I fully admit that having teenage boys at home during the pandemic has been a lot. At some point each day, my hubby and I get in the car and talk through all our troubles (translation: complain about having children) while driving up north along the lake. We often end up parked in our car staring at Lake Michigan at Forest Park Beach. We're convinced that all the other couples we see there are also doing the same thing ;-) Last week, our laziness and overwhelm forced us to get out of the car and take in a fresh air walk along the lakefront. We walked south past the concessions and over near the boating facility. We typically don't leave our car unattended, just in case we might get a ticket. We took the risk, and it was so worth it. TBH I don't think they are monitoring the parking lots or ticketing right now, but I'm not 100% sure. What an absolutely gorgeous discovery! We honestly felt like we were on vacation (without kids). The air was fresh, the water was fairly calm, and we felt grateful to be living near such a beautiful oasis. Along the walkway we discovered a play area for kids, boats ready to launch, a covered area with picnic tables, tall lampposts and pristine landscaping. At the very end of our walk was a goose waiting for her goose companion to come back from sea (lol). We learned from a local that the goose had been there for a few days. Anyway, the sidewalk came to an abrupt end, something like out of a Shel Silverstein poem. We turned around, took a deep breath, and received a call from one of our sons that he and his brother were about to bring a bunch of friends over to our house. And just like that, our peace and calm came to a stop. Until next time... read more

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Lake Forest Beach is a public area with fees incurred for public access. I am a person with a disability and unable to walk far distances and can not use stairs (age 59) female. I was harassed/shamed when I requested a reasonably accommodation to be dropped off/picked up. I did not ask for entry/parking. All I wanted was a small accommodation to be dropped off and picked up. I was harassed and wasn't allowed to be picked up due to my disability. This is a violation of the ADA (American Disability Act) and was discriminated against due to my disability. LFB is considered a public park and was in violation of my rights as a person with a disability. I understand there are rules and I just wanted a reasonable accommodation to be allowed to be dropped off and picked up not harassed and shamed and left standing in the heat while my husband explained the situation. He showed the gate guard a copy of my "Illinois ID marked as a person with a disability." Beach management need to educate their staff as to making simple reasonable accommodations for people with a disability. They (staff) have no rights to judge and disregard persons with a disability. Such can be reported and subject to significant fines and lawsuits. I suggest ADA compliance and policies for persons with a disability are seriously reviewed and followed according to the American Disability Act. This should NOT have transpired and was humiliating, to be honest. read more

Great beach to go to in the summer. Lots of options for parking and the beach is not too crowded. Lifeguards are on duty! There is also a great snack shack and the bathrooms are extremely clean. A great place to enjoy the perfect summer day! Lake Michigan looks just like the ocean! read more

Apparently in the winter you get ticketed $125 if you park in a lot that has 200 open spaces on a Sunday evening without a city sticker. Gates are open, no apparent signage that you will be ticketed and of course in fine print there's a small ticket warning on a larger sign that has nothing to do with tickets. If you want to park for free you have to park almost a mile away while there's hundreds of spots open right next to the beach. Absolutely ridiculous. read more

Beautiful beach park, lovely and clean area to walk and get a nice view... Great area for photos and just hangout overall...great for jogging, long walks, family outing when venturing out to get fresh air and walk by the sand. I highly recommend... Parking is free read more

What a well maintained, safe, family friendly beach. You get what you pay for. If something is free it is usually not worth it. I have no problem being charged a few dollars to enjoy a beautiful place. The staff is made up of responsible young adults trying to earn a few dollars over summer break. Parking is resident only but a short walk (God forbid) from the downtown area will start your day off on the right foot (pun intended). read more

This is a very nice spot to take in the lakeshore and relax away from the crowd. To enter for free, you must be a resident of Lake Forest, so to those of you bitching about how you have to pay to get in if you are not a Lake Forest snob, I say suck it because that's how they keep this place nice - by keeping the riff raff out. I'm kidding, but seriously. Stop bitching. Alternatively, drive a nice car. No one will ask to see your city sticker if you roll up in a drop-top Mercedes. Parking is somewhat limited, that said. The beach area was relatively uncrowded at 4pm on a weekend. No one bothered us as we picnicked. read more

