Montrose Beach and dunes

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Montrose Beach and dunes

Photo: User:JeremyA · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

🏖️ Beach · Chicago

3 hours · Free · No reservation needed

age fit
0–1 yr
★ 3.0
1–3 yrs
★ 5.0
3–5 yrs
★ 5.0
5–10 yrs
★ 5.0
  • 🚗
    About 55 min drive
    From Naperville · Parking: Lots of free parking along Montrose Harbor, usually available even on weekend afternoons
  • 🎒
    Carrier recommended
    Terrain isn't stroller-friendly; a carrier is easier
  • 🌳
    Little shade
    Great on sunny days · Handles heat
  • ⏱️
    Typical visit: 3 hours
    Best seasons: Summer

Chicago's biggest and most relaxed beach: a very gentle slope and shallow water, a fenced dune and bird sanctuary next door (piping plovers nest there in summer), a dog beach, and parking that beats North Ave by a mile.

💡 Tips
The beach is wide and strollers won't push through the sand, so bring a wagon. The snack stand opens in summer; the little hill at Cricket Hill is for sledding in winter and kites in summer.

What this place offers

✓sandy beach
✓free
✓dunes
✓bird watching
✓dog beach
✓snacks
✓restrooms

Featured in these guides

This weekend's weather in Chicago

Forecast at the destination itself (coast and hills often differ from home)

☀️
Sat 10/17
Sunny · 35–58°F · 3% rain
☀️
Sun 10/18
Sunny · 48–63°F · 0% rain

Location

Chicago, Illinois

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