When it’s time to chill, beat the heat at manmade and mechanized pools or at one of nature’s-own swimming holes.
Scorching temperatures and dog-day humidity can throw a wet blanket on summer activities, but there’s warm-weather relief at water parks, wave pools and sandy beaches lining the shores of inland lakes.
For those with a penchant for the wet and wild, water parks provide towering twisty slides, speed slides angled for heart-wrenching descents and “surf’s-up” action atop manmade waves.
Those who like their aqua adventures on the quiet side can enjoy lazy-day floats down in-park rivers, tread water beneath cascading waterfalls or take a quick dip before heading back to book and beach towel.
Even water babies delight in pint-sized fun at pools and water parks with zero-depth entries, spouting animal fountains and tot-friendly slides and tube rides.
Unlike Lake Michigan beaches, the shores of smaller lakes offer access to calm and temperate waters, ideally suited for everything from the breaststroke to a game of Marco Polo.
In addition to digging in the sand and splashing in Lilliputian breakers, beach-goers find protected swimming areas, picnic groves and a slide or two. Here’s a small sampling of the water fun available near and far:
Northwest suburbs
Breezewald Park Beach, North Old Rand Road, north of Route 22, Lake Zurich, is smaller than its park district cousin, Paulus Beach, but supplies a sandy beach, roped-off swimming area, picnic shelter, fishing pier, play area and washrooms. Residents free with park district pass; non-resident fees (only 50 non-resident daily passes are issued each day): $8 ages 13 to 54, $5 ages 4 to 12 and kids 3 and younger and seniors are free. 847-438-5146.
Crystal Lake Main Beach, 300 Lake Shore Drive, and Crystal Lake West Beach, 2330 Lake Ave., Crystal Lake, boast sandy beaches, deep-water swimming rafts and shallow-water rafts for short paddlers. The Main Beach is the larger and busier of the two parks, offering 200 yards of shoreline, a playground and a bathhouse. Free admission for residents. Non-resident weekday fees: $4 ages 16 and older and $2.50 ages 4 to 15; weekends: $8 ages 16 and older and $5 ages 4 to 15. Kids 3 and under are free. 815-477-5404 for Main Beach or 815-477-5009 for West Beach.
Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center, 665 Barrington Ave., Carpentersville, offers both indoor and outdoor take-a-dip diversion. Outside, a body slide, a tube slide and two kiddy slides plunge into a zero-depth pool. The tube slide is wide enough to accommodate single, double and triple tubes. Inside there’s an eight-lane lap pool with a diving well. Resident fees: $5 ages 10 and older and $4 ages 4 to 9; non-resident fees: $7.50 ages 10 and older and $6.50 ages 4 to 9. 847-836-7946.
Hilltop Beach, 71 Hilltop, Lake in the Hills, is a quiet and tiny area meant for swimming and sunning; there’s no bathhouse or concession stand. There’s a lifeguard on duty from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Resident fees: $2; non-resident fees $5. Kids 4 and under are free. 847-658-4213.
Indian Trail Beach, 226 Indian Trail Rd., Lake in the Hills, offers about 150 feet of sandy shoreline for sunning and building sand castles and a swimming area. There’s a lifeguard on duty from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. A concession stand provides refreshments and there’s a bathhouse for changing. Resident fees: $2; non-resident fees: $5. Kids 4 and under are free. 847-658-4213.
Mt. Prospect’s Big Surf Action Pool, on Maple Street, two blocks south of Northwest Highway, Mount Prospect, appeals to both big and little kahunas. Five hundred thousand gallons of water surge in three-foot waves, 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off throughout the day. Tubes can be rented to ride the swells. Zero-depth areas are ideal for the younger set (kids under 10 aren’t allowed in the pool without an adult). Resident fees: $4 for adults and $3 for ages 3 to 18; non-resident fees: $7 for adults and $5 for ages 3 to 18; 847-255-5380.
Paulus Park Beach, off Route 12 and north of Route 22, Lake Zurich, offers a sandy beach, picnic shelters, bathhouse, playground, volleyball courts, fishing pier and a roped-off swimming area. Residents free with park district pass; non-resident fees (only 50 non-resident daily passes are issued each day): $8 ages 13 to 54, $5 ages 4 to 12, and kids 3 and younger and seniors are free. 847-438-5146.
Racing Rapids Action Park, adjoining Santa’s Village on Route 25, just south of Route 72, East Dundee, sends water enthusiasts screaming down twisty and quick-drop slides and on easy tube floats down a 450-foot Lazy River ride. Three shallow pools, swings, a spraying mushroom and a tike-friendly slide provide water play for the little ones. Admission: $12.95. 847-426-6751.
Rainbow Falls Water Park, Lions Drive and Elk Grove Boulevard, Elk Grove, boasts a three-story funhouse, where more than 70 gadgets bubble, mist, spray and dump water at and over aquanauts of all ages. Three water slides, a high-speed inner tube ride, diving platforms and kids’ adventure pool, with squirt guns, spouting turtle and a junior water slide, round out the fun. Resident fees: $6; non-resident fees: $9 for ages 18 and over; $8 for ages 2 to 17. 847-228-2860.
Schaumburg Waterworks, 505 N. Springinsguth, Schaumburg, is an indoor water park with four pools, a hot tub, three water slides — one with a quick-drop descent — and a kids’ area with a small frog slide and things that squirt. Resident fees: $6 adults and $4 ages 3 to 17; non-resident fees: $8 adults and $6 ages 3 to 17. 847-490-2505.
