North Dunes Nature Preserve

To be fair I love all water access places. However this is one of my favorites. Its so peaceful with lots of beach to walk for hourd.

Absolutely Zen amazing freezing cold water though very surprised! Beautiful drift wood and rocks.

Beautiful area nicely maintained.

Beautiful and quite spot. You can take wonderful pics there. Its very nice place to take a walk, spend some time with family or just sit there and listen the lake.

Beautiful areaSand is very clean. Shoreline was clean and water was perfect temp. We come here always enjoy our time. And love to feed the dear.

Its a nice place to walk on hotter days as the cool breeze comes off the lake. Also great for picnics. I like to come in the summer to go in the cold water.

A very nice clean place to go for a walk or a bike ride.

North Dunes Nature Preserve is a fantastic place for birding, walking, riding a bike, and a unique beach. The sugar white sands of Panama City Beach, FL, it aint...but it is a very cool beach for combing. When the water warms up a bit its a great place to wade or swim in the shallows. The beach is as much gravel as sand and the lake bottom has many smooth stones of various sizes. Hard to walk into the surf if youre barefoot BUT if youll wear some swim boots you can have a ball. On calm days the water is very clear and snorkeling in 3-4 feet of water can be loads of fun; just checking out the bottom. The beach at North Dunes abuts the beach of Hosah Park which is a Zion Park District park. I love to walk my dog the length of the beach, probably a thousand yards and let him fetch and retrieve. I love it and if youre looking for a quiet beach with lots of adjacent trails, this just might be for you.

As a local nature photographer, this the north unit offers ample opportunities to capture all forms of nature, big and small. Like flowers? Plenty of different species of wildflowers grow here. Want to capture photos of birds? We have year round birds i.e. Blue Jay, Cardinal, Robin, and others. The migrating birds are a gift to photograph i.e. Warblers, Ducks, Hawks, Eagles, Falcon and others. Hiking? Yes, combination walking and bike trails for your pleasure. All in All, nice place to spend time with family and friends.

Okay place for a walk. Not much shade. Beach erosion has taken out many sections of trails. Not much to do or see here.

Water was perfect for swimming but not as clean as I hoped for, still a very good day near the water on a hot July day.

No crowds, fun natural environment, some issues with mosquitoes. If you like walking well kept trails and enjoy uncrowded beaches this is a good stop.

Just beautiful and a great place to relax !! Water is a bit cold, LOL

Absolutely gorgeous. Easily accessible and lots of parking. Bring your bug spray

Clean sandy beach, well-kept walking trails. Easy walk to the North Point Marina. No pets allowed on beach, but trails are allowed. Not as crowded here as the main beach a little south.

Great area to bring the family. Never crowed and preach view of the lake.

Get away from the crowds. Wonderful walking trails with great veiws of the lake. Its nice to take a dip in the lake if the water is not freezing.

Great place for a picnic, to enjoy the great view of lakefront, fresh air, and boats as they leave the harbour!

A Real Escape! So nice...

Ive been going here since I was a little kid. It was great, then it wasnt. Now its in between. Shore lines are receding. Paths have several flooded spots and some rather large holes. People dont leash their dogs all the time and Ive been bitten. That being said it is still one of my favorite places. Its beautiful and full of life. Just come prepared.

When the sun sets, and the sky is clear, this place is magical! #sunset #goldenhour #beautiful

Beautiful beach for chillin, swimming, hiking and more

Love to watch the waves

Great place to visit. Nice trails, and its well kept for the most part. Highly recommended.

Nice roads, decent bathrooms, beautiful views!

I grew up very in the vicinity. I have been in pursuit of trophy Whitetail bucks in the Forest preserve along the lakefront since I was 14 years old. Have fished this Great Lake since I was a young boy. I even caught a few conversations charges for hitting 2 Sea Gulls on a wave runner. This lake provides unlimited recreation and entertainment for children and adults alike.

Nice place with beach access and restaurants.

Not too crowded

Such a beautiful place quiet, and relaxing i love it !!

This is actually the North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park. Its a beautiful site, with dunes, sand ponds, and many types of wildflowers. There are picnic areas, but the beach is almost gone due to erosion. A lovely place to wander or picnic.

Lots of open space and well maintained trails

I visited here for the first time last weekend with my husband on a whim. My first impression was that it was clean, free of a lot of trash, the waves were peaceful and serene and when I did see people they were super friendly! Coming from Wisconsin, I thought man I like our parks and beaches but after this -- they really take care of this place. It is just amazing. It is a nice quiet spot and there are so many trails and places to just be at and enjoy. I will definitely visit here again as we both love to just go out and explore!

