63rd Street (Jackson Park)

Managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide

The 63rd Street/Jackson Park Beach is home to Chicago's oldest beach house. The beach is apart of Jackson Park, which offers many different walking trails, including trails to the beach. The beach is a great setting for swimming, and there are washrooms and parking available.

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Water Quality

Failed to meet water quality standards
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on June 2nd, 2023. Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on June 2nd, 2023 at 2:45 PM.

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Current Weather

18°C

Clear

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Chicago Park District monitors beaches daily from May 27 to September 5. When sample results are reported on the County's website, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates Swim Guide.

Recreational public beaches in Illinois are tested at least once every week, typically from May to September. In popular beach areas such as Chicago, beaches are tested five times per week or even daily.

New to 2017, The Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (DCNR) will be testing for Enterococci instead of culturing live E. coli bacteria cells. Doing so allows for quicker results: DCNR are able to get water quality results back within 3-4 hours instead of the typical 18-24 hours. DCNR then posts same day results for people to see.

In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has two sets of recommendations for freshwater and marine beaches. A single sample at a freshwater beach should not exceed 235 E. coli / 100 ml of water. A single sample at a marine beach should not exceed 104 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a freshwater beach should not exceed 126 E. coli / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a marine beach should not exceed 35 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. States may choose to use this standard or they may substitute a standard that is "as protective as" the EPA's recommendation. The Beach Act is the nation's primary beach protection law.

Water Quality Graph