Seascape Family Aquatic Center, 1300 Moon Lake Blvd., Hoffman Estates, appeals to young and old with a zero-depth pool featuring tubing, body and kiddie slides, high and low diving boards, spraying toys and a sandy play area. Admission: $7 adults and $5 for ages 4 to 17 and seniors. 847-781-2399.
Wauconda Park District Public Beach, 112 Park St., Wauconda, supplies beachgoers with a stretch of sandy beach along Bangs Lake, a swimming area with a slide and rafts, a picnic area, a small concession stand and bathrooms. Admission: $6. 847-526-4605.
North suburbs
Cedar Lake Park Beach, 340 W. Grand Ave., Lake Villa, is a privately owned picnic grove complete with 400 feet of sandy beach with a swimming area and a deep-water raft. There are also rowboats for rent, baseball diamonds, volleyball courts and horseshoe pits. Admission: $4 and $2 parking. 847-356-7070.
Hidden Creek Aqua Park, 1220 Fredrickson Pl., Highland Park, boasts a zero-depth pool equipped with a curly slide, speed slide, 15-foot drop slide, kiddie slide and squirting toys. There are diving boards and a shaded sand play area. Resident fees: $6, kids 3 and under free; non-resident fees: $12. 847-433-3170.
West suburbs
Batavia Quarry Beach Park, at Island and Union, two blocks south of Main St., Batavia, is a naturally spring-fed swimming hole. This former stone quarry offers a sandy beach, a zero-depth sandy area for kids, a speedy flume slide descending into the deep end, two high-in-the-sky diving platforms, squirting mushrooms and a kiddie slide. A bathhouse, concession stand, picnic area and volleyball courts complete the “life’s a beach” experience. Resident fees: $5 ages 10 and older and $4 ages 4 to 9; non-resident fees: $7 ages 10 and up and $6 ages 4 to 9. 630-406-5275.
Blackberry Farm’s Splash Country Water Park, on Barnes Road, near Galena Boulevard, on Aurora’s far west side, features a 1,100-foot tubing river, two water slides and a kids’ “Sprayground,” outfitted with water cannons, sprinklers and showers. The zero-depth pool supplies shallow play areas and designated lanes for lap swimmers. Resident fees: $5 weekdays and $6 weekends for adults, $4 weekdays and $5 weekends for ages 2 to 7, and $3 for seniors; non-resident fees: adults and kids $10 weekdays and $11 weekends and $6 for seniors. 630-906-7981.
Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville, stretches along the shores of an old quarry and is located in the center of a 6-acre park. There’s a large chlorinated swimming area, a diving complex, volleyball courts, bathhouse, playground and special seasonal events. Resident fees: $4 ages 18 to 59, $3.75 ages 13 to 17, $3.50 ages 6 to 12 and $3.25 seniors. Non-resident fees: $8 ages 18 to 59, $7.50 ages 13 to 17, $7 ages 6 to 12 and $6.50 seniors. 630-848-5090.
Itasca Water Park, 100 S. Catalpa, Itasca, recently underwent an extensive renovation. The park features a Caribbean theme, with faux palm trees — three with squirting coconuts — and a 5,000 square-foot, zero-depth interactive play pool with 50 spraying and squirting toys and three slides. A 150-foot water slide drops into its own pool and a recreational pool welcomes swimmers and divers. Weekday admission: $3 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and $5 from 1 to 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday. Kids 2 and under are free. 630-773-1213.
Moran Water Park, 433 E. St. Charles St., Lombard, satisfies swimmers, divers, sliders and splashers. Two water slides “whoosh” descending travelers into a drop pool, and five pools provide lap lines and diving boards. Two zero-depth pools wet down little ones with a waterfall, sprays and bubblers. Resident fees: $5 ages 18 and older and $4 ages 3 to 18; non-resident fees: $10 for adults and $8 for ages 3 to 18. 630-627-6127.
South suburbs
Bolingbrook Aquatic Center, at 200 S. Lindsey Lane, Bolingbrook, offers fair and foul weather facilities. An outdoor 300,000-gallon, zero-depth pool houses two giant slides, one meant for tubing, and a kids’ Sprayground complete with squirting machines and waterfall. The indoor zero-depth pool accommodates athletes with lap lanes and keeps kids happily soaked with spraying fountains. Resident fees: $4; non-resident fees: $7. 630-759-2727.
Centennial Pool, 15600 West Ave., Orland Park, expanded their facilities to include a lazy river raft ride, a body flume speed slide, tube slides and drop slides. There’s also a platform at the deep end of the zero-depth pool for daredevil jumps (not dives). Resident fees: $5; non-resident fees: $10. After 5 p.m. the fees drop to $3 for residents and $5 for non-residents. 708-349-4386.
Farther out
Magic Waters, located near Rockford at 7820 N. Cherry Vale Blvd., Cherry Valley, keeps the action flowing with the brand new Master Blaster 2000, a roller coaster-like raft and slide ride and a 50-foot-tall interactive water attraction with slides and a bucket that empties 1,000 gallons of water on unsuspecting heads. There’s a wave pool, a 1,200-foot tube float, three water slides and a just-their-size water play area for kids. Admission: $16 for adults and $13 for folks under 48 inches tall. 800-373-1679.
Splash Down Dunes Water Park, at 150 E. U.S. Route 20, Chesterton, Ind., recently expanded the waterlogged thrills with a lazy river ride, supplementing the park’s four twisty slides and four 70-degree-angled speed slides. Waves swell every five minutes in the wave pool. Admission: $15 for adults, $10 for kids under 48 inches, free for kids under 3. 219-929-1181.
