Boat launches · Lake Michigan · Illinois

Boat Launches Near Chicago

8 public launches within 12 miles of downtown Chicago, Illinois, 3 of them trailer ramps. The nearest is 12th Street Beach Boat Launch, 1.6 miles SE.

Within 12 mi

Trailer ramps

Closest

1.6 mi

Closest first

Public launches around Chicago

Straight-line distance and direction from downtown, not a driving or boating route. Every figure is what the agency publishes; a blank means the agency is silent.

1.6 mi SE
12th Street Beach Boat LaunchChicago
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
1.6 mi SE
Burnham Harbor Boat LaunchChicago
Trailer ramp · 3 lanesDirections
3.5 mi N
Diversey Harbor Boat LaunchChicago
Trailer ramp · 2 lanes · fee listedDirections
5.9 mi N
Montrose Harbor Boat LaunchChicago
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
6.6 mi SE
63rd Street Beach Boat LaunchChicago
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
7.4 mi S
Jackson Park Inner Harbor Boat LaunchChicago
Trailer rampDirections
9.2 mi SE
Rainbow Beach Boat LaunchChicago
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
9.5 mi N
Leone Beach Boat LaunchChicago
Hand / carry-in launchDirections

Once you're off the trailer

What to fish out of Chicago

Our Lake Michigan fishing guides name water reached from these launches for 2 species:

Coho Salmon · Late March through May in the southern basin, then north to Ludington and Manistee by JulyCoho Salmon Fishing on Lake MichiganChicago harbors — Montrose, Burnham and Calumet: Coho stack along the Chicago lakefront in April and May, often in the top 15 feet. Calumet Harbor and the water off the Indiana line hold the warmest, dirtiest water in the basin, which is exactly what the fish want early.Yellow Perch · July through October in the southern basin; December through March on Green Bay iceYellow Perch Fishing on Lake MichiganMontrose and Burnham harbors, Chicago: Perch inside the harbor walls and along the outside breakwalls from July into October. Fishable entirely from shore, which makes this the most accessible perch water on the lake.

Brown Trout on Michigan Chinook Salmon on Michigan Lake Trout on Michigan Lake Whitefish on Michigan Muskellunge on Michigan Northern Pike on Michigan Smallmouth Bass on Michigan Steelhead on Michigan Walleye on Michigan

Before you launch

Lake Michigan is big water

The pier-head channel is the dangerous part of the trip. An onshore wind stacks waves where the channel meets the lake, and the run home can be far worse than the run out. Check the wind direction against the harbor mouth before you leave the ramp.

Longshore currents and structural rip currents at the piers. Lake Michigan produces more drowning fatalities than any other Great Lake, and most of them happen to swimmers near breakwalls and piers, not to anglers offshore.
Sudden north-to-northwest wind shifts. The lake runs 300 miles north to south, so a northerly builds enormous fetch and turns a flat morning into a five-foot afternoon on the south end.
Seiche events. Wind and pressure can push water to one end of the basin and let it slosh back, producing fast, unexpected water-level swings — one on the Chicago shoreline in 1954 killed several people on a pier.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

For the crew ashore

Beaches

Ohio Street Beach1.4 mi
12th Street1.5 mi
Oak Street Beach1.8 mi
Margaret T Burroughs (31st St. Beach)2.9 mi
North Avenue Beach3.2 mi

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses

Chicago Harbor Southeast Guidewall Light1.6 mi
Chicago Harbor Light2.2 mi
William E. Dever Crib Light3.9 mi
Four Mile Crib Light4.4 mi

Questions

Where is the closest public boat launch to Chicago?

12th Street Beach Boat Launch, about 1.6 miles SE of downtown in a straight line (hand / carry-in launch). The closest trailer ramp is Burnham Harbor Boat Launch, 1.6 miles SE.

How many public boat launches are near Chicago?

State agency data lists 8 public launches within 12 miles: 3 trailer ramps and 5 unimproved or carry-in sites, on Lake Michigan and the bays and rivers that run into it.

What is the biggest boat ramp near Chicago?

By the lane and trailer-parking counts the agencies publish, Burnham Harbor Boat Launch (3 lanes). Not every agency publishes those counts, so 6 of the 8 sites here could not be ranked.

Do boat launches near Chicago charge a fee?

1 of the 8 sites list a fee in the agency data (Diversey Harbor Boat Launch). The other 7 do not publish fee information, which does not mean they are free; city and park launches often sell a daily or season pass. Confirm with the manager before you tow.

Who sets the fishing rules on Lake Michigan near Chicago?

Illinois DNR. Seasons, limits and license rules change, so read the current regulations before you go.

Up and down the shore

Launches near other Michigan towns

Hammond, IN · 19 mi Gary, IN · 24 mi Portage, IN · 31 mi Michigan City, IN · 40 mi Kenosha, WI · 50 mi Racine, WI · 59 mi

Source

Downtown positions are approximate. Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain); not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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