Beach · Lake Michigan · Illinois
Waukegan South Beach
A public beach on Lake Michigan in Lake County, Illinois, 0.21 miles of shore. The state samples the water for bacteria twice a month through a 101-day swim season.
The beach
On the record
- Water
- Lake Michigan
- Location
- Lake County, Illinois
- Length
- 0.21 miles
- Owner
- Public
- Access
- Public Access
- Water sampling
- Yes — twice a month in the swim season
- Swim season
- 101 days, as reported
- Monitoring tier
- Tier 1 — the state’s highest monitoring priority
- Water quality standard
- E. coli, geometric mean: 300 CFU per 100 mL
- EPA beach ID
- IL234945
- Coordinates
- 42.3640° N, 87.8150° W to 42.3610° N, 87.8170° 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
- Waukegan North Beach1.4 mi · sampled · IL
- North Chicago Foss Park Beach2.7 mi · IL
- Illinois Beach State Park Resort Beach4.5 mi · sampled · IL
- Illinois Beach State Park South Beach5.4 mi · sampled · IL
- Lake Bluff Dog Beach5.9 mi · sampled · IL
- Lake Bluff Sunrise Beach5.9 mi · sampled · IL
Straight-line distance.
On the horizon
Lighthouses nearby
- Waukegan Harbor Light0.2 mi
Ashore
State parks nearby
On shore nearby
Worth the stop
- Illinois Beach State Park3.9 mi · beach
Off the beach
What to fish on Lake Michigan
Source
Facts on this page are from the EPA BEACON profile for beach IL234945, 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.