Ohio Street Beach
Chicago, IL
Ohio Street Beach, at 600 N. Lake Shore Drive just north of Navy Pier, is a small beach sheltered by the pier and the shoreline around it. Its unusual orientation keeps the water calm, which makes it Chicago's favorite spot for open-water swim training. On summer mornings you'll see swimmers in wetsuits heading out along the buoy line.
Calm water right downtown, loved by open-water swimmers, though it's small and busy near Navy Pier.
How we score beachesJoin the early-morning open-water swimmers; the calm water is ideal for laps parallel to shore.
No beach lot; use Navy Pier or nearby garages.
Paved paths from the Lakefront Trail lead to the sand.
Open-water swimmers use it from late spring through early fall. Lifeguards are on duty 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in season.
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.