Beach · Lake Michigan · Illinois
Wilmette Gillson Park Beach
A public beach on Lake Michigan in Cook County, Illinois, 0.28 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
- Cook County, Illinois
- Length
- 0.28 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
- IL637664
- Coordinates
- 42.0830° N, 87.6910° W to 42.0810° N, 87.6860° 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
- Wilmette Langdon Beach0.4 mi · sampled · IL
- Wilmette Gillson Park Dog Beach0.6 mi · sampled · IL
- Kenilworth Beach1.2 mi · sampled · IL
- Winnetka Centennial Dog Beach1.7 mi · sampled · IL
- Lincoln Street Beach1.7 mi · sampled · IL
- Winnetka Elder Park Beach1.7 mi · sampled · IL
Straight-line distance.
On the horizon
Lighthouses nearby
- Grosse Point Light1.5 mi · deactivated
- Wilson Avenue Crib Light9.6 mi
- William E. Dever Crib Light12 mi
On shore nearby
Worth the stop
- Chicago Lakefront Trail14 mi · drive
- Illinois Beach State Park24 mi · beach
Off the beach
What to fish on Lake Michigan
Source
Facts on this page are from the EPA BEACON profile for beach IL637664, 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.