The Beach (Milwaukee, Racine, Superior: college, live, storage)

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

As far as safety, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office has stepped up patrols and have become VERY aggressive in dealing with crime so you don't see thugs loitering around Bradford Beach anymore.

I think this is perhaps the most critical issue that Milwaukee's lakefront has experienced--and overcome.

For over 15 years, I spent almost every summer evening, and weekends, at McKinley Marina. Occasionally I slept aboard, other times I went home at 9 or 10pm. (I was a very active sailor and have been for my whole life). So I have years--even decades--of experience with the lakefront. With the exception of living in Brookfield years ago for a couple of years, I spent all of my other time in the Milwaukee area, living within blocks of Lake Michigan (6 residences from Fox Point to downtown).

I have to give the Sheriff's Department credit for coming down on the lakefront with an iron fist. The Sheriffs Dept. sent a message that people planning to come to the lakefront, better have their _ _ _ _ together. That means, no trouble, no drunk driving, no expired car registration, no speeding, no blasting music, no driving side by side with another car at 15mph holding hands out the windows, no drugs, no crap. The lakefront is now peaceful again, nice for families and people who don't want to listen to drunk thugs screaming. There is no more litter strewn across the beach and lakefront each morning. Evenings don't produce hundreds of cruising cars, screaming people, booming stereos, and other annoyances. Although it has been called "racist", it is anything but racist. What it comes down to, is not putting up with troublemakers at the lakefront. Anybody who isn't causing trouble, has nothing to worry about.

I think the Sheriff's Department's heavy patrols and mobile command unit stationed at the lakefront, have been a remarkable success. I don't really care where all the troublemakers went, I'm just glad they're not at the lakefront anymore.

[#Littledog]

I used to do a lot of swimming in Lake Michigan at Bradford Beach and Atwater Beach in the late 80's. Swimming season is short as the water doesn't really get warm enough for swimming until August or early September. But it was a whole lot of fun jumping in the waves and checking out the sailboats.

In the 90's I stopped swimming in Lake MI because it was frequently banned because of ecoli, samonella problems. Some days it was banned and some days it was supposedly ok but I guess I was turned off altogether (I was kind of like, "wait a minute, today is ok to swim but yesterday it would have been hazardous to my health?!"). I also had a friend who was a UW-Madison graduate student in Biology during the 90's and she tested all the lakes in WI for various bacteria. She basically said she wouldn't put her big toe in Milwaukee's Lake Michigan-again, a huge turn off for me (although I'd still go to the beach, just not swim).

I did make an exception for the "Polar Bear Jump" and was an official polar bear 3 years in a row! If you are here on New year's Day, you have to go to Bradford Beach and watch all the brave souls jump in Lake Michigan at exactly noon to celebrate the New Year. I guess I figured yucky bacteria couldn't survive the cold January temps!

I tried again to make a go of Bradford Beach in the 2000's but at that time we had a couple little kids and the sand was full of broken glass. So I didn't go back and instead ventured up to Clode park in Whitefish Bay. The beach there was cleaner with no broken glass and we even put our feet in the water. I have heard that Bradford Beach is new and improved and I can't wait to check it out next summer! I wanted to go for their July 2008 "Grand Re-Opening" but couldn't because of time constraints.

I guess, to sum it up, Lake Michigan has had it's ups and downs over the years but if I were you I would get the information about the swimability of Lake MI first hand and not talk to the locals. You could maybe call the center for disease control or a similar local department and ask about the safety of the water for swimming. Those of us who have lived in Milwaukee for a while have a lot of misinformation about the Lake's cleanliness to the point of urban legends. (one would think the Loc Ness monster or Jaws lived there!) Definitely check out Bradford Beach and South Shore park in Milwaukee, Atwater park in Shorewood, and Clode park in Whitefish Bay as they all have beautiful beaches. I also agree that Kohler/Andre is also beautiful if you have time for a day trip (north of Milwaukee, about 20-30 miles).

[Fishtacos]

To the original poster, Milwaukee finally cleaned up its main city beach this past year and it's been the best situation for the beach since I can ever remember. Also, as has been mentioned, it's much cleaner, with less unsavory characters, much more police presence, which has in fact kept out the those looking for trouble. There are also much smaller suburban neighborhood beaches as well.

Water temps are cold, even in the middle of summer. Some brave it, some don't. Some are concerned about quality of the water, something Milwaukee is not known for.

[jjacobeclark]

No beach is really clean, whether you're Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago or even San Diego, The Jersey Shore, and Florida. All beaches Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, or Great Lakes have problems with waste water contaminating their beaches. The biggest turn off for Bradford would be the water temperature, but if she can swim in Lake Eerie I'm betting she can handle Lake Michigan.

[Scott5280]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

No beach is really clean, whether you're Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago or even San Diego, The Jersey Shore, and Florida. All beaches Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, or Great Lakes have problems with waste water contaminating their beaches. The biggest turn off for Bradford would be the water temperature, but if she can swim in Lake Eerie I'm betting she can handle Lake Michigan.

If you ever compare a Millwaukee beach to So. Cal. again please do it in private----there is a Jack a$$ factor involved...And for my second home---
Get out of Denver better go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jjacobeclark]

Originally Posted by Scott5280

If you ever compare a Millwaukee beach to So. Cal. again please do it in private----there is a Jack a$$ factor involved...And for my second home---
Get out of Denver better go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said contaminated beaches aren't unique to Milwaukee. When did ever I compare Milwaukee to California? Learn how to read before posting your retarded statements, you douchebag.

[jjacobeclark]

BTW Scott5280, can't you find anything better to do in Denver on a Friday night than pick fights on the city-data forum?

[jessysunshine]

I would just like to comment on the best beach.

My hubby and daughter and I visited Kohler-Andrae (up near Sheboygan) this past August, and we LOVED IT! So beautiful and warm and not overly crowded at all. We would have loved to spend more than just the few hours we had. We will be visiting there again and again, I'm sure.

[Hntr]

Try Racine's beach, it was rated the best beach on Lake Michigan. I just saw a documentry on Wisconsin TV about it.

[tully]

There is good and bad WRT Milw beaches as others have pointed out.

Good:
wide, sandy, mix of 'expanse' (bradford) and cove (juneau), vollyball nets (and plenty room for football/friz), high bluffs for vantage points, some summer concerts, good police presence, adjacent busy-ish boulevard but HARDLY what you'd call a freeway.

Bad:
occasional algae odor (primarily a localized spot North of Bradford), several feet of muck/washup along shoreline (variable from place to place; waded through easily enough), water generally too cold for serious swimming.

Another poster mentioned Atwater beach-- not to nit, but that's Shorewood, not Milw. It's a beautiful cove beach, completely isolated from traffic / noise of any kind (you won't find that in Milw because of Lincoln Memorial). Very nice stairwell down from the bluff (riding over hillside vegetation). Nice, popular park at bluff-top. Somewhat less known is Big Bay park further up the road.. also at the bottom of a stairwell (through woods). Unique thing here is that it's a rock beach, and has old cement piers extending out into the lake.. good for 'getting out into' the water.

I'd be remiss not to touch on Chicago beaches, since it's such an easy day trip. The NUMBER ONE difference in Chicago is the higher useability.. significantly warmer water, significantly LESS algae/washup issues. The beaches extend for miles, and you'll see throngs of people in the water. Not just wading either-- FULL-body swimming-- kids at 13th st beach, football-jumpers off the break wall (wherever there's a ladder ), lap-swimmers along the breakwall at Ohio St beach,etc. To get away from the freeway, you can go to Rogers Park (the one city neighborhood not cut off from it's beach by freeway).