The stretch of Chicago beaches along the shores of Lake Michigan reopened last month kicking off the 2024 swimming season.
Now Chicago edges ever closer to summer with the reopening of Chicago pools next week and there’s one beach opening along with them that carries extra significance.
The Humboldt Beach, aka Chicago’s only inland beach, will reopen on Monday, June 17, for the first time in 4 years according to the Chicago Park District.
Located on the historic Humboldt Park lagoon with 219 acres of Humboldt Park, a Natural Swimming Beach first opened back in 1973 offering Northwest Siders far from Lake Michigan their own respite from the heat in the summer months.
In 2015, the City of Chicago then shut down the beach for the first time in 4 decades citing maintenance costs. It quickly reopened the following year due to public outcry but was plagued with issues over poor water quality and upkeep.
Once COVID-19 hit, the beach closed and struggled to reopen given mitigation measures and then a shortage of lifeguards.
Now largely thanks to a surge in new lifeguards and a Humboldt Beach renovation project, Chicago’s only inland beach will finally reopen to the public.
According to the Chicago Park District the project “focused on reducing municipal water consumption and improving water quality through implementing environmentally sustainable designs” and
Crews have reportedly removed excess vegetation from the beach, extensively cleaned the sand and are frequently testing the water quality in anticipation of its Monday opening.
“A 10-foot deep water pocket and aeration bubbler system was installed to keep oxygen at reasonable levels to discourage harmful algae growth, improve circulation, and reduce water temperature” reads the Chicago Park District Humboldt Beach page. “The swimming area was replenished with new sand and will soon have native vegetation to help filter pollutants.”
Humboldt Park’s beach will operate with the same rules as other Chicago beaches. Beachgoers can only swim while lifeguards are on duty between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and must follow the Park District’s flag warning system.
The Humboldt Beach is located at 1400 N. Sacramento Ave in Chicago.
More information can be found at chicagoparkdistrict.com/humboldt-beach.