Photo essay: 20 of the Best Beaches in SE Wisconsin
July 12, 2023 | Topics: Spotlight, Stories
By Eddee Daniel
It’s summertime! Beach season. Chances are you’ve already spent a day or two at a favorite beach nearby. And that’s not only because it’s the right time of year, but also because there are so many great beaches to choose from right here in the Milwaukee metropolitan region of southeast Wisconsin. If you are new to the area, if you want to expand your range of opportunities, or if you simply want to spend a few moments vicariously enjoying the photos of beaches, I bring you this illustrated guide to some of the best beaches around. In fact, I had to be selective. When I did a search of my archive to find beach photos I discovered over 30 that I’ve been to—and there are more I’ve yet to visit!
Lake Michigan, with its miles and miles of shoreline, features prominently, of course. One of the overall best—for a number of reasons—is Bradford Beach right in downtown Milwaukee. However, if you really want to swim, head out to one of the many smaller inland lakes where the water is appreciably warmer! My “Best of…” categories are entirely subjective. I’d love to know what your favorite beach might be and why. Let me know in the comments at the end.
Best Urban Beach/Best Accessible Beach
What is it about Bradford Beach that makes it so good, anyway? According to Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, it is not only one of the best urban beaches in the area, but in the nation! It’s size, along with its proximity to the city, are reasons enough. The size is particularly important on hot summer weekends as there is room for the multitudes of beachgoers who descend on it to spread out (see photo at top, taken on Memorial Day weekend). There are plenty of amenities for those who wish to partake, such as the many ranks of beach volleyball courts. I personally like to go on less than ideal days when you can have a lot more beach to yourself.
This is a double category. Milwaukee County Parks and The Ability Center have teamed up to make Bradford Beach one of the most accessible anywhere. A concrete ramp and, in season, a “mobility mat” have been put in place to allow wheelchair access. There are even beach wheelchairs available to check out—and they’re free of charge!
Runner up: North Beach in Racine. If you live in Racine you probably would switch the order of these two beaches! North Beach is also very large and immediately adjacent to downtown. Like Bradford, it installs a (very long!) mobility mat in season.
Best Beach to Get Away from It All
Have you heard me mention the idea of “urban wilderness” once or twice in this blog? In fact, the previous iteration of my blog went under that title. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that is a major theme, not just for A Wealth of Nature as a project, but also of my life. All of which is a prelude to introducing you to Grant Park Beach, absolutely the best place to experience the disappearance of any semblance of “civilization.” In the simple sense, that is, of seeing and hearing nothing but nature—the bluff, the sand, water, and sky. You can walk a longer distance along the Lake Michigan shore in Grant Park than just about anywhere. Most of the time, except at the south end where the parking lot and concession stand are, you will be all alone when you do it. I for one treasure this.
Runner up: Doctors Park. The beach here is less sandy, more stony, and there is less of it, but it is no less secluded.
Best Beaches for Boating
I couldn’t narrow this one down to a single selection. And I have to admit straightaway my bias towards motor-less boating. That said, my trifecta of park beaches that encourage boating, as well as providing opportunities to engage in it, are Pike Lake State Park, Ottawa Lake State Recreation Area, and Bender Park.
Best Beach to Take the Grandkids
If you have kids or grandkids of your own you probably take them to the nearest beach—or the nearest one with a playground nearby, or a concession stand for the French fries and ice cream they crave. Bradford Beach fills all those bills for me and I do take them there on occasion. But when we’re there they spend most of their time on the beach as opposed to in the water. We prefer to go to Menomonee Park near Lannon in Waukesha County. There they spend most of the time in the warm water. When they need a break, the playground is right there next to the beach. When I need a break there are plenty of trails to disappear down while Mom or Grandma watches the kids.
Runner up: Fox Brook Park. Another Waukesha County Park with a lovely beach and adjacent playground. Fewer hiking opportunities, however.
Best Hidden Gem
Klode Park Beach is not only tucked into an out-of-the-way corner of Whitefish Bay, it is literally hard to find even after you’ve reached the park. When you arrive at the top of a bluff with a dramatic view of Lake Michigan the beach remains hidden until you wind your way down a serpentine path to the bottom. There you find twin scallops of pristine white sand spilling into coves protected from erosion by jetties of massive, jumbled rocks.
Runner up: Sandy Knoll Park. The beach at this Washington County park near West Bend is located on a small pond at the far end of the road. In my limited experience it is more often deserted than crowded, even on warm summer weekends.
Best Rocky Beach
If your taste runs to rocks instead of sand you can do no better than Sheridan Park. The beach there qualifies as another hidden gem. Even more remote than at Klode Park, you don’t see the beach until you’ve walked down a long, twisty paved path through a bluff-side woodland. This is a good beach to save for another season. I take the kids there when it’s too cold to play in the water. Throwing stones can occupy them for a little while and then the hike back up the bluff helps to wear them out … if it doesn’t wear me out first!
Best … well, other beaches.
I’ve run out of categories and I promised you 20, so here are a few more to balance the equation.
But wait! There are even more.
If 20 wasn’t enough for you, there are even more beaches and more photos from some of the same beaches in my Beaches Flickr album.
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Eddee Daniel is a board member of Preserve Our Parks.