Beautiful peaceful

My morning walks here on any day of the week help fill the rest of the day with peace and content .

Honestly a great beach, very empty and rocky. Not a person to be seen, I love how well kept this place is. The beaches arent the type you lounge on

It is a very well kept place. Lots of parking available. Nice for walking and pictures

Ive been to better beaches along Lake Michigan... mainly in WI, IN, and MI. But you can see the Chicago skyline from this point. It looked like a nice park to ride your bike or hike.

It ok lots people

Beautiful day for a walk with the oup!

Superb hiking, swimming and nature viewing.

Its beautiful out here. Today I got my hood stuck on my Ford, but a nice man came and helped me and my friend out. I ate a taco here and a cinnabon delight while the lake breeze relaxed us. It was not crowded and it was a wonderful day to eat by the lake.

Beautiful place

Beautiful place with nice trails. This really is the best thing about zion.

This is a great place to go and swim in the month of August in early September when the lake is warm enough. We ride our bikes down there and take the dog with us.Although no dogs are allowed on the beach we have seemed to not been hassled only once. The South unit of Illinois Beach Park not so. Too many state workers wondering around 2 hassle you. Youre not even allowed to walk your dog on the beach with a leash there.

Natural beach with clean fresh water.

Just a beautiful environment that has a wonderful back story. Flora, fauna and Lake Michigan. Find a warm sunny spot out of breeze, drink a cup of coffee, look about you and hopefully realize just how fortunate you are.

Walked the beach on cold winter day

Nice place

Its a great place to view nature. It doesnt have many amenities other than restrooms. We enjoy watching the waves crash against the shore in high NE winds.

Awesome place to visit.

I like hitting the trails and its great in the summer

Its nothing special as far as a lake Michigan beach goes..... I cant really say anything bad about the park except that its hours are very unfriendly!!!!!!!!!!!

Could use some better changing and other facilities. But it is clean and a good place to go with your family.

A beautiful place to explore nature for all ages.

Beautiful place

Relaxing

Went to isherwood beach. It was alright. The beach was not that great. Little bit of sand. Mostly rocks and broken tree everywhere. There are definitely better (less painful on your feet) beaches.

Nice but needs work and needs to be open more often

Nice place for hiking.

Good place for a get together

Nature preserve Illinois high lite.

Great place to walk your dog!

Great bike path.

Beautiful spot. And nicely Quiet.

Cant wait for summer to revisit

It is a relaxing place to go for a walk to see the beauty of nature and the awesome creation of land and water very nice, and it is nice to see authorities around to ensure the safety of everyone as well.

Very well maintained and Great Security. Love the Nature trails

Great if you like going to see nature and dont want info or guides.

Other than sand and lake, there isnt much else.

Nice walk or bike ride especially for kids easy access to lakefront beach and lots of monarch butterflies, also nice little nature center for kids ... 7-23-18

Rock hounding I love it

Beautiful

Nice, clean area, with lots of parking. Nice view of Lake Michigan.

Definitely in need of some work. Its not like it was when I was growing up

Beautiful in the summer and winter time!

Love water and sand

Its ok as most things go. But facilities are not being maintained. A large section of trail is closed, and its been that way for over 2 years now because a bridge washed out and they never fixed it. (Its not something big or fancy, it just spans across 8ft of creek or so.) The few public restrooms that are available also need work. Fix those things please! Scenery and location otherwise are great.

Great place for a beach day, clean areas and good little hiding spots to hang out at

Theres an abandoned house on the trail near the lakeside, very out of place. Looks like something out of True Detective. Pretty sure some wacky occult highjinks go on there. Watch out. Other than that, its alright.

It was very clean beach, but it was disappointing to see that the bath house and concision stand were all locked up. They didnt look like they had been used in years.

This is my favorite place to go. Its quiet and is full of natural beauty.

Good scenes and great walks

Beautiful prairie landscape, wildlife and birds.

Great

My favorite part of the park. I live close by and walk here often. Its sad to see how the park is deteriorating from the storms and negligence though.

Great place to take the family or go on hikes

Beautiful path by Lake Michigan as well as other paths by inlets. Just watch the mosquitoes near the inlets.

Nice beach, mostly pebbles, but sand inland. Need to get the PWCs to stay away from the swimming zones.

Very nice, looking forward to going back.

Great place to take a nature walk

Pretty yet empty.

My favorite trail is on the north side of the beach

Awesome great view. Will be back agin.

Hidden gem right in the middle of the city.

Wasnt there just drove past

Love seeing the water.

Great view of the lake.

Great to let kids run

Love Nature.

Good place to fish with the kids