Winter Beach, Chicago

There are 26 miles of public beaches in Chicago. I will admit in my nine years living in Chicago I only started going to the beach two years ago. My son and I would go in summer, rent bikes and ride along the bike trail. During summer the beach and lake front in Chicago is a continuous party. Volleyball tournaments, bikers, sun worshippers, families having picnics and groups of teenagers there to see and be seen all inhabit the sand.

As I was driving along lakeshore drive one sunny, freezing February day I wondered what the beach would look like in winter.I parked my car, grabbed my camera and went to find out. I walked to Oak Street Beach in the Gold Coast/Streeterville neighborhood. Already a cold day with temperatures in the 20’s. I found as I got near the lake the temperature seemed to drop by another 10 degrees. The tips of my fingers and toes started to burn from the cold and my eyes started to water. The lakefront was quiet, still and calm. The swirling wind rushed into one ear and came out the other, clearing the head.

The beach and lake are just as beautiful in winter as they are in summer. The sand that is visible is wet and caked to the earth the rest is covered by snow. The white snow contrasts beautifully against the blue lake and with the sun beaming from above the entire picture is a vision.