1401 Sheridan Road
Winthrop Harbor, Illinois 60096
847-746-2800

Illinois Beach State Park

A full range of recreation opportunities complement the expansive shoreline of Illinois Beach State Park located within minutes of La Villa Motel. Interested in jogging and bicycling? The trails are waiting! Or, is physical fitness your current pursuit? Whether you're an active outdoor enthusiast or just interested in a quiet walk along some of the Midwest's most scenic beaches, this is the place for you!

Stretching leisurely for six and a half miles along the sandy shore of Lake Michigan just one mile from our facility, Illinois Beach State Park encompasses the only remaining beach ridge shoreline left in the state.

It is a unique and captivating natural resource for all to enjoy. It was created by the titanic forces of glacial advance and retreat and the steady winds that breathed across expansive Lake Michigan. The park has dunes and swales with sprawling marshes, forests of oak and vast arrays of animal life and vegetation.

The 4,160-acre park, consisting of two separate areas, offers ample opportunities for swimming, boating, picnicking, hiking, fishing, camping and just appreciating nature.

More than 650 species of plants have been recorded in the dunes area alone, including dozens of types of colorful wildflowers. Prickly pear cactus thrives in large colonies in the dry areas, and the wet prairies are carpeted with a wide variety of grasses and sedges. Large expanses of marsh in the swales support dense stands of cattail, bluejoint grass, prairie cordgrass, reed grass, big bluestem and sedges.

The sandy ridges are crowned by black oak forests with an open, savanna-like appearance, and several kinds of fragrant pines, introduced here a century ago, also prosper in the southern area.

Chain-O-Lakes

This chain of lakes is within 20 minutes of La Villa Motel and consists of Bluff Lake, Fox Lake, Pistakee Lake, Channel Lake, Petite Lake, Lake Catherine and Redhead Lake and are connected by the Fox River. In addition, nearby Grass Lake, Lake Marie and Nippersink Lake makes this area Illinois' largest concentration of natural lakes.

The area is also blessed with 2,800-acre Chain O' Lakes State Park and an adjoining 3,200-acre conservation area, all located within Lake County and McHenry County in Northeastern Illinois.

Recreational opportunities include boating, angling, skiing, picnicking, hiking, horseback riding and camping.

The lakes are located about 60 miles northwest of Chicago, 20 miles west of Lake Michigan and four miles south of the Wisconsin border.