Closest Beaches

Beaches Near Chicago, IL

Chicago sits directly on Lake Michigan with roughly 26 miles of city-run lakefront, so the closest beach is whichever one you can walk to. Oak Street and North Avenue are minutes from the Loop; Indiana Dunes National Park is about an hour east when you want real dunes instead of a city beach. Mind the swim flags — Lake Michigan rip currents are the chronic hazard here, not water quality.

Plan This Week

Friday looks like the best day across this list.

Strongest single forecast: Indiana Dunes National Park on Friday (86).

Within 60 mi

Ohio Street Beach (Chicago)

1.3 mi · ~2 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

12th Street Beach (Chicago)

1.5 mi · ~2 min drive · Cook County, IL

Great day for a beach walk.

Oak Street Beach (Chicago)

1.7 mi · ~2 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

North Avenue Beach (Chicago)

2.8 mi · ~4 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (84)

31st Street Beach (Margaret T. Burroughs Beach)

3.1 mi · ~4 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Montrose Beach (Chicago)

6.1 mi · ~9 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (84)

57th Street Beach (Hyde Park)

6.5 mi · ~9 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Foster Avenue Beach (Chicago)

7.1 mi · ~10 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (84)

63rd Street Beach (Chicago)

7.2 mi · ~10 min drive · Cook County, IL

Ideal for photography.

78°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Marquette Park Beach (Gary, Miller Beach)

26 mi · ~38 min drive · Lake County, IN

Ideal for photography.

77°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Indiana Dunes National Park

34 mi · ~48 min drive · Porter County, IN

Great day for photography.

76°F air 5 to 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (86)

Washington Park Beach (Michigan City)

39 mi · ~56 min drive · LaPorte County, IN

Ideal for photography.

81°F air 5 to 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (86)

Warren Dunes State Park

53 mi · ~1 hr 16 min drive · Berrien County, MI

Ideal for photography.

79°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: Friday (86)

Bradford Beach (Milwaukee)

83 mi · ~1 hr 59 min drive · Milwaukee County, WI

Ideal for a beach walk.

71°F water 79°F air 10 mph wind Best this week: This Afternoon (85)

Holland State Park Beach

96 mi · ~2 hr 18 min drive · Ottawa County, MI

Great day for photography.

71°F water 75°F air 13 mph wind Best this week: Friday (84)

Grand Haven State Park

108 mi · ~2 hr 35 min drive · Ottawa County, MI

Great day for a beach walk.

71°F water 74°F air 13 to 17 mph wind Best this week: Friday (79)

Silver Lake State Park

136 mi · ~3 hr 16 min drive · Oceana County, MI

Ideal for a beach walk.

71°F water 78°F air 12 mph wind Best this week: Thursday (79)

Ludington State Park

159 mi · ~3 hr 49 min drive · Mason County, MI

Ideal for a beach walk.

71°F water 77°F air 13 mph wind Best this week: Thursday (80)

Whitefish Dunes State Park

212 mi · ~5 hr 5 min drive · Door County, WI

Great day for a beach walk.

71°F water

Cave Point County Park

212 mi · ~5 hr 6 min drive · Door County, WI

Great day for a beach walk.

71°F water 77°F air 16 mph wind Best this week: Thursday (80)

Empire Beach (Lake Michigan Beach Park)

217 mi · ~5 hr 13 min drive · Leelanau County, MI

Great day for a beach walk.

71°F water 75°F air 15 mph wind Best this week: Friday (80)

Maumee Bay State Park

220 mi · ~5 hr 16 min drive · Lucas County, OH

Skip the beach today.

86°F air 14 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Peninsula State Park (Nicolet Bay Beach)

228 mi · ~5 hr 28 min drive · Door County, WI

Great day for a beach walk.

71°F water 78°F air 18 mph wind Best this week: Thursday (81)

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

237 mi · ~5 hr 41 min drive · Leelanau County, MI

Great day for a beach walk.

76°F air 15 mph wind Best this week: This Afternoon (80)

Cedar Point Beach

257 mi · ~6 hr 10 min drive · Erie County, OH

Skip the beach today.

88°F air 18 mph wind Best this week: Friday (85)

Distance is straight-line, drive times are estimates

Mileage shown is straight-line distance from the center of Chicago. Real drive times depend on highway routing, weekend traffic, and where in the metro you start. For summer Saturdays, plan 20–40 minutes longer than the estimates here. The range slider above filters by the same straight-line distance.