Lake Nokomis Beach — Attraction in Minneapolis

My sibling and I were all hanging out for the 4th of July. My sisters recommended that we head to the beach. Since it was so hot this seemed like a great idea. Unfortunately we went to the beach on the West-side of Lake Nokomis. It was by far the most disgusting beach I have ever been to.

When I first got there I sat down and I immediately noticed the strong smell of dog crap. I tried moving to the other side of the our blanket but no matter where I went I could smell dog crap. I even walked around thinking I could see a big pile laying out in the open but I could not find the offending pile. Then when we got into the lake itself there were two decent sized dead fish floating right in the swimming area. Between that and the dog crap I decided it was time to go.

I think the Minneapolis Park Board needs to invest a little money in keeping the beaches a little...

This is probably the best swimming beach in Minneapolis. Can be busy. There is the Sandcastle Cafe right by the beach area. There is some free parking out on the parkway running parallel to the beach but those spots go quickly. There is ample paid parking available, you need to know your license plate for the parking machine. During the day there are lifeguards on duty which is nice, however they do have this potentially frustrating procedure where they clear the water of swimmers every 2 hours or so. Then 25 mins later they let everyone back in with a potentially annoying PA over the speaker system. If you come later in the evening you won't have to listen to those announcements. Have heard that late summer 2019 the beach was closed due to some kind of bacteria in the water. Such a shame....I’m hoping the city of Minneapolis can fix this...

My family loves Lake Nokomis. It is our favorite of the Twin Cities lakes. The main beach is sandy and clean with a small playground for any kids that might want to take a break from swimming. It can get busy on weekends, though, so if you want smaller crowds there is a smaller but more muddy beach to the east (still great swimming!). The walking and biking trails are generally more relaxed and family-friendly than at the other lakes, and the small beach-side restaurant, Sandcastle, is a great spot to grab a bite and watch the water, as well. Even though we moved away from the metro area, we still make a point of coming back to Nokomis a several...