Lake Street Beach — Attraction in Calumet Township

This beach is sublime! It truly is. It is beautiful here and it's all soft sand. No rocks. There's somewhat of a boat launch for small watercraft. There is no way you will get a big boat in here, the water is just too shallow. I've seen the jet ski owners have to get off and push multiple times to get out to open water. Speaking of which the water is very shallow even 100 feet out. The beach is also lengthy. 1/2 mile of beach each way you look. If you get here at 9am you will have the whole beach to yourself. As far as crowds, it can get busy by early afternoon but we've never felt crowded here.

The drive to get here will have you wondering if your GPS is sending you to your doom as you will drive through some pretty rough parts of Gary to get here. Once you've arrived, there is a single booth to greet you. It's $7 for non-residents. They do accept credit/debit. There are NO formal only porta potties, so plan for that. Parking is plentiful.

Now the bad. First, the current. The water flows to the East pretty fast. It does not ruin the experience at all but do NOT bring inflatables. It's just too dangerous. If you aren't paying attention you will find yourself a mile down the shoreline and far from your spot. If the lifeguard is on duty they will make you put the floaties away and I don't blame them for that.

Secondly, the flies. The flies are absolutely brutal. When you first arrive you won't know what I am talking about. Once you've been in the water and then want to lay out in the sun it will become very evident. They are relentless and because of this we end up spending most of our time in the water. The best solution I've seen to battle this was a group of beach goers that brought a mesh canopy.

Ultimately, it loses one star for pesky flies but my family loves this beach and will continue to...

Not the best day to stop by, it was closed but we saw 2 other cars go in so we followed. Day was overcast & the waves were severe which is probably why it was closed. Had fun walking a bit & splashing by the shore. Only stayed under an hour but that was long enough for some volunteer what-to-be cop to come & threaten us with a $250 ticket if we didn't leave immediately! Well, we had to clean off the sand so, much to his irritation we were taking too long. Except for this old guy we had a great time & hope to return next time we're...

Not as pretty as the nearby Indiana Dunes beaches, but the parking is cheaper. It is hard to fully enjoy the views of this nice stretch of sand because all you see is industrialized factories in both directions. This area is popular for bird watchers. The sad thing is that the beach is always littered with various garbage and small pieces of plastic that get pushed in by the waves. It is a reminder on how we need to protect our beaches and keep them clean. The water on the entire South End of Lake Michigan is not the...