Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Cook County, IllinoisView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from Illinois EPA for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported.
Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is a lake in Cook County, Illinois. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2023-05-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data.
Ask about Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 4, 2018, 2:56 PM from gauge 04092440 (Lake Michigan at Jackson Park at Hyde Park, IL). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
Water Temperature
Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 69°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 77°F) and coldest in Oct (about 58°F). These are typical values by month — see Current Conditions above for the latest gauge reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (58°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 10 field readings (2015–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake water temperature breakdown →
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake in Cook County, Illinois — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Illinois’s top lakes →
Follow Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake’s readings
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Fishing Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2020–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-1 µg/L/yr2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IL_QZM · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits.
- City Of ChicagoChicago · 2.1 mi away · NPDES IL0002429
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake
Where is Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake?
- Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is a lake in Cook County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake?
- Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported.
Is Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake?
- Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October, from 10 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2015–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading. A USGS gauge on this lake last read 65°F.
Explore Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Indiana Dunes?
Jackson Park Outer Harbor Lake is about 26 miles from Indiana Dunes National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Indiana Dunes →More lakes in Illinois
Other Lakes in Illinois
Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Illinois Water Science Center
USGS-IL1 sample · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)