I'm a CA native now living in the Midwest so miss the beach. I've been to Chicago many times but…read morenever thought about going to the beach. Last summer we finally went to Lake Michigan and was surprised that it looked just like the Pacific Ocean. The water was blue and clear (not like the muddy brown lakes of NE and IA). This year we decided to stay in Evanston instead of doing downtown Chiacago again. We went to Lighthouse Beach with our 6 year old and 3 year old. It was a great beach. There is a play ground by the beach, a parking lot, bathrooms, life guards, and lots of areas for shade if you want to stay out of the sun. It was beautiful and convenient. The only downside is that it costs $12 per person if you are a visitor. So for a family of 4...it gets pricey. But I guess that helps to keep the beaches nice. Def a beach to visit if you are in the Chicago area!

Grew up not far from there. Take the family there on occasion. Small, nice, and quiet. There is a…read moretucked away fire pit that can rented out and you can go there at night (no life guards then of course). You can take a cool stroll around the old light house as well.

Want a beach that has it all? Look no further because Juneway is where its at!…read more I was here for the first time recently and let me tell you I was loving it like McDonalds. From parasailing to the beach side snack bar this beach is amazing! Live bands every night, cabanas for free, bike rental, tennis courts, volleyball, hundreds of boat slips, a boardwalk that extends for miles, roller coasters, bocce ball, breakdancers, a world class aquarium, surf shop and great waves, miles of sandy beach, cruise ships and sailboats, the list can go on forever. This beach is a little treasure of Chicago and will keep you coming back again and again. Juneway Beach Park - I love it!

The park is definitely busier than ever overall, but 1.) the lock-stock-and-barrel weekend…read morebarbecue crowd comes less often this year (seemingly only on holidays and really hot days); and 2.) you can still find moments of peace and quiet. Tuesday afternoon I spent about ninety minutes there and for much of it, I was the only person in the park besides the lifeguard. Nothing but the soft whisper of the wind, the rhythmic whosh of the waves, and the near-melodic screak of the swingset. Now THAT is time well spent. This Sunday I had visitors who wanted to use the beach (which I never do) and was surprised by the scene. There were more people than I would have thought, but it wasn't overrun; maybe 25-30 at peak. I got the impression that many of these were suburbanites who were hitting one of the northernmost Chicago beaches because the North Shore beaches such as Evanston charge money? In any case, it wasn't rowdy or bustling but there was enough activity to keep you occupied if you just wanted to watch the kids (or adults) playing. And I've always described this beach as devoid of scenery other than sailboats, but there was surprisingly plenty of eye candy there this time, mostly in the late-teen/early-twenties range. Going to the beach is not my thing, but that made it enjoyable.

This is a pretty "chill" park. It's so peaceful throughout the day. From the birds chirping, to the…read moresound of the wave. There's a lot of trees here with nice shade from the sun during the summer. This park/beach is perfect if you coming to read , meditate, write, or sleep...but I wouldn't do that if I were you...but anyways ,you can even bring a date here. Even tho it is a small park. Every time I come here, it's never crowded. Rather it's 6am, 12pm, or 8pm. The best things in life are free.

I had some time to kill before viewing a play in one of the nearby theaters so we walked over to…read morethe beach to connect with nature. The beach is very clean and it was nice to see so many of the college kids playing football, taking Instagrammable pictures, and just being present. It looks like there are lots of rentals available, the view was beautiful, and I was able to put my shoes and socks back on and walk right into the show! I'm not an avid beach person, but it was very nice to feel the sand, the water, and see the sun!

I love this beach and I must tell you it's one of my top 5 favorites . White sands and in the best…read morepart of Lake Michigan ! Great view of Northwestern and the sailing boats too. It's a big beach too and clean and there are family's and young people . Stunning view and overall beauty natural beauty!! Can't wait to come back the water was lovely too!

Spent the last day of summer at Glencoe Beach and it was beautiful. It was off season so no life…read moreguard and the house with bathrooms wasn't open but they did have port o potties. Their regular season from Memorial day to labor day the beach costs and it's mainly from members on the weekend. But since it was the season it was free. It was decently crowded with everyone soaking up the last nice day. They have a playground for kids, plenty of shelters to rent for a party, volleyball net, a pier to walk along and place to rent boats, and paddle boats. The front of the beach is rocky and going into the water have to walk over rocks to get the sandy part of the water. But loved the water as it was clear and felt good to swim in. Very nice beach to relax on.

ALWAYS a good time at Glencoe Beach! The location is absolutely beautiful with clean, sandy shores…read moreand stunning views of Lake Michigan. It's perfect for swimming on a warm day. I loved how well-maintained the beach is, and everyone was so friendly! They also have grills and plenty of seating, making it great for picnics and gatherings. Plus, the surrounding neighborhood is gorgeous, adding to the overall charm of the area. Highly recommend for a fun, relaxing beach day!

