I've been wanting to visit this park since it opened, but it never came to pass. I'm really glad we…read moregot to visit during their 10th anniversary celebration! That party was cool; they had various community orgs, like a citizen science group and the Budlong Woods branch of CPL here to share info and stuff. There were park volunteers doing arts and crafts with the kids. They even had a fishing derby in the little pond, I think, which was really cool. There's at least one or two works of art in the park that are nice as well. This isn't your typical CPD park. It's a nature area that was acquired from neighboring Rosehill Cemetery and developed into a natural area/native preserve. Though the cemetery is over 150 years old, this portion on the northwest corner of Western & Peterson was never used for burials and was simply an undeveloped section of the cemetery. I used to live a couple blocks away from here and remember thinking it was a bit of an eyesore. But the Chicago Park District, and the advisory council for the park, have done wondrous things. There's a walking path throughout the park for a leisurely stroll. The park also hosts various events; I believe they recently had an equinox program, and I hope the bat program comes up again so I can take my little one. They even had Hocus Pocus movie night a few days ago (just before Halloween). But my favorite part by far is the nature play space. It's gorgeous! There are lots of benches and stumps for adults and children to sit on, and they had a couple of outdoor play kitchens. There's a little mound (which to a small child could look hill-sized) for kids to play and sit on. There's a small stage and I'm not sure if they've always had events or if they've started hosting more, but I'm keeping an eye on it because it's truly one of the best nature play spaces I've seen around. It's absolutely worth a visit if you have children, or just want a little quiet contemplation.

We had a great morning at West Ridge Nature Park! We came here on a Sunday morning to celebrate the…read more10th