South Shore Park Beach
Milwaukee, WI
South Shore Park Beach sits in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood, a small beach connected to South Shore Park and its beer garden. The county rehabilitated the swimming area and reopened it in 2025. The Oak Leaf Trail runs along the lakefront past the beach.
A newly rehabbed neighborhood beach next to a beer garden, though it's small.
How we score beachesGrab a drink at the South Shore Terrace beer garden after a swim.
Parking at South Shore Park.
Paved paths lead from the park to the sand.
The beer garden runs in summer. The rehabilitated beach has better water quality than it used to.
More Great Lakes beaches

Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
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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
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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
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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.
