How to get Evanston beach tokens if you can't afford them.
Beaches open May 29.
Free beach days for Evanston residents will be held at Clark Street Beach on Mondays from July 5 through August 30.
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Hopefully in the near future, no-one who lives in Evanston will need to pay for tokens/beach passes and no-one will need to prove that they can't afford them. A discussion about making Evanston beaches free is scheduled for the May 24 City Council meeting.
In the meantime, if you want to go the beach but can't afford tokens, here's the scoop:
Free beach passes are available to qualified Evanston residents. You can qualify for the passes with the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Recreation Scholarship letter sent by the school district or the Fee Assistance Application.
To learn more, visit the City's website or email.
The person(s) listed in the application will need to be present to redeem the beach tokens with a valid form of ID.
Beach tokens are available for in-person pickup at the following locations:
Evanston Ecology Center (2024 McCormick Blvd., Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Robert Crown Center (1801 Main St., Monday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center (1655 Foster St., Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Chandler- Newberger Community Center (1028 Central St., Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Levy Senior Center (300 Dodge Ave, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Starting this Saturday, May 15, passes will also be available for purchase daily at the Dempster Street Beach office between 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
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Fee Assistance Overview:
Applies a 50% discount
Valid for one year
Applications can be dropped off for processing at any City of Evanston recreation center or emailed.
To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:
Evanston resident living in zip code 60201 or 60202
Provide supporting documents listed in the application or the District 65 Recreation Scholarship letter sent by the school district
Fee assistance may be used for:
Free Beach Tokens for household members
Programs
Classes
Camps
Not available for field trips or special events
Help Evanston Fight for Black Lives purchase tokens for folks who can't afford them by donating here. They also accept venmo @efblives.
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A season beach pass is valid from the time of purchase through Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 2021.
Season passes will be sold at a discounted rate of $30 for Evanston and Skokie residents and $46 for nonresidents through Friday, June 11.
On Saturday, June 12, the price for a beach token will increase to $38 for Evanston and Skokie residents and $62 for nonresidents.
New this year, smartphone users will be able to purchase their Evanston season and daily beach passes via the Viply app, an authorized mobile beach pass vendor of Evanston beaches.
The Viply app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. After creating an account in the app, users should select 'City of Evanston' and then select the type and amount of beach passes to be purchased. Mobile beach passes can be redeemed by scanning in at beach entrances.
