HUMBOLDT PARK — Humboldt Park’s favorite summertime destination is coming back after a pandemic pause.
Humboldt Park Beach, Chicago’s only inland beach, will open for the season June 25, park district spokeswoman Irene Tostado said. The beach will open the same day as the city’s outdoor pools.
Last summer, the pandemic forced the closure of all city beaches.
Park district officials are currently filling up the Humboldt Park swimming hole to prepare for the opening, Tostado said.
Humboldt Park Beach has been a neighborhood fixture since the early 1970s, when it was created. Families flock there to swim and play in the sand as if they’re at a Lake Michigan beach.
Perhaps because it is so beloved, the beach has been a source of controversy over the years. Saying it was too expensive to constantly fill the swimming hole, the city closed the beach in 2015 for the first time in 40 years, a move that sparked protests by community leaders and residents. Ultimately, the protesters won, and the city reopened the beach the following summer.
The beach also has long struggled with bacteria levels, and in 2017 was by far the most bacteria-ridden beach in the city.
The swimming conditions at Humboldt Park Beach — and at the other city beaches — will be posted on the park district’s website throughout the summer.
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