months, this is a great spot to walk on the lakefront. The waves were extra wild on this visit and made for a stunning background for my new branding photos. I really need to make it over here during the summer to experience the beach volleyball and suntan atmosphere. read more

Bathrooms disgusting but beach was very good! No algae, not rocky, but parking could be improved by the city. First come first serve is hard here. Try to change into swimsuit at a gas station if you can!!! Bathhouse is NASTY!! Did have okay food and drink, people smoked a lot of weed there though. read more

The popular beach in Milwaukee, and a good spot for people to play beach volleyball, catch some rays, grab a drink at one of the two tiki bars or at the main building (which has food). Park in one of the two dedicated lots of simply drive up the North Point Tower drive and park up the hill, it's an easy short walk down to Bradford. read more

I really like this beach. It's crowded,but not crazy crowded & it's completely possible to find parking along the stretch. A nice change from the Chicago beaches for me. read more

I can't lie, it's actually a lot better than I expected. It feels like a real beach. It feels like you're at the ocean. I wish there were more places to use the restroom, and more trash cans, but otherwise I really can't complain for having such a decent beach in the Midwest. read more

Nice, small beach in Milwaukee near lake Michigan. I came here for a walk and enjoyed the views and breeze. Really nice to come on a day off to relax. read more

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Bradford Beach is great! It feels like a real beach! Full of life and has a few cozy spots!

(From September 2021) Who doesn't love the beach? It's summer time and the livings easy. And you know the rest. Whether you're going for a walk or laying in the sun or wading in the water, it's a perfect activity for residents and visitors alike. The surroundings are well-constructed with parking across the street with an overhead bridge to connect to the other side without worrying about the cars. When COVID ends (if it ever does), you'll see the beach bars and snack bars open up adding even more fun to this beach. Only gripe is the trash cans don't seem to be maintained. Some were overfilling and left some trash around the beach areas. Hope the city can fix this. It's too nice of a beach to be tarnished like that. read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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I live this beach. Parking is a bit tricky but the atmosphere is perfect! Tiki bars and custard / burger stand. Sandy beach and beautiful water for swimming or just soaking your feet. It's beautiful and safe. Friendly people and happy sunning. Can't wait till we come back again later this summer. read more

It's seems funny to rate nature, but I'm going to try! I love running and walking along this beach. This morning was the perfect time for it. I got out there very early to avoid any crowds. Only a scattering of couples out. I was able to keep my distance and feel safe in this beautiful environment. Walking along the lake shore is one of the most relaxing experiences her in Milwaukee. Right now, with Covid, I try to stick to times when I know everyone is probably still asleep or hanging at home. Just a tip if your want to go down to the beaches. The early morning times are my favorite anyway. Everything is hushed and soft. The day is about to begin. read more

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Let's go to the beach, each Let's go get a wave We are so lucky to have Lake Drive and Bradford Beach in Milwaukee. It's the perfect setting for walks, running, tanning, sports, reading, and lounging. Anytime I need some peace, nature, or people watching, I can find it here. The paths and beach are very clean and they have a variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. If you haven't been out for a long walk or had a beach day recently, treat yourself and enjoy! read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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We visited Bradford Beach this past weekend when we visited Milwaukee for Labor Day weekend. What a nice beach for right in the center of town! Great views of the blue waters of Lake Michigan! Tiki bars. A place to buy food. Tables to sit at. Beach volleyball courts. The beach was beautiful. We sat on a rock near the beach and took in the views for a while. Even though the water was a bit chilly, people were playing and swimming and surfing in the water. A wonderful place to spend some time whether you want to swim, build sand castles, play volleyball, have a picnic, spend time with friends, read, or just take in the view! read more

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So many dead fish. SO MANY DEAD FISH. and it smells like dead fish. It's a no for me.

