beaches near chicago good for young kids

Can anyone help? We are planning to visit friends in Chicago city centre last week in August and wanted to combine it with a bit of a chill out somewhere. Only thing is I know nothing about the area. We are looking for somewhere with a beach and swimmable water, good for young kids and reasonably priced accommodation. We would like either vacation rental home or a hotel with private kitchen facilities, or we would consider camping, but does anyone know if you can rent trailers or tents because we are coming from the UK and cant get one on the plane.

beaches near chicago good for young kids

How close do you want to be to Chicago? If you want to be really close, you might want to post in the Chicago forum. I know they always have good suggestions, and they%26#39;d know better what is most convenient from there.

Indiana Dunes might be a good option for you. Unfortunately, I%26#39;ve never been there, so I can%26#39;t give you first-hand information.

http://www.casualcoast.com/

I have been to beach towns in Michigan that I really like that are a couple of hours away from Chicago. I really enjoy South Haven, and Douglas/Saugatuck. www.southhaven.com www.saugatuck.org I%26#39;ve also heard good things about New Buffalo. The people on the Michigan forum are also very helpful, so if you%26#39;d like to drive a bit and explore that area, I%26#39;m sure they%26#39;d give you good suggestions too.

For vacation rentals, you can look at www.vrbo.com for any of those places. They do tend to book early, so I%26#39;d make plans as soon as possible. If I see anything about tent rentals, I%26#39;ll post it.

I hope you have a great trip!

Lily

beaches near chicago good for young kids

Many thanks for your advice. I%26#39;ve heard of Indiana Dunes and have been checking it out but very interested to hear more about Saugatuck and New Buffalo. I think a couple of hours drive outside of Chicago is the type of distance we are looking for.

Washington Park in Michigan City is a great beach. Good area for kids, there%26#39;s a zoo across the street and a good outlet mall right down the road. It%26#39;s my favorite of all the beaches. Doesn%26#39;t get as crowded as the dunes. There are quite a few rentals in the area. Google bluefish realty, they have a good selection.

Hi,

My wife, son and I live in Chicago and have a beach house in a great community called Miller Beach. Many of our neighbors are second home owners from Chicago as Miller Beach has one of the nicest beaches on Lake Michigan. The beach is filled with families and since there is no public parking the beaches are less crowded.

Miller Beach is a great jumping off point as it is surrounded by the national park and close to Michigan City, Mount Baldy, West Beach, hiking, casinos, golf, boating, shopping and Chicago is 40 minutes by car or 60 min using the South Shore train. There are some great beach rentals available, just google ';Miller Beach Indiana rentals'; or try VRBO.com. You will love laying on the beach or taking a sunset beach walk with a glass of wine and the cost is a lot less then many trendy Michigan spots.

For a wonderful meal and live jazz check out the Miller Bakery Cafe on Lake Street and for Breakfast/lunch the Bakers House has homemade scones, quiche and sandwiches.

Chicago Magazine just listed Miller Beach and Miller Woods as top places in this months magazine.

The area is very safe however it has a diverse population and some areas away from the beach are not that pretty. (industrial)