Lake Sara Beach is the public swimming beach at Lake Sara Beach Park, also known in Effingham Water Authority planning documents as Pearson Peninsula Park. It sits on a roughly 30-acre peninsula that reaches into Lake Sara, a water-supply reservoir built in 1957 by the Effingham Water Authority (EWA), the public body that still owns and runs the lake. The authority puts the lake at about 800 acres with 27 miles of shoreline (state fisheries figures list 614 acres), and the beach is about 5 miles west of downtown Effingham.

Lake Sara is reached from Illinois Route 32/33 on the west side of Effingham. Once at the lake, follow North Beach Road south onto the peninsula. The beach is at the south tip of the park, below the playgrounds, with Pinky's restaurant and a boat launch a few hundred yards to the northeast off Marine Road. Park in the beach park lots. Space can fill on hot summer weekends and on event days.

The swim area is a short strip of sand on the open lake, part of a beach and swimming area the authority expanded during the park's first construction phase. Lake Sara is a deep reservoir (state records give a maximum depth of 47 feet and an average of 19 feet), so expect the bottom to drop off once you are past the shallows rather than staying knee deep for a long way. The water warms up through June and is usually at its best in July and August. There is no current to speak of, but this is a busy boating lake, so stay inside the swim area. EWA's own pages say nothing about lifeguards, and a beach directory listing says there are none, so plan on watching your own group and bring a life jacket for weak swimmers.

The EWA describes the beach as public and open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. No admission charge for the beach or the park is listed on the authority's site or in local coverage, and since 2017 the peninsula has been under the authority's direct control rather than leased to a private operator. Daily hours are not posted online, so call the Water Authority at (217) 347-7333 if you need them. Paddlers should know that every canoe, kayak and paddle board on Lake Sara needs an EWA sticker ($15 a year for non-motorized craft), sold at the marinas and at the Mach 1 station on Route 32/33.

The lake is the city's water supply and sees heavy boat traffic, and visitors report that swimming off boats out on the lake is not allowed. Use the beach. A bath house serves the beach. The authority's master plan includes making the beach larger, so expect some construction at some point.

The rest of the park was rebuilt with about a million dollars raised locally by the Lake Sara Forever group, plus state OSLAD grants. Along with the beach there are two playgrounds, a nine-stage kids' obstacle course, four pickleball courts, a volleyball court, outdoor fitness equipment, a quarter-mile walking track, a disc golf course and a shade shelter. In June the park hosts a free kids' pirate party with treasure hunts and tug-of-war, and the lake has two marinas, restaurants and a campground close by.