The Jersey Shore of Milwaukee! Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of fun times at Bradford. The stretch of beach is the largest in the area and I love the tiki bar - they serve up a mean pina colada that tastes extra delicious on a hot summer day. But beware of the sand on those hot summer days, it feels like 350 degrees and I have to run like a lizard to get from point A to point B to prevent my feet from frying. The people watching is pretty fantastic because everyone comes here. Everyone. On any given sunny Milwaukee summer day, particularly the weekend, this place is packed. Parties everywhere and volleyball games on every court. Don't think you can get away with underage consumption of alcoholic beverages though, I've seen several cops going around and checking ids. If you are allergic to bros, I'd probably recommend visiting another beach. The bros here are plentiful. The nice thing is that they tend to congregate at various points along the beach and can be somewhat avoided if you stay on the outskirts. Overall, Bradford is fun place to hang out and makes you feel like you've been transported to somewhere far away from the Midwest, but it is definitely not as relaxing as some of the other smaller beaches along the lake. read more

It's a beach in the city of Milwaukee. It's so close to home. The views are amazing and during the summer it's just full of life and activity. We are lucky to have such a killer beach so close to home. For that I am truly grateful. Bradford Beach has it's flaws but overall it's a great space to people watch and hang out soaking up the sun. Sometimes it can get a little hectic down there as it is the closest place for people from near and out a ways to cool off but despite it's so worth the jaunt. How many can say they are on the lake and can walk up to a tiki bar and order a cocktail! They also have a bunch of volleyball nets littered about and some areas also have exercise equipment. All this with a backdrop of the city of milwaukee! That's what's up! You really know it's summer when you hit up Bradford and the place is packed from one end to the next. It's also awesome to walk around the beach with your pets during the off season from fall into winter. read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We were here on July 3rd for the AVP tourney and had never been to Bradford Beach before. This is a large beach with decent views from the bluff above. A concession stand heads up the south end of the beach and parking can be found there unless it's a busy day (like an AVP tourney). The beach itself seemed pretty clean but that may have been at the hands of the tourney folks. The tourney itself had an odd setup. The main court next to the beach house had a makeshift bar on the lake side and seating could also be had on the cement stairs of the beach house side, which is where we sat to watch the men's play-in bracket games. Meanwhile, the beach is very expansive with a slew of volleyball nets and space to rest your beach towel. read more

Bradford Beach - Ev @ AVP tourney - courtside - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Bradford Beach had some pretty views! It wasn't too crowded, and parking was easy to find. I was disappointed in the amount of human trash in the sand. Walking barefoot isn't safe here. read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Big beautiful beach with a lot of young people. It's almost impossible to find parking on a nice summer day since it's so popular. This beach was recently "renovated" since lots of sand was recently added. Prior to that, it was not much of a beach according to my friend. She also recommends not swimming in the water since it used to be polluted. It's definitely a great hot spot and great people watching. Great place to work on your tan and to spend your afternoon! read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Bradford beach is hands down effing awesome. What a gem of a place to have right here in Milwacky. On a plus note, its also a 5 minute bike ride from my house. CHING. Anyway, as most of the reviews can already attest to, its big, sandy, and full of beautiful people. Seriously, there is no short supply of toned up college students and milwaukee locals here playing football, frisbee, volleyball or soaking up their desired amounts of UV rays. Eye CANDY. Great way for out of towners to see we're not all beer gutted, brat and cheese guzzling opaque white polar bears. Too harsh? Beach is pretty clean, too, I believe they come through and clean it each morning or each evening. Thats super refreshing. Lifeguard on duty. Beach Cabana serving drinks and food (expensive...$7 Brat, $5 canned corona?!). 'Rita's are potent and wil get you buzzed though. Just bring your own carry ins- as long as its not in glass, you're bueno. And, I dont know why this is a weird thing to people, but I've swam in Lake Michigan here at Bradford more times than I havent. The water is clean, its cold, its crisp and its refreshing. The algae kind of is a problem later in the summer, but through most of June and early July, why on earth WOULDNT you swim? and you can earn some cold-water swimming cred with your friends. DO IT. Bradford Beach, I love you. read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I love bradford beach! I'm lucky that I've always lived close enough to arrive here by foot or bike, and its been great to see all the changes throughout the years. It really is our own little Venice/Redondo beach from May to Sept. I honestly never swim so I can't comment on the water, but from the months mentioned, it gets packed especially on the weekends, when there's some sort of event usually (see photos). Even when there isn't, they generally have music going. You can buy food at the snack bar there. They have a cute little beach bar shake on the sand (complete with frozen drink machine.) There's lots of volleyball going on in the summer if ur into that kind of thing. They have a Thursday night concert series if you're looking for a change from jazz in the park. You can rent chairs, 'cabanas' in summer. Id say definately a stop in summer if ur local or coming in from out of town. It's probably the most fun if ur between ages maybe 12 to 27 (as is everything in life, really). If coming by car, try to park on the streets up atop the hill by lake park (lake, wahl, or terrace) and walk down. There's a foot bridge over Lincoln memorial that takes you from lake park right to the beach house. Yes, occasionally that fishy smell returns (especially on the north end) and yes, dogs r confined to certain areas, but this is still one of my fav spots in the warm months. read more

