GreatAmericanLakes

Beach · Lake Michigan · Illinois

12th Street

A public beach on Lake Michigan in Cook County, Illinois, 0.2 miles of shore. The state samples the water for bacteria daily through a 101-day swim season.

Chart of 12th Street on Lake Michigan, with neighboring beaches markedMargaret T Burroughs (31st St. Beach)Ohio Street BeachOak Street BeachOakwood Beach49th Street BeachNorth Avenue Beach12th Street

The beach

On the record

Water
Lake Michigan
Location
Cook County, Illinois
Length
0.2 miles
Owner
Public
Access
Public Access
Water sampling
Yes — daily in the swim season
Swim season
101 days, as reported
Monitoring tier
Tier 1 — the state’s highest monitoring priority
EPA beach ID
IL820929
Coordinates
41.8650° N, 87.6070° W to 41.8630° N, 87.6070° W

As the state reported it to EPA for the 2025 season. Sampling schedules change year to year. How beach monitoring works →

Down the shore

Nearest Michigan beaches

  1. Margaret T Burroughs (31st St. Beach)1.7 mi · sampled · IL
  2. Ohio Street Beach2.0 mi · sampled · IL
  3. Oak Street Beach2.8 mi · sampled · IL
  4. Oakwood Beach2.9 mi · sampled · IL
  5. 49th Street Beach4.2 mi · IL
  6. North Avenue Beach4.2 mi · sampled · IL

Straight-line distance.

On the horizon

Lighthouses nearby

On shore nearby

Worth the stop

Source

Facts on this page are from the EPA BEACON profile for beach IL820929, the record Illinois files under the federal BEACH Act, retrieved 2026-10-10. The county is placed from the beach’s own coordinates. A blank field means the record is silent. Parking, fees, lifeguards and dog rules are set by whoever runs the beach; check with them before you go.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.