Where are you parking for the Waukegan beach? Seems like a long walk from North Beach to the power plant. Are the flies just as bad?
Park in the beach parking lot. It's the same distance as at IBSP from the nature center to the remote part of the beach. Never had a fly problem at Waukegan.
I did research and it's not so simple. First, the coal-fired plant appears to have shut down. Second, operations in non-coal power generation will continue. Third, there are ash ponds which need to be cleaned/environmental remediation. So it sounds like there will be big trucks rumbling there for years to come.
(source: https://a1e02906-ce3c-4b07-bac3-b03f8a6ef9e0.filesusr.com/ugd/fc9005_e72c8c2d9fab444b8259f813d66ee63e.pdf)
I should be there tomorrow afternoon. Odds are I'll only see the south unit nature area, which had suffered less erosion in the past - the north nature area south of the ditch was really gone last year, what shore there is had no cover. Hosah Park was almost as bad: the area by the boardwalk is washed away, forcing most people further north where there had been some somewhat remote, hidden spots (no more).
Wind was off the lake so while it was 84F at I-294 and 73F at Sheridan, it was rather chilly, probably 60s at the beach. I didn't see anyone besides myself without a shirt, let alone pants.
According to the papers, the lake is down nearly a foot compared to last year (even though we've gotten more rain this spring). Most of the south unit nature center beach has more sand except for right by the big tree near the north end, where [I]railroad tracks[/I] are suddenly exposed. While there's more sand, it seems a bit desolate with fewer places where you can be out of sight.
The north unit nature area looks better than last year too, with a lot of wide sandy areas, but the trail is even more eroded than last year. Still I think it may be the better area to lay out this summer.
The wind is crucial in the beginning of the year on the beaches of Lake Michigan. The temperature can drop 20+ degrees in few minutes if the wind shifts from coming from the warm land to off the cool water.
I'm interested in exploring the area just south of Dead Creek where IBSP ends. According to Google Maps, there's also the power generating station between the North Beach in Waukegan and the southern border of IBSP. Could that be a naked nomads land? Is there parking at Bowen Park off 137 and a way to access this area through the semi-abandoned NGR Waukegan Generating Station? My experience is generally that things are not the way they seem on Google Maps. In the past I always respected the No Trespassing signs by Dead Creek. Now I'm considering a cautious nude hike just might be in order.
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