8 Free Swimming Holes near Freedom Park
first prev 1 next lastShowing Swimming Holes within 50 miles Distance miles of Freedom Park near Lowell, Indiana City, Zip, or Address
West Beach
Portage
24.7 miles NEThe National Park Service's main lifeguarded swimming beach at Indiana Dunes, a wide Lake Michigan beach with a bath house and Chicago skyline views. A national park entrance pass ($25 per vehicle) is required.
Hike, Swim
Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach
Portage
25.7 miles NEUnguarded Lake Michigan beach at Indiana Dunes National Park's Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, reached by a short paved path from a pavilion with restrooms. A park entrance pass ($25 per car) is required.
Hike, Swim
Mount Baldy Beach
Michigan City
37.6 miles NEA 120 foot living dune that creeps inland about four feet a year. The Lake Michigan beach below it is open for swimming with no lifeguards, but the summit is closed except on ranger led hikes.
Hike, Swim
12th Street Beach
Chicago
39.5 miles NFree, lifeguarded Lake Michigan beach on Chicago's Northerly Island, just south of the Adler Planetarium, with a beach house, paddle launch and swimming from 11 am to 7 pm in summer.
Canoe, Kayak, Swim
Washington Park Beach
Michigan City
39.6 miles NEMichigan City's lifeguarded Lake Michigan beach in historic Washington Park, beside the East Pier lighthouse. Entry on foot is free; parking is $3 to $7 an hour in 2026.
Swim
Stone Lake Beach
La Porte
41.3 miles NELa Porte's free city swimming beach on Stone Lake in Soldiers Memorial Park, with summer lifeguards, a beach house with restrooms and concessions, a playground and kayak rentals.
Hike, Kayak, Swim
Ohio Street Beach
Chicago
41.6 miles NA free, lifeguarded Chicago Park District beach on Lake Michigan just north of Navy Pier, and the city's main open water training spot, with a half-mile swim along the seawall toward Oak Street.
Swim
New Buffalo Beach
New Buffalo
48.8 miles NEThe City of New Buffalo charges $25.00 a day to park at its Lake Michigan beach, the first public one north of the Indiana line. It is guarded in summer and sits right beside the harbor piers that generate the lake's structural currents.
Canoe, Kayak, Swim
