Activities & Sports

Yes! Rend Lake is home to the beautiful South Sandusky Beach. It is one of the best beaches in southern Illinois!

The South Sandusky Beach at Rend Lake offers a large sand area, buoyed swim area, shaded picnic sites, foot showers, large change/shower houses, restroom facilities, walkway down to the water, and two reservable picnic shelters.

South Sandusky Beach is just north of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Rend Lake Visitor Center. It is a great place to review safety rules and information. Always follow water safety rules. While there, pick up a copy of the Rend Lake brochure and map and the Rend Lake Visitors Guide.

Fees for South Sandusky Beach use are charged per day, $5.00 per vehicle and $20.00 per commercial vehicle. Persons displaying a valid Corps of Engineers campsite registration tag, an American the Beautiful pass or the Corps of Engineers Annual Day Use Pass will receive free admittance to the beach. All of the above mentioned passes may be purchased at any Corps of Engineers campground.

Call for dates and hours open and current swim fees.

Get Rend Lake information. Walk through a native plant garden. Visit the exhibition hall with a working honey bee hive, live area reptiles, fish and more! This beautiful center is handicap accessible.

This Visitor Center near the west end of the dam is the perfect start to any visit to the Rend Lake area. It offers extensive Rend Lake area information provided by the staff along with free brochures.

This beautiful center has a large hall full of interactive exhibits where visitors can see area reptiles, fish and more. It even has a working honey bee hive. See live bees travel outdoors to the on-site native plant garden where they collect pollen and nectar to take back to the hive.

The large meeting hall is home to the summer Environmental Science Series. This series offers a different presentation every Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Presentation topics include a wide variety of environmental topics. This room is also available to rent for parties and meetings.

The onsite outdoor sheltered picnic areas and the native plant garden provide the perfect setting to see and experience the beauty of nature in the heart of Southern Illinois. While at the Visitor Center, be sure to review the safety information available and pick up a copy of the Rend Lake Map and also the Rend Lake Visitor Guide!