Can I review the beach? As any local knows, it's THE place to walk or relax on a nice or even not-so-nice day. Spent a lot of time here on this recent visit home including an 8am Saturday breakfast to try the Raging Kitchen restaurant they opened this year. It is definitely a step above what you would expect from beach food and it was nice to eat by the lake. And yes, they charge money and have no parking for non-residents just like other towns. If you want to pay property taxes, you can enjoy the beach. Otherwise, buy a city sticker for $950/yr or walk from town and pay $10. Or go to the Illinois State Beach in Zion, which is a public beach. read more

Absolutely hands down the most beautiful beach in Chicago. Safe clean pristine! Get information about parking beforehand and enjoy your day! All the amenities are there beautiful clean restroom. A snack bar a covered area for eating and you can even BBQ. Beautiful shaded grassy area to relax in and enjoy your view of Lake Michigan. The beach is constantly cleaned. Lifeguards are friendly and there to help you. You feel like you're on vacation!!! read more

Forest Park Beach - Beaches Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

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This is a fabulous, clean private beach for LF residents. I'm glad they charge a fee for non-residents and different resident fees. Costs are not excessive. LF residents must obtain and always carry a beach pass and resident parking pass. The beach is well patrolled, access is verified, no matter the type of car! Forest Park beach has reasonable restrictions (no dogs, no kite flying, etc.). However, everything is clean and everyone is respectful. Bad behaviors aren't tolerated. There are hiking areas above the beach, beautiful scenic areas, nice pavilions, fire pit and children play areas. Residents donated lovely benches and a telescope observation area exists. A nice sailing club is a plus. Signs are posted when it's swimming isn't safe. Renting water craft is a reasonable process. All staff are nice and helpful while expertly maintaining the grounds or assisting others. Everyone is gracious. This truly is the best beach in the world. read more

Such a pretty area and the lake was great also. Super clean beach area and clear water. Not crowded at all even on a hot sunny Sunday. Had to park up the road and walk down but the walk was nice and shaded most of the way. Love how there aren't too many stairs going down to the beach on the nonresident side. 10$ a person which I thought was far fore such a nice area. I'll def be coming back! read more

I read online its free but when drive 30 mins and got there they charge $10 per person now for non-residence. also no parking nearby for non residence, the only place you can park is the metra station which is far far away. read more

As of the summer of 2016 the beach now prohibits the use of umbrellas. The beach is wide and the only available shade is in the pavilions and a grassy knoll area far too removed from the waters edge to safely monitor children in the water. Lake Forest has failed to provide any shade within reasonable proximity to the water and their options are ridiculous. Small personal chairs with attached umbrellas do Not offer real shade to families with Young children Cabanas 48" wide secured with only sandbags are hot and can only accompany two people. We are expected to carry sandbags in order to use a beach that has cost millions of of our taxpayer dollars? Really???The excuse given for this policy is that umbrellas can become lethal projectiles. I guess the rest of the North Shore beaches haven't gotten the memo. As a 19 year resident of Lake Forest this is a prime example of a policy gone very wrong and ruining the ability of residents to use the beach safely. I haven't even touched on the issue of appropriate sun protection for young children or the fact that the young lifeguards are sitting in full sun with no umbrellas. Lake forest has no pools as an alternative to this ridiculous policy. Sorry, we don't have a summer home or are members of a country club. I now am investigating Glencoe beach for my family for which I have to pay to access as a non resident. Just another family unfriendly Lake Forest policy that chooses to ignore the input of the residents. read more

favorite beach in chicago , clean and always fun to go to.. tip: go in the back way then you dont have to pay

My favorite beach on the North Shore. Maybe others will feel differently, but I actually like the construction of this beach considerably more than most beaches on the North Shore - you walk down to the beach and it's not a trek across the sand, the water is right there. It's more a long strip of beach than the usual square of sand that you see on most beaches. Decent amount of parking. While there are usually three ways in and out of the beach, unfortunately, the only current one as of this review is the drive. Otherwise, there's a steep staircase that is usually used by exercisers (and I don't blame them, you definitely feel it) and a beautiful woodsy ramp/walk-up further down the beach. The work that they are doing in the upper park area will hopefully done soon - I'm guessing it may have taken as long as it has in part due to the harsh Winter. read more