The Main Day Use Area at Eau Galle Lake is the swimming beach of the Eau Galle Recreation Area, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (St. Paul District) flood-control project on the Eau Galle River at the north edge of Spring Valley in Pierce County, Wisconsin. The dam backs the river up into a reservoir of roughly 140 to 150 acres, also known locally as Lake George, set among wooded hills and bluffs. The beach sits on the reservoir's south shore, about a mile north of downtown Spring Valley.

From the Twin Cities, take I-94 east to Exit 24, then follow County Road B south about 10 miles and watch for the Corps signs. The project office is at W501 Eau Galle Dam Road. Inside the Main Day Use Area, Beach Drive leads to parking lots right behind the sand, so the walk to the water is short. Overnight camping is not allowed here; the Corps sends campers to its Highland Ridge Campground on Dugan Road, which has its own entrance off County Road NN.

The swim area is a marked section off a large sandy beach, with sand volleyball courts and restrooms just behind it. The Corps does not list lifeguards, so expect to swim unguarded, and it does not publish depth figures for the swim area. The water is the dammed Eau Galle River itself, a still reservoir rather than moving current, and the Corps posts no water temperature readings.Boats are limited to non-gasoline power and the whole lake is no-wake, which keeps the swim area calm. Fishing is not allowed inside the swim perimeter.

This is not a free beach. Every vehicle entering the Main Day Use Area needs a Corps day-use pass from April 15 through October 31, bought on Recreation.gov, at the automated machine at the entrance, or at the project office (cards only on site). The Corps does not post the dollar amount online, so check the machine or call 715-778-5562. Corps annual passes and America the Beautiful interagency passes are accepted instead. The area is open all year, and no fee is charged from November through mid-April. The Corps has shortened the hours in the past after vandalism, and hours are not published, so confirm before a late visit.

Pets and glass are banned from the beach zone, which the Corps defines as the beach, swim area, volleyball courts, parking lot and surrounding lawn; elsewhere dogs must stay on a leash of six feet or less. There are no trash or recycling bins in the Main Day Use Area, so everything you bring has to leave with you. Campfires, horses and off-road vehicles are also prohibited. The Corps points visitors to the Wisconsin DNR beach status page for any water quality advisories.

Beyond the beach there are picnic shelters you can reserve, playgrounds, horseshoe pits, a boat ramp and an accessible fishing pier where people catch largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and sunfish. Hiking and equestrian trails run through the woods around the reservoir, and an overlook shelter on the bluff gives a view down the lake. Crystal Cave, a show cave, is about a mile southwest of Spring Valley.