Foster Beach
Chicago, IL
Foster Beach, at 5200 N. Lake Shore Drive at the north end of Lincoln Park, is a wide, family-friendly beach in Edgewater. The beach house has food concessions, bike rentals, and restrooms. It's big enough to spread out, with a skyline view to the south.
A roomy, family-friendly beach with good facilities, though the lot fills fast.
How we score beachesRent a bike at the beach house and ride the Lakefront Trail south.
A paid lot at the beach fills early on summer weekends.
Paved paths lead from the lot to the sand and beach house.
Lifeguards are on duty 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The water warms by mid July.
More Great Lakes beaches
Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
Empire, MI · Great Lakes
Freshwater Lake Michigan surf below towering sand dunes, some over 400 feet tall, with water clear enough to rival a coastline and a hike back up the dune to burn it off.
New Buffalo City Beach
New Buffalo, MI · Great Lakes
New Buffalo City Beach is the first real Lake Michigan beach you hit crossing from Indiana, a wide stretch of sand at the end of Whittaker Street beside the harbor and the Galien River channel. Chicago weekenders fill it in summer. The town's shops and restaurants are a five minute walk back up the street.
Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer, MI · Great Lakes
Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer has roughly three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and some of the tallest dunes in southwest Michigan. Tower Hill rises about 260 feet above the lake, and climbing it and running back down is a rite of passage. On a hot July Saturday the beach feels like a small city.