Centennial Beach is a public aquatic park located at 500 W. Jackson Avenue in Naperville, Illinois. The Beach is within an abandoned, double quarry alongside the DuPage River. The facility covers almost 6 acres (24,000 m²) of land with a full two acres (8,000 m²) or 6.2 million gallons of open water from Lake Michigan, all tested, re-circulated and chlorinated on site.
Among its features is a sand beach next to the shallow end of the pool which offers a zero-depth entry. At the zero depth area of the pool, there are 2 large water play features which pour water from about up, and water spouts that shoot up water for children to play in and cool off. The shallow end of the pool goes from to , getting deeper as one walks further into the pool. In the area there are 3 lanes for lap swimmers, where Centennial Beach’s swim team, The Mudrats, practice each weekday morning before open swim hours.
The shallow end also has a slide that was added in 2008. The shallow end also has an area called the “channel.” This area is right next to the deep end and the diving boards. In the channel there is a pool lift for people who cannot use the ladders to get into the pool, they can be let in on the lift. The deep end of the beach has 2 floating rafts in the middle for swimmers to swim out to. The deep end also has 4 piers on the sides of the deep end for swimmers to sit and relax on without sitting on the walkway.
The deep end has an NCAA and USS-approved diving complex, which houses two one-meter springboards and one three-meter board.
Centennial beach is open on all non-school days from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Centennial Beach’s open swim hours are 11:00am – 8:00pm Monday through Saturday and 11:00am – 6:00pm on Sunday. The Beach opens early on Saturdays and Sundays for “Adult Float” which is a time where adults can come in with any sort of floating devices (not allowed during regular open swim time) and swim with them. Adult float is every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00–10:55am. Every Saturday morning at 7:00am the Centennial Beach lifeguards train and do drills for 2 hours before the pool opens. In the event of inclement weather, poor conditions, low attendance, or insufficient staffing the manager may close the beach or certain sections of the beach. In mid-August the beach begins to close earlier than usual due to early darkness.
Centennial Beach receives about 2,500 visitors on an average warm summer day. Over the course of a year the beach receives about 155,000. The beach plays host to various athletic events and is known for its nationally competitive lifeguard team.
Skatepark
Centennial Beach has an adjacent skatepark to the west. The skatepark opens at 9:00am, and closes at dusk. This facility includes skating elements, such as half-pipes, quarter pipes, fun boxes, rails and more. This skate park is unsupervised, and free of charge for non-motorized skateboards, in-line skates, and scooters. The use of a bicycle can only be used during bike hours at some sport complexes. Any other wheeled or sliding devices will be prohibited from the park. Skate at your own risk.
Ball Field
Centennial Beach also has a baseball field that is used by the Naperville Little League. Naperville Little League wouldn't be a program if boys and girls ages 7 years of age through 12 years of age weren't on teams. The league a child will play in corresponds with the distract the school they attend too. This complex was made possible by donations and other community groups and was completed in 2005. Recently, added in new bleachers, fencing around the fields, and a new entryway. There will be many parking spots for parents to park in even if they aren't going to Centennial Beach. Near two ball fields there is a park, with a kid area, and a place where older kids can go and wander around.
Deep-Water Test
Centennial Beach has a strict swimming requirement for the deep end which is blocked off by a pool safety rope. Swimmers who are in the 8th grade or younger must pass a deep water test, each year, to swim in the deep section. Those who pass the deep water test receive a wristband that allows use of the diving boards and deep end. A participant must swim 100 yards uninterrupted to be eligible.
Adult Float
Every weekend there will be an adult float for participants to relax on inner tubes or swim around. The beach allows adults eighteen years and older on Saturday and Sunday from 9am – 10:55am to swim during adult swim. However, nobody under the age of eighteen may enter the beach until 11am. This allows for adults to freely swim in the deep end with no distractions; such as, screaming children, loud noises, in this case it will allow adults to relax.
