Milwaukee: Beach Town USA!

[MU82]

In an article profiling 5 cities with great beaches, the New York Times went far and wide to present options beyond obvious sites such as Miami, Honolulu and Sydney.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/travel/beach-city-destinations.html?

So they featured beaches in Istanbul, Turkey; Marseille, France; Busan, South Korea; San Sebastian, Spain; and ... Milwaukee.

Of the latter, the writer said:

For Midwestern beachgoers, the shores of Lake Michigan are well-trod, thanks to stunning county and state parks, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Chicago’s undeniably epic urban beaches. But Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city, shouldn’t be overlooked by any coast-loving visitors to the area, thanks to the city’s 1,400 acres of waterfront beaches and parkland. Some of those include Bradford Beach, which has lifeguards on duty plus volleyball courts, a frozen custard stand and a tiki bar; South Shore Beach, which boasts city views and, in true Wisconsin fashion, a beer garden; and Tietjen Beach at Doctor’s Park, a semi-secluded haven with excellent bird watching. Of course, Milwaukee’s extensive brewery scene, art museum and baseball tradition makes the city well-worth visiting, as does its packed summer festival schedule, which includes Summerfest. The nine-day festival, held over three weekends in June and July, boasts a 600-artist lineup with acts ranging from Motley Crue and Tyler Childers to Lil Uzi Vert and SZA.

Move over Maui!

[4everwarriors]

Yeah, butt no nude beaches in MKE, aina?

[Dickthedribbler]

Entering Lake Michigan at Bradford Beach would be like wading around in an unflushed toilet.

[tower912]

It has been a couple of decades since I entered Lake Michigan from Bradford Beach.  My recollection is that the beach is rockier and the water colder than the Michigan side.   Still lovely.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Entering Lake Michigan at Bradford Beach would be like wading around in an unflushed toilet.

Not really.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

Some of my best summer memories in Milwaukee were cramming into my parents minivan I took up to Marquette, designating a driver, and spending all day throwing a football on Bradford beach and drinking a case of keystone out of a cooler. Amazing spot.

[muwarrior69]

If you take the Ferry across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Muskegon and return, Milwaukee is one of the few places on Earth where you can see the sun rise and set over a large body of water on the same day.

[Jay Bee]

A check I dated 20+ years ago worked as a lifeguard at Bradford beach (smoking hot, obviously). I remember they did frequent water tests, and often the beach was closed because of the dirty, nasty funk of the water

[tower912]

Don't dare touch the typo.  It reads better.  It is good to hear about a smoking hot check.

[lawdog77]

A check I dated 20+ years ago worked as a lifeguard at Bradford beach (smoking hot, obviously). I remember they did frequent water tests, and often the beach was closed because of the dirty, nasty funk of the water

czech?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

czech?

More expensive than Slovaks but likely “cleaner.”

JB’s a classy dude.

[wadesworld]

A check I dated 20+ years ago worked as a lifeguard at Bradford beach (smoking hot, obviously). I remember they did frequent water tests, and often the beach was closed because of the dirty, nasty funk of the water

How much did you make the check out for?

[tower912]

Is Hasselhoff Czech?

[cheebs09]

Is Hasselhoff Czech?

He knows a thing or two about bouncing checks.

[NCMUFan]

It has been a couple of decades since I entered Lake Michigan from Bradford Beach.  My recollection is that the beach is rockier and the water colder than the Michigan side.   Still lovely.

Absolutely true, the warm surface water is blown to the Michigan side.  Michigan side also gets larger waves.  As a kid, it was a dare on who could stay in the water the longest because it was numbing.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Absolutely true, the warm surface water is blown to the Michigan side.  Michigan side also gets larger waves.  As a kid, it was a dare on who could stay in the water the longest because it was numbing.

Eh. I used to swim in Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands. Lake Michigan was like bath water.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

It has been a couple of decades since I entered Lake Michigan from Bradford Beach.  My recollection is that the beach is rockier and the water colder than the Michigan side.   Still lovely.

The cold temperature was a non-starter.  "OMG the water is freaking cold!" is my memory of Bradford Beach.
And I found a cool fossil.

My Long Island Sound warms up for the summer.

[MU82]

My Long Island Sound warms up for the summer.

When I was a kid, my friends and I used to go into the Long Island Sound (at Walnut Beach) every April 1. A chilly dip!

[JWags85]

The cold temperature was a non-starter.  "OMG the water is freaking cold!" is my memory of Bradford Beach.
And I found a cool fossil.

My Long Island Sound warms up for the summer.

I lived in Chicago for 10 summers, always within a 10-15 min walk to the beach (North Ave or Oak St) and only 1 of those summers was the water ever "warm".  I wanna say it was 2013 or so when we had a REALLY warm June and for 4th of July weekend, the water was decent.  Not warm, but like the Gulf of Mexico.

Bradford was always colder.  My mom grew up in Bay View and went to South Shore park her entire childhood.  Her only memories of "swimming" in Lake Michigan is playing "how long until you can't feel your legs" with her brothers.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

When I was a kid, my friends and I used to go into the Long Island Sound (at Walnut Beach) every April 1. A chilly dip!

April 1 is still polar plunge water.

Yesterday I did a 5K for Veterans in Milford along the waterfront and a 2011 alum saw my Marquette running shirt and said hello.

[Jay Bee]

Hey, we all have our fetishes, aina

[MU82]

Yesterday I did a 5K for Veterans in Milford along the waterfront and a 2011 alum saw my Marquette running shirt and said hello.

Nice. I knew a couple other kids from CT when I was at MU, including one from Milford. We weren't a big part of the recruiting base, though!