Centennial Beach quarry swimming beach
Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
🏖️ Beach · Naperville
3 hours · $ · No reservation needed
- 🚗About 5 min driveFrom Naperville · Parking: Free Centennial Beach lot (500 W Jackson Ave); when it fills on weekend afternoons, use the Riverwalk garage
- 🍼Stroller-friendlyFlat surfaces — bring the stroller
- 🌳Little shadeGreat on sunny days · Handles heat
- ⏱️Typical visit: 3 hoursBest seasons: Summer
A huge outdoor pool made from a 1930s quarry, with a zero-depth sandy beach sloping gently in on one side and water deep enough for diving on the other, lifeguards, a snack stand, and a patch of sand for two-year-olds to dig — the center of a Naperville summer.
What this place offers
Featured in these guides
This weekend's weather in Naperville
Forecast at the destination itself (coast and hills often differ from home)
Location
Naperville, Illinois
More like this
Montrose Beach and dunes
5.0Chicago · 55 min drive
3 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Lots of free parking along Montrose Harbor, usually available even on weekend afternoons
Lighthouse Beach
5.0Evanston · 65 min drive
3 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: Small lot beside the Grosse Point Lighthouse and street parking on Sheridan Rd, hard to find after 10am on weekends
57th Street Beach and Promontory Point
4.0Chicago · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free parking on the east side of the MSI and along Science Dr, then take the underpass to the lake; 15-minute walk from the Metra Electric 55th-56th-57th station
North Avenue Beach
4.0Chicago · 50 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: North Ave beach lot (about $20–30 on summer weekends, full after 10am); bus 151 / 72 to LaSalle & North