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Another place that I miss about not living in Milwaukee anymore. I agree with other reviewers that say this place is a gem. It truly is and a truly nice way to spend a warm afternoon basking in the sun, people watching by the Lake. Granted, Lake Michigan can be pretty frickin' cold. However, I can't think of a better way or place in Milwaukee to go and cool off. Great place to take guests visiting from out of town. read more

June 12 2011. Some what cool for being the beginning of summer. Plenty of people out playing VB most of the people are staying warm by being active. Nobody swimming today. Garbage cans were filled. but the beach looked clean and walkways were clean as well. I did see 3 dogs on the beach and 4 out on the walkway exercising their owners. They have done a great deal of upgrades to the VB courts. Washroom facility is about the same. They have deck chairs on both levels of the Pavilion. Plenty of police on bikes, Motorcycles, and sheriff in a sport utility made their rounds through the parking lot. Only one person had the music blaring from their compact sedan. I think that this is officially the best Beach in Milwaukee shoreline. I hope that they continue to improve it as this is so close to 5 stars read more

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Fun events take place here. The Miss Bradford Beach contest is fun. The beach bartenders are present early in the day. This is perfect... if you want to take in the beach experience sooner. Meet and greet all types of individuals here at this beach. read more

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Best. Summer. Beach. Ever. Now of course I'm biased because I love (1) volleyball and (2) bars that you don't have to walk more than 50 feet to get to. In the summer, Bradford has both. Tons of both. High quality volleyball courts usually rent for $10/hr (there are 36 of them!!!) and there are two bars on the mfing sand. ON THE SAND. Like it's a resort. Also a snack stand right on the beach, which provides a nice viewing area for court 7. Where there were some pretty serious games on the day I went. Santa Cruz, this is what you could be some day. Dream big, Santa Cruz. Some day. read more

My favorite spot in Milwaukee is Bradford Beach. I love the feel of people exercising, walking dogs, Alterra close by which has great coffee/tea and interesting & tasty foods, the gorgeous homes overlooking me on the left and the beautiful lake on the right, the daffodils scattered along the bluffs. It's a great place to go for a walk, bike or jog. And there are kite and paddle boat rentals if you're feeling frisky! A nice little snack bar... although I haven't tried it and I think the hours of operation are quite limited seasonally. Large open fields to play frisbee or soccer, volleyball nets. And it's always a nice drive to head further north on Lincoln Memorial drive to see the fabulous houses of Shorewood. I'm not a big swimmer so not judging on the quality of the water. It's a lake not the ocean and surrounded by pollutants (i.e. people/cities) so not sure what people really expect. In a perfect world we wouldn't hurt our environment so we only have ourselves to blame. As for me, I just love Bradford Beach. read more

