Rainbow Beach Park Verified listing

Located in the South Chicago neighborhood, Rainbow Beach  totals 60.98 acres and features a gymnasium, fitness center and multipurpose rooms, handball courts, and one of the oldest community gardens in Chicago.

A natural area located at the northeast end of the beach includes 9.18 acres of dune habitat.

In 2013, the Park District is partnering with the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois at Chicago to install a prototype stormwater filter to clean the rainwater that washes off of the parking lot onto the beach.  This project is funded by a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The Green Stormwater Filter is an inground permeable reactive filter system that reduces bacteriological, algal, and chemical contamination caused by stormwater runoff from Rainbow Beach parking lot. Major benefits of this project include: reducing the number of pollution sources impacting Rainbow Beach, reducing beach water contamination and consequent swim advisories, reducing algal blooms and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus at Rainbow Beach area, and serving as pilot project for urban stormwater management for other Great Lake beaches.

Distance swimming is available parallel to shore at boat line.