12th Street Beach to 63rd Street Beach

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All Lake Michigan trips can be run in either direction so only the access sites and parking is described for each site in a stretch.  Sites are not identified as the “put-in” or “take-out”.

Skill level: Intermediate and up.  Paddling on Lake Michigan is recommended only forpaddlers with proper boat, equipment and skills appropriate to the water and weather conditions.  Paddling with a group or experienced partner is strongly recommended. Always check the marine weather forecast before you put in.

Length: 6.0 miles

Directions: 12th Street Beach: The designated kayak beach is, during the swimming season, the south 100 yards of the beach.  But by asking the beach manager’s permission you may be allowed to launch closer to the beach house.

Parking at 12th Street Beach is limited and can be expensive.  The large parking lot between the beach and the Planetarium is a fee lot.  Meter parking may be available on Bond Drive (the street leading out to the Planetarium).

Use caution when landing or launching from 12th Street Beach during high wave conditions.  A steel bulkhead wall protecting the beach stretches from the point of the Planetarium to the south side of the beach and lies only a few feet under the water surface in normal conditions.  It becomes exposed in the troughs of waves and can severely damage a boat’s hull.

63rd Street Beach: The designated kayak beach is the south end of the beach.
Parking is in the small lot on the east side of Lake Shore Drive (Rt. 41) directly south of the beach house or in the lots on the directly across of Lake Shore Drive on either side of Hayes Drive.

Jackson Park Inner Harbor Boat Ramp: Enter the parking lot on the south side of Hayes Drive just west of Lake Shore Drive.  The ramp is in the southwest corner of the lot.  To enter the lake, paddle south through the Inner Harbor, under the Lake Shore Drive Bridge and north through the Outer Harbor to the harbor entrance.

Notes: For information on paddling Lake Michigan safely, see the Safety Center on the Chicago Area Sea Kayaking Association’s website at www.caska.org