What a great beach! I'm from Detroit area and visited MKE on a "what the hell" kind of long weekend. We were surprised to see that there's a legit beach in the city and stoked to check it out. Parking was tough, but we got real lucky and scored a prime spot right off the sand, so it was an easy walk. If you're unlucky, you may have a small hike. Had we known that beach beers were totally cool, we would have come better prepared. But at least we packed a little traveler of whiskey in our beach bag. Beaches beg booze, right? The sand was super clean and mostly free of rocks and debris, and we had no trouble finding a spot for two towels on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The first few feet of water were pretty seaweedy, but once you get past that, it's smooth sailing. And the bottom doesn't drop out until really far out, unlike a lot of the beaches nearer home (neck deep ten feet of the shore). The bathrooms nearby weren't fancy, but did the job for changing into and out of suits. There are also tons of volleyball nets, a couple beach bars with and without food, and a concession stand. Pretty much everything you need for a tropical getaway without leaving the city! read more

It's a sight to see in the winter! Absolutely breathtaking! Just because it's not warm doesn't mean you can't make a trip to the beach! I'm so glad we did! It was so unbelievably beautiful. Excited to see what it's like in the summer months! read more

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I actually didn't know a beach existed in Milwaukee! This is a thrilling find. Come early and park in the free parking lot across the way to avoid carrying your coolers down a long flight of stairs. You get a sport of your choosing at 9 am, then it becomes crowded after noon. There are over 20 volleyball courts open and free to use. Even if you don't have a volleyball, you can rent on on the beach. The shores a little rocky and there are some algae, but we are still in Wisconsin afterall. Bring your games, bring a canopy, a cooler, and relax away... We did a lot of research before, even if you see dogs on the beach, they are strictly prohibited. Leave your pup at home unless you don't mind paying a fine *if* you get caught. read more

I go to or by Bradford all the time and think it's a beautiful gem. Sooo nice to have a decent beach to relax at. All of these bad reviews got me thinking and so I looked up the water quality info. Turns out that there were 7 rain advisories last year (2008) and no contamination advisories. In comparison, in 2006, there were 30 (!) contaminarion advisories. Hmmm. Whatever they did seems to be working! http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/beacon_national_page.main read more

Bradford beach is a fun place to hangout with friends on a sunny day. Among things to do other than laying out and chill in' they have beach volleyball, paddle boat rentals, and a tiki bar with food and drink!! read more

Bradford Beach - Parks Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Bradford has been cleaned and readied for the city folk... The water is still nasty, but they've added a number of little concession areas and a custard shop. It's a great place to lay out, get together with friends, or to play sand volleyball. Dogs aren't REALLY allowed (BOO!), but mostly everyone gets away with bringing them. Nice work, MKE, we like your beach again... Keep up the upkeep! read more

Always one of my favorite beaches, big enough to be able to space out and always pretty well kept!

This was the first time I've actually ever hung out at Bradford Beach for a couple of hours. The AVP volleyball tournament was going on and it seemed like a great way to spend a couple of hours on a gorgeous summer day. I rode my bike here. If you drive, I have no idea how you would ever find a parking spot unless you arrived about 5:00 in the morning. The volleyball tournament was free, but you could purchase shaded seating and enjoy free water, free snacks, and cheap drinks for $20. I felt like it was worth it. I had a great time, watched some truly awesome volleyball, and plan to return! I need to go hang out at one of the tiki bars some afternoon and people watch and just enjoy the lake. read more

Bradford Beach is great, My friends and I frequently come done to play Volleyball and chill. There is a strict no glass policy and the bar is somewhat expensive so you might want to bring a cooler. That being said the food and drinks are delicious so give them a try. The Beach is very family friendly since most of the people are just there to have a good time. From 2011 Edit: since Todd stoped running the volleyball leagues this beach has not been the same. The leagues are sub par and there is no longer an AVP tournement held here. It's still a beautiful setting and good atmosphere, just a bummer we have lost such great volleyball. If that's not important to you than consider this 5 stars. read more

What a hidden gem! I spent the weekend in downtown Milwaukee and needed a breather. My friend took me here and I fell in love with it. From the beautiful blue water to the parks, it was a majestic site to see! It's tucked away on the edge of Milwaukee. I think it faces Lake Michigan? I only spent an hour here but fell in love with it. I can't wait to visit again! read more