VR #360 Inline Skating Chicago — 24 Beaches, One Endless Trail (Pt 1/6)

This is a 6-part virtual skate series, best enjoyed while exercising on a treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike — a POV ride along one of the most scenic urban waterfronts in the U.S. Play any part in VR for full immersion, or cast to a TV for a simpler ambient follow-along.

Across the 6 parts, this series covers roughly 2.5 times the length of the trail, filmed over two days at the end of July 2026 — so you'll notice slightly different light and crowd levels between the earlier and later segments.

A few things that make the Chicago Lakefront Trail worth the miles: it's an 18.5-mile paved path running along the western shore of Lake Michigan, first designated as the city's official bike path back in 1963. It threads through four major lakefront parks — Lincoln, Grant, Burnham, and Jackson — and on a busy summer day, as many as 70,000 people use it. Since a 2018 separation project split the old combined path into a dedicated 18-mile bike trail and 18.5-mile pedestrian trail, it's been noticeably smoother for skating too.

What surprised me most, though, is the beach count. Chicago doesn't market itself as a beach town, but the lakefront is home to more than two dozen free public beaches — 24 of them span 28 miles of shoreline, from the busy sand at North Avenue Beach to quieter stretches further south. It's a completely different side of the city than the skyline shots most people expect.