A mediocre beach out of all the beaches in Evanston. Definitely not my favorite because nothing…read morestands out for this beach. However, it is sometimes also known as the Dempster street beach. If you want a more scenic experience, go to lighthouse beach, or a better beach office facility, try Clark street beach.

July 4th 2014 is the 1st time I've been to Greenwood Beach, great location, (parking can be a…read morehassle)didn't mine paying $8.00 (cash) entrance fee to see fireworks. The beach is smaller than others I have gone to, but it wasn't crowed and we did manage to get a good spot, lots of lifeguards and staff on duty, Although my family and I had a great 4th I'm only giving this beach three stars because of the cleanness of the bathrooms! Horrible! The ladies bathroom was unsanitary and unsafe! It appeared as if the bathrooms hadn't been disinfectant nor cleaned in YEARS! Ladies were using the men's restrooms which wasn't much better! Greenwood Beach PLEASE clean your restrooms !!

Got to check out this beach in Winnetka if you're around here, because this is a pretty nice beach…read more It's located beside a residential area, but it's big enough to attract outsiders. Tower Road Beach is of course located along Tower Road. Along with the beach, there's also a park area. There's also of course a tower. Beach is big and as a result attracts some grunginess. It's usually pretty crowded when it's summer. This could be even more crowded, but it's not because it's harder to get to. It takes awhile. The worst thing is all the endless stairs. It takes a long time to get to from the park area. There's so many fucking stairs. Besides that, the tower isn't that impressive even though the beach literally gets its name from it. This looks like a boring old utility tower for the most part. Even though it's not that good, it's one of the nicer beaches. It's close to a residential area so many of these people claim it as their own. The worst thing about it is there's too many stairs.

I love this beach. It is clean and fun place for kids as well as grownups! If your looking for a…read morespot to relax and enjoy the view.. this is the perfect place to do just that!

It was a breath of fresh air the morning I decided to finally venture up to Skokie Lagoons to run…read more It was only a matter of time that I would visit after having passed through it via the North Branch Trail System while training for the Chicago Marathon some time ago. My visit to the actual site came after having the desire of running somewhere different, as well as having no interest in running the ever so congested Chicago Lakefront Trail. At the time, it was marathon training season with many runners out training for their fall and winter marathons. And not to mention other individuals out on the Lakefront Trail whether it be biking, walking, skating, or even at the beaches which I just did not have the tolerance for at the time. My GPS took me to what is labeled as Forest Way Picnic Grove #1 where I ended up parking. However, if you want to start your activity at the mile marker starting point, I recommend parking where the Chicago River Canoe and Kayak shed is located which is 1770 Tower Rd. Parking there will put you right at the 0/4.4-mile marker on the path. If not, Skokie Lagoons has several places to park your vehicle which are mostly along Forestway Dr. Prior to starting my run, I could not resist taking in the beauty of the lagoon which made me think to myself why did it take me so long to visit. As a fitness enthusiast that has been running for years, I would categorize the difficulty level of Skokie Lagoons as moderate because the terrain is not entirely flat; there are rolling hills in between miles 1-3, but nothing excruciating. And there are distance markings along the pavement of this loop style paved path totaling 4.4 miles per loop. Well into the path, I felt that sense of being in nature as I made my way around the loop. I also felt that feeling of being secluded on parts of the path, but there were always encounters with bikers at some point that kept me in the moment as well as the sounds of vehicles on the nearby roads. As mentioned, I encountered bikers mostly, but I did see walkers and runners occasionally along the path. And throughout my entire time on the path, I encountered two deer which crossed my path as they headed towards the lagoon. I spent a little over 3 hours on the path but could have easily gone longer if I wanted to. Like the start of my run, I took in the beauty of the lagoon again which looked so gorgeous with the sun beaming down on it, giving it that lustrous look. And I overheard the screeching sound of a bald eagle as I stretched and massaged my leg muscles off to the side of the path. There are a variety of activities you can conduct within Skokie Lagoons; some of those activities I saw or can certainly see are fishing, canoeing, kayaking, bird watching, hiking, running, walking, biking, and even inline skating. And along the path, there are waste and recycling bins, even benches throughout. Overall, I had a very pleasant experience at Skokie Lagoons, as indicated in this review. As a runner, I can see myself returning just to conduct interval runs around its loop in build-up to long run events I participate in. ~Gonna run 'til I don't jiggle. ~ Thomas G

Having lived in Chicago and visited Skokie Lagoons many times before, I can't believe I never left…read morea review! Recently visiting friends in Evanston and needing a place to hike on a 70-80 degree day on my way back to Milwaukee, SL was a no-brainer! Skokie Lagoons has: - Great paved biking trails - Public kayak/canoe launch - Kayak/canoe rental - Good fishing! (Caught a NICE largemouth bass here once) - Lagoons, swamps, and more! - Paved trails that lead into Chicago Botanic Gardens I was hiking on the paved bike trail, which frankly, they're pretty long trails! Better for running, biking, and watersports IMHO. I can't believe people drop less than a 5-star review for this place!