If your friends tell you they're going to Hollywood Beach, this is where they're headed. Located at the northern end of Lake Shore Drive, Osterman Beach has a LEED-certified beach house. Amenities include concessions, watersports rentals, restrooms, a life guard first aid station and free wifi. Osterman is also Chicago's unofficial gay beach—though, perhaps the rainbow-painted breakwall makes it official.
Edgewater has enough attractions and things to do to keep you occupied for weeks. The neighborhood is brimming with critically-acclaimed theater, some of the city’s best beaches and an oft-forgotten slate of beautiful architecture that’ll keep your neck craned up. While Andersonville (technically a sub-section of Edgewater) gets a lot of the attention on the North Side, we’ve rounded up our favorite things to do in the neighborhood outside of the Clark and Foster drag.
RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to Edgewater