Here are beaches you can visit in the Milwaukee area and other parts of southeastern Wisconsin this summer
Bradford Beach, Milwaukee's most popular beach, isn’t the only place to cool off during the summer in southeastern Wisconsin.
The state has more than 1,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and more than 15,000 inland lakes that offer plenty of space to relax and swim safely distanced from others. The Department of Natural Resources has documented 55 miles of Great Lakes beaches and 110 inland lakes with swimming beaches. The lists, and water quality at most of those beaches, are available on their website (dnr.wi.gov/topic/beaches).
Here are some southeastern Wisconsin beaches to cool off at this summer.
Milwaukee County
The county is home to these beaches along Lake Michigan: Bradford, McKinley (closed in 2022 due to dangerous rip currents) and South Shore in Milwaukee (note that South Shore is frequently closed to swimming due to E. coli issues); Atwater in Shorewood; Bay View in St. Francis; Grant in South Milwaukee, Klode in Whitefish Bay; and Doctors in Fox Point. Just north of Doctors, the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center also has a small beach along Lake Michigan.
County parks are free to visit. Admission to the nature preserve is $8 for adults, $5 for kids ages 3-17 and active duty and veterans. Dogs are not permitted on Milwaukee County Parks beaches or at Schlitz Audubon.
Waukesha County
Six Waukesha County parks have beaches: Fox Brook in Brookfield, Menomonee in Menomonee Falls, Minooka in Waukesha, Mukwonago, Muskego, and Naga-Waukee in Hartland. All but Naga-Waukee have pet swim areas. Admission is $6/day or $35/year (annual entrance stickers are available online at waukeshacounty.gov/parksystem).
In the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit, Ottawa Lake (between Dousman and Eagle) and Whitewater Lake (in Walworth County) have beaches. The former has a pet swim area. Both require a state parks admission sticker ($28/year, $8/day, annual stickers are available at yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/wi).
Pewaukee Lake has a public beach at Lakefront Park downtown. Pets are not permitted.
Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc has two public beaches at Bender and City parks.
Washington County
Three Washington County Parks have lakes with beaches: Leonard J. Yahr County Park in Farmington, Ackerman’s Grove County Park in West Bend and Sandy Knoll County Park in Trenton. Daily entrance passes are $5 and are available online at washcoparks.com.
Pike Lake, a unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest in Hartford, has a beach. The park is popular and could reach its capacity limit on a nice summer weekend (check dnr.wi.gov before you head out). State parks admission stickers are required.
Ozaukee County
Port Washington’s North and South beaches don’t have much actual beach due to the lake levels, but you can still swim along the shore — if it’s safe to do so. The area is prone to rip currents, and the city installed a traffic light system at North Beach last year to warn of dangerous conditions.
Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton is most notable for its scenic bluff-top views, but you can also follow a staircase down the bluffs at the north end of the park to access a narrow beach along Lake Michigan.
Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium has a mile-long beach along Lake Michigan, although the lake's water is almost up to the tree line, leaving little sand to play in. Leashed pets are allowed on the southern section of the beach. A state parks admission sticker is required.
Racine & Kenosha counties
Racine’s North Point Beach rivals Milwaukee’s Bradford for size. It was Wisconsin's first beach to be designated as a Certified Blue Wave clean beach by the National Clean Beaches Council (a designation Bradford shares).
Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Kansasville has a 200-foot beach along Wolf Lake. Visitors need a state parks sticker.
Zoo Beach is just north of North Beach, accessible via stairs from the paved Lake Michigan Pathway.
Kenosha County’s Old Settlers Park has a beach on Paddock Lake in Salem. Admission is charged on July 4 only and is $5 for Kenosha County resident vehicles and $25 for non-resident vehicles.
Fond du Lac & Sheboygan counties
Kohler-Andrae State Park outside Sheboygan has two miles of sandy beach along Lake Michigan. Pets are permitted on the beach north of the nature center. State parks stickers are required for admission.
Mauthe Lake and Long Lake, in the Kettle Moraine State Forest’s Northern Unit near Campbellsport, both have beaches. The recreation areas are connected by the 6.5-mile limestone Lake-to-Lake Trail. Visitors need a state parks sticker.
Lakeview Park on Random Lake in Sheboygan County has a beach. Parking at the park is $5 for non-residents when an attendant is present.
Fireman’s Park has a beach on Elkhart Lake in Sheboygan County. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for kids 12 and under.
More Wisconsin beaches
Dane County: Governor Nelson State Park, Waunakee; Lake Kegonsa State Park, Stoughton; Stewart Lake County Park, Mount Horeb; Goodland County Park, Madison; Mendota County Park, Middleton.
Dodge County: Hattie Sherwood Beach and Dodge Memorial County Park, Green Lake
Jefferson County: Sandy Beach and Bartel’s Beach, Lake Mills.
Manitowoc County: Point Beach State Forest, Two Rivers; Neshotah Beach, Two Rivers; North Pier Beach, Two Rivers.
Walworth County: Riviera Beach and Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva; Williams Bay Beach, Williams Bay; Community Park, Delavan
Contact Chelsey Lewis at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @TravelMJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.
Related: 12 places to camp along water in Wisconsin
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area beaches from Lake Michigan to Pewaukee Lake
