Beach · Lake Michigan · Illinois
Wilmette Gillson Park Dog Beach
A public beach on Lake Michigan in Cook County, Illinois, about 380 feet of shore. The state samples the water for bacteria twice a month through a 130-day swim season.
The beach
On the record
- Water
- Lake Michigan
- Location
- Cook County, Illinois
- Length
- about 380 feet
- Owner
- Public
- Access
- Public Access
- Water sampling
- Yes — twice a month in the swim season
- Swim season
- 130 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
- IL297977
- Coordinates
- 42.0790° N, 87.6810° W to 42.0780° N, 87.6800° 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 Gillson Park Beach0.6 mi · sampled · IL
- Wilmette Langdon Beach1.0 mi · sampled · IL
- Lincoln Street Beach1.2 mi · sampled · IL
- Kenilworth Beach1.7 mi · sampled · IL
- Evanston Clark Beach2.1 mi · sampled · IL
- Winnetka Centennial Dog Beach2.2 mi · sampled · IL
Straight-line distance.
On the horizon
Lighthouses nearby
- Grosse Point Light1.1 mi · deactivated
- Wilson Avenue Crib Light9.1 mi
- William E. Dever Crib Light11 mi
On shore nearby
Worth the stop
- Chicago Lakefront Trail13 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 IL297977, 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.