Forest Park Beach

Forest Park Beach was incorporated into the city of Lake Forest in 1861. It is now considered a crown jewel in Lake Forest's collection of natural assets.

You may walk east up the path to see Lake Michigan and the beach below.

Designated as a site for a passive public park in the 1857 Plan of Lake Forest by landscape gardener Almerin Hotchkiss, the land was formally donated to the City of Lake Forest in 1861 by the Lake Forest Association when the city received its charter from the State of Illinois. The park consists of ten acres of tableland situated between two ravines and stretches along 3,200 feet of bluff along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It was platted by O. C. Simonds in 1896 at the direction of the Lake Forest City Council, for whom he worked on several projects, including nearby Lake Forest Cemetery. Forest Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the Lake Forest Historic District.