When do you start swimming in lake Michigan (Page 3)

Hey there:

I'm new to this, but I'm about to move to Chicago, and I'm training for my first triathlon in September (though the reports of the testicle-eating fish have me reconsidering). Since I guess this is the thread, can anyone point me to info on where to swim / train in Lake Michigan. It sounds (from the above) like the Ohio St. bridge has bouys that mark distances . . . is it pretty self-explanatory? Are there other beaches that have distances marked off like that?

Thanks so much for the help!

- Thomas

That's the best spot by far that I know of.  I'm not aware of any other spots that have ropes and buoys and people to swim with and you can stop and touch the ground at any point if you need to rest or fix your goggles or something like that.  Plus it's protected by a seawall which helps keep the waves low.  There may be other spots, but I'm not aware of them.

It is pretty self-explanatory.  Most difficult part might be finding parking if you drive.  When you get to the beach, you'll see exactly where you enter the water and swim - there will be others doing the same thing, just follow them.  It's a lot of fun...I go way out of my way burn too much gas to get to that spot, but I love swimming there.

Early morning is best bet unless you want to practice swimming in choppy waters...it usually gets more windy and waves get bigger as the day goes on.  Many mornings it's calm as can be though.

Duder is sending you in the right direction. Saving you a few minutes of searching around the park districts website here is a link to the beach report for Ohio St. It has good info on water temp and if there are any water quality issues (note I personally will swim when it is a 'yellow' caution, but that is up to you)

http://www.cfmstage.com/beach-report/beach-report-detail.cfm?objectid=16