Chicago lakefront: Accessing and parking by it on the North Side

As I climbed out to photograph the Foster pier, Ken Schneider said, “This is where I caught my first perch when I was 6 or 7. It is what started my life.”

Chicago’s lakefront is where life began for many.

My Chicago life began at Montrose Harbor when I moved to the North Side after college and learned to fish perch from reading the late John Spehn in the Sun-Times.

Accessing that entrance to life gets tougher.

With that in mind in mid-February, we trekked the lakefront to document access parking on the North Side lakefront.

A couple years ago, we did the same for South Side access from Calumet Park to Burnham Harbor/Northerly Island.

This time, we began at Burnham Harbor/Northerly Island where parking is good, with caveats, then drove north.

There you compete for street and lot parking with museum visitors. The best metered lot is by the park district building (formerly the terminal when Northerly island was an exclusive airport). But that lot is off limits when there are events at Soldier Field or Huntington Bank Pavilion.

Monroe Harbor is best accessed via meter parking on Solidarity Drive or Columbus Drive. Otherwise, use the Grant Parking Garage or pay lots Downtown.

At Navy Pier, a premier lakefront fishing spot, fishermen have a parking deal for $6 if they leave by 10 a.m. Find a parking attendant after you pull in to get the special.

“Cannon Drive is where to park for Diversey,” Schneider said.

That’s also the best or most economical parking to access Fullerton or North Avenue, too, if you can find a spot. You can also pay premium prices to park at North Avenue beach lot.

Cannon is a secret for visiting the Lincoln Park Zoo, too. But remember the west side of Cannon is off limits 7-9 a.m. There is also meter parking by the Diversey Driving range. ($4 per hour or $19 for 4 hours or until end.)

At Belmont Harbor, a small public parking lot by the boaters lot on the south side of the harbor costs $6. I usually park on the north side of Belmont. If you park on Recreation Drive (by the tennis courts), it is free until May 26 this year. Otherwise, the north side of Belmont is either meter parking or $6 to drive in.

Best on the North Side is Montrose to Foster, where parking is mostly free, with only three lots as pay parking.

I can’t believe that free parking will last. Or, as Carl Vizzone, rambler of the North Side, said, “`Tougher and tougher, and it is not going to get any better.’’

At the Bryn Mawr pier by Kathy Osterman Beach, there is no parking other than from distant street parking, mainly to the southwest. And there isn’t much of that.

Around Loyola University, parking within walking distance is virtually gone. Too bad, in my single days, I have fond memories of drinking in the dawn there.

At Farwell Pier near Pratt, there is free street parking, but it is tough even in the best of times.

Tough is different than impossible. Some things depend on how clever you are or how much you’re willing to work or improvise to access making memories.