By Susan Hunt-Bradford, Healthy Planet Publisher

August marks the unofficial end of summer and you haven’t gotten to a beach yet. You don’t have time to make a quick trip to the Gulf Coast so what can you do? Stay right in the St. Louis area where there are plenty of great beaches to choose from in both Missouri and Illinois. You could be burying your toes in the sand within an hour or two. 

Do remember though, that if you want to go swimming; rivers, lakes and ponds are different than swimming pools. You should always wear a life jacket. Waves and currents can make you fatigued. Even good swimmers should use caution and wear a life jacket. Most of these beaches don’t have lifeguards. Also, go to health.mo.gov and read their information on reducing your risk of waterborne illness when swimming in natural bodies of water. 

Now that you have done those two important safety checks, here are some beaches around St. Louis. Check their websites before you go as some have very specific rules and regulations, some don’t allow pets, some have a fee to get in, etc. Most I saw had beaches open only until September 5. 

1. Keyesport Beach. 50 miles from STL. Carlyle Lake, IL. www.Carlylelake.com
2. Grand Glaize Beach. 2 hours and 40 minutes from STL. Osage Beach, MO. www.lotospmarina.com
3. Fugitive Beach. 1 hour and 50 minutes from STL. Rolla, MO. www.fugitive-beach.com
4. Lake Shelbyville. 2 hours from STL. Shelbyville, IL www.lakeshelbyville.com
5. Lake Boutin Beach at Trail of Tears State Park. 1 hour and 40 minutes. Jackson, MO. www.mostateparks.com
6. Lake of the Ozarks, Public Beach #1. 2 hours and 40 minutes from STL. Osage Beach, MO. www.mostateparks.com
7. Creve Coeur Lake. 19 miles east of St. Louis. Swimming isn’t allowed but the lake is beautiful and there is boating and other activities. Creve Coeur, MO. www.visitmarylandheights.org
8. North Avenue Beach. 5 hour drive. Chicago, IL. I had to include this one because any excuse to go to Chicago I’ll take. www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
9. Cuivre River State Park. 1 hour from St. Louis. Troy, MO. www.mostateparks.com

10. Long Branch State Park. 2 hours and 50 minutes from STL. Macon, MO. www.mostateparks.com

There are other beaches in Missouri and Illinois so if you have a favorite send me an email at thpsusan@yahoo.com and let me know which one you like. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 30th, 2022 at 7:31 pm and is filed under August 2022. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.