Vilas Park Beach
Beach · Madison
Featured in our Madison guide:Madison's lakes
About this beach
Vilas Park's sandy beach is on Lake Wingra's north shore, next to Henry Vilas Zoo and the UW Arboretum. It has swim ropes and an accessible mat during beach season, and the park around it has three playgrounds and two accessible fishing piers. No lifeguards are on duty.
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MadisonWI.com guide
Beaches in Madison: good to know
Madison's city beaches are typically open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Swim ropes go up at eight of them (B.B. Clarke, Bernie's, Esther, Olbrich, Spring Harbor, Tenney, Vilas and Warner), but no lifeguards are on duty, so watch children closely. Dogs aren't allowed on the sand or in the roped swim area.
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Check the water before you go in. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Public Health Madison & Dane County tests its monitored beaches at least once a week for E. coli and blue-green algae, and closes a beach when the water is unsafe for swimming. Its beach conditions page has a map and email alerts.
Stay out of the water, and keep pets out, if you see a blue-green algae bloom or the water is murky, and rinse your dog off after it swims.