Lions Beach is the City of Janesville's public swimming beach on Lions Pond, a flooded former sand and gravel pit on the south side of town, about a mile south of downtown. The Recreation Division of the city's Neighborhood and Community Services department runs it. The Janesville Lions Club donated the land to the city in 1939, and to mark the club's 100th anniversary in 2022 it paid for a new pavilion at the beach. The beach sits on the south shore of the pond in Lions Park, with Rotary Botanical Gardens next door to the east.

The street address is 1400 Palmer Drive. The park road comes in off Palmer Drive, and small paved lots sit just east of the sand. Parking is free. The paved Spring Brook Trail, which carries the Ice Age Trail through Janesville, runs along Spring Brook right behind the beach, so you can get here easily by bike. A bike repair station stands at the trail entrance. Janesville Transit riders can get off near the ice skating center at Main and Tyler streets and walk the short path to the beach.

The swim area is a marked zone off a sand beach, and swimmers have to stay inside it. There is no lifeguard on duty at any time, so children need an adult watching them closely. Because the pond is an old gravel pit, the bottom drops off quickly in places. The city's fishing guide says the water just beyond the boat ramp on the west shore reaches 18 feet almost right away. No water temperatures are published for the pond, so judge it yourself early in the season. Deep, sudden drop-offs and cold water together are the main risk for weaker swimmers.

Admission is free. The posted season runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and the beach is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Check the city's Recreation Division (608-755-3030) for the current year's dates. The city takes water samples every week of the season and sends them to the State Laboratory of Hygiene in Madison for E. coli testing. Readings of 0 to 234 CFU are considered safe. From 235 to 1,000 CFU the beach stays open with a public notice posted. Above 1,000 CFU it closes until a retest comes back clean. That has happened. The city has closed the beach until further notice after high bacteria readings. Geese use the beach too, and a local family guide warns about droppings on the sand. Check the posted results before you swim.

Besides the beach, the park has restrooms in the bathhouse during swim season, picnic tables, drinking water, benches, the Lions Club pavilion, shade structures, and a sand volleyball court. There's also a beach toy box where kids can borrow sand toys. Lions Pond is a popular fishing spot. A steep launch for non-motorized boats on the west side of the pond, next to the water utility well, lets you put in a canoe or kayak. Rotary Botanical Gardens is a short walk away.