#lakefront

[bobcat9]

Lakefront Cabin

[duckie-embers]

When the phone camera comes in clutch!

[dopescissorscashwagon]

03/07 Sunrise 🌅

Lakefront

Milwaukee, WI

📸 by @mke_skyline_stevestango

[again-for-the-first-time]

Somewhere along the lakefront of Loch Ness, Scotland, July 2024

[chikagome]

[bigglesworld]

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. USAAF. Thunderbird. Gate Guard at Burke Lakefront, Cleveland

[onegirlthinktank]

The Lakefront Trail Study: The Top 10

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

10th: Berwyn

Underpass

To kick off our top 10, we have this low-key but cute underpass near the northern end of the Lakefront Trail. On one side of Lake Shore Drive, you have a quiet stretch of park space with a community garden as its centerpiece. On the other side, you have a beautiful mural (that might need a bit of a touch-up) welcoming you to the Edgewater neighborhood. The closeness to Foster Beach is a plus as well.

9th: Chicago Riverwalk

Underpass

Like Illinois Street on the other side of the Chicago River, this access point connects to a point of leisure that tourists and locals alike can enjoy. Named after said point of leisure, the Chicago Riverwalk underpass is adorned with murals under a series of Chicago blue arches. There are two things that prevent the Riverwalk entrance from placing higher than 9th, however, one that's fairly easy to fix and one maybe less so. The first is the incredibly plain and less-than-welcoming space outside of the access point, as you can see here. The second is the long walk from the underpass to the Lakefront Trail itself.

8th: Illinois Street

Overpass

Illinois Street ranks this high on my rankings for one feature in particular: its direct, accessible pathway to Navy Pier. There is also a stairway much like the one at Grand, but where Grand fails in accessibility and ability to connect to a massive city attraction, Illinois succeeds. Both Grand and Illinois are a part of a recent rebuild and rerouting of the Lakefront Trail between the Chicago River and Ohio Street, and I honestly believe the rampway alongside the Illinois Street Lake Shore Drive exit is the crown jewel of this new path.

7th: LaSalle

Overpass

LaSalle is the northernmost overpass to the Lakefront Trail, and the only access point north of McCormick Place that is a full-fledged bridge over Lake Shore Drive. It provides even more direct access to North Avenue Beach than the North Avenue or the LaSalle street level access points, and oftentimes sand dunes will form at the foot of the bridge because of it. Because of its location a good bit to the north of LaSalle, and its grade separation compared to Fullerton to the north, it's also a good choice of access point for anyone coming from Lincoln or Armitage Avenues, or even for anyone looking to go to Lincoln Park Zoo.

6th: 43rd Street

Overpass

Possibly the newest access point for the trail, this is a massive upgrade over the previous bridge. The previous bridge was a heavily degraded steel bridge that was inaccessible to bikes and mobility devices. This completely new bridge came with new park space as well, replacing a long out of use train station and gravel parking lot. One of the reasons it ranks below its twin just to the north, however, is because of how close the bend comes to the private residence next door.

5th: 41st Street

Overpass

The older of two twin bridges in the North Kenwood-Oakland area just in between Bronzeville and greater Hyde Park, 41st Street has a mirrored design to the bridge at 43rd Street. It ranks higher than 43rd for small reasons: while both bridges connect to playgrounds (41st at the western end and 43rd at the eastern end), 41st Street bridge is much closer to 41st Street Beach. The Chicago blue paint job on the bridges is nice, but both bridges would rank higher if they were a more neutral color like LaSalle and 35th Street.

4th: Buena

Underpass

While I really do tend to prefer overpasses to underpasses, there are various things about the best underpasses that really push them high up my list. Buena is a very quaint and lowkey underpass compared to the next two, but its ivy-covered entranceway is something I alays have to give bonus points to. The real gem of this access point is the Peace Garden, an absolutely beautiful small park featuring a statue right outside the tunnel's exit, a wide variety of plants and flowers, and a stunning pond. This garden takes a middle-of-the-pack underpass and takes it all the way to just barely outside of my top three.

3rd: 57th Drive

Underpass

When it comes to underpasses, I'm very partial to spacious ones like the one at 57th Street. I'm also partial to ones that are decorated with permanent artwork installations as well, like the mosaics here. While there is a bit of a walk from the exit to the trail itself, the proximity to 57th Street Beach is a huge plus. And the trees and flowers at the entranceway, as well as the second underpass which leads to the Museum of Science and Industry, are the cherries on top for this wonderful access point.

2nd: Roosevelt/Museum Campus

Underpass

This underpass has so many pluses: the spacious tunnel, the connections to mutiple city attractions, even a gorgeous skyline view as you enter Grant Park. While the foliage can be a little underwhelming, and the Museum Campus exit is a bit far from the Lakefront Trail itself, and the walls are a bit bare, connecting the Museum Campus to Chicago's premier downtown park without forcing pedestrians to deal with the hellscape that is Lake Shore Drive between Roosevelt and McFetridge Drive more than makes up for these relatively minor nitpicks.

1st: 35th Street

Overpass

This stunning Bronzeville bridge is far and away the most aesthetically pleasing access point on the entire trail. Like the one at 43rd Street, this recently replaced a decrepit and inaccessible bridge, but I much prefer the design of this bridge to the ones at 41st and 43rd. The bridge deposits you directly onto the trail itself, although there's a small detour to be made to get to the bike route of the trail. There's also a landing with rocks to sit on, as well as a couple of bike racks, but what really pushes this access point to the top of my list is the fact that this landing connects to one of the many nature trails in Burnham Park.

If you've enjoyed this series about the Lakefront Trail, consider tipping me on ko-fi! My next writing in this project will be about the green ring of parks and streets that we call the Boulevard System, and how friendly, or unfriendly, they are to pedestrians and bikers.

[youngncrazed]

Chicago Views

[kodachrome-net]

Along the lakefront, February 2011

[dopescissorscashwagon]

Sunset (06/11/24) 🌃 🔥

Lakefront in Milwaukee, WI

📸 by @mke_photo_stevestango

[elderyautjavegeta]

Man I hate the beach but I could definitely become a lake person.

[mothermarvelousearth]

[alteredstatesstuff]

old wooden dock

[lilmissjbstyle]

Exterior - Wood Medium-sized brown two-story wood gable roof picture in the mountain style

[sylvan-ingenue]

Weirs Beach, NH

7-23-24