About OWC
Open Water Chicago
Open Water Chicago™ is a physical and virtual community of outdoor swimming, fitness, and endurance sports enthusiasts. Founded in 2007 by Steve Hernan, our mission is to provide you with the best information and opportunities you need to optimize your fitness and to fully experience the joy and adventure of being in the elements.
Ladder 1
Ladder 1 (also referred to as L1) is the bright orange safety ladder where we typically congregate to swim. It’s located right off of the chess pavilion south of the North Avenue Beach boathouse.
Click here for more information on Ladder 1 – including when we have our swim meetups, how to get there, and where to park if you’re coming by car.
The Lake Monsters
Care to join the “cult of cool?” Just come out to wherever we’re swimming, join us in the lake, and ask me for your super-awesome Lake Monster number! But remember – being a Lake Monster carries some pretty hefty responsibilities. So here are the rules you must follow:
1) Bring a good attitude and a friendly, respectful demeanor
We view every meetup as ultimately a celebration of Lake Michigan. It was around long before any of us, and it’s there for all of us to share, preserve, and enjoy – regardless of skill level. So if you can’t relax and enjoy yourself when you work out, go jump in another lake!
2) Always play it safe in the water
Lake Michigan is a magnificent natural wonder, but it’s actually an inland sea and can therefore be quite unpredictable. At Open Water Chicago, we constantly monitor the lake conditions and practice sound risk management whenever we voluntarily enter into this environment.
** Open water swimming in Lake Michigan is an inherently risky activity **
Swimming in Lake Michigan can be dangerous, exposing participants to many risks and hazards, some of which are inherent in the very nature of the sport itself, others which result from human error and negligence on the part of the persons involved.
By agreeing to participate in any of our swim meetups, Open Water Chicago assumes that you recognize and accept the risks and potential dangers to which you may be exposed by engaging in this type of activity. These include – but are not limited to – drowning, hypothermia, serious personal injury, or even damage or loss to personal property.
We also assume that – as a voluntary participant in open water swimming – you understand and take on yourself all of these risks and accept complete responsibility for any outcomes.
So please know your own limits, have a healthy respect for the forces of nature, and understand that with adventure comes risk and uncertainty.
