Illinois Beach State Park

Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park, part of the Illinois state park system, is located along Lake Michigan in northern Lake County in northeast Illinois. Together with lands to the north, including Chiwaukee Prairie, it forms the Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain, an internationally recognized wet-land of importance under the Ramsar Convention.[2] The park is broken into two units that encompass an area of 4,160 acres (1,683 ha) and contains over six miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. In 2010, it was renamed for former state senator Adeline Geo-Karis.

Illinois Beach State Park
Map showing the location of Illinois Beach State Park
Map showing the location of Illinois Beach State Park
Map of the Illinois showing the location of Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park
LocationLake County, Illinois, United States
Nearest cityZion, Illinois
Coordinates42°25′02″N 87°48′42″W
Area4,160 acres (1,683 ha)
Established1948
Visitors1.2 million (in 2015)[1]
Governing bodyIllinois Department of Natural Resources
Designated1980
Official nameChiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain
Designated25 September 2015
Reference no.2243[2]
Shoreline along the Northern Unit
Main public beach in the Southern Unit

Recreational activities at the park include boating, swimming, hiking, bicycling, camping, bird watching, and picnicking.[3] Known primarily for the beach, the park also includes dune areas, wetlands, prairie, and black oak savanna. The area at the far southern end of the park is a designated nature preserve, which was named a National Natural Landmark in 1980.[4]

History

The park was gradually created starting in 1948 when the state acquired the first parcels. The northern unit, acquired between 1971 and 1982, was previously an Illinois National Guard training facility known as Camp Logan, Illinois. During the American Civil War, Camp Logan was a Union prisoner of war camp.

In 1958, the Illinois Beach Hotel was opened within the park.[5]

Geology

The park is located in the 12 mile long Zion Beach Ridge Plain. The Zion Beach Ridge Plain is 3,700 years old and composed of curvilinear ridge-and-swale topography. The beach ridges support black oak savanna habitat, while wetlands dominate the swales. The Zion Beach Ridge Plain has been migrating south throughout the late Holocene: the northern portion of the beach ridge erodes; freed sediment is then transported through the dominantly southward littoral drift and deposited on the southern portion of the beach ridge. This erosion and subsequent accretion process created the characteristically curved ridges and swales of the park as the complex migrates south.[6] The northern unit of Illinois Beach State Park experiences rapid rates of erosion, which was exacerbated by the construction of North Point Marina in 1989 and reaches highs of 60 ft per year. The southward migration of the beach ridge plain has been disrupted by the construction of Waukegan Harbor.[7] Erosion in the north unit of the park is exacerbated during periods of high lake level. As Lake Michigan has entered a period near record high lake levels since 2014, the park is experiencing rapid transgression of the shoreline.

Access

The entry to the beach is usually from a parking area on its north side: north of this carpark is usually the most crowded area in the summer time. South, the beach is less crowded and a mile of shoreline extends to an inlet into a wetland. Depending on weather conditions this inlet may be blocked by a berm from the lake waters, and again depending on weather conditions the water inside the berm may be significantly warmer than Lake Michigan which is rather cold until August.[8]

  • North view of public beach section
    North view of public beach section
  • Sign at the start of the beach trail
    Sign at the start of the beach trail
  • Prickly pear cactus in the dunes of the southern beach. (winter 2019).
    Prickly pear cactus in the dunes of the southern beach, winter 2019
  • Wetlands in winter near Dead River
    Wetlands in winter near Dead River

See also

References
  1. Susnjara, Bob (October 8, 2015). "First deer hunt coming to Illinois Beach State Park". Daily Herald. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  2. "Chiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  3. Hammill, Luke. "Swim, camp, fish at Illinois Beach State Park". Chicago Tribune.
  4. "Illinois Beach Nature Preserve". National Natural Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  5. Tuomey, Timothy J.; Wise, Magdalene (October 1, 1991). "STATE HOPES TO RETURN CHARM TO ZION BEACH RESORT`S LODGE". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  6. Larsen, Curtis (1985). "A stratigraphic study of beach features on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan: new evidence of Holocene lake level fluctuations". Environmental Geology Notes. 112.
  7. Terpstra, Paul; Chrzastowski, Michael (Summer 1992). "Geometric Trends in the Evolution of a Small Log-Spiral Embayment on the Illinois Shore of Lake Michigan". Journal of Coastal Research. 8: 603–617.
  8. "Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park - Parks". www2.illinois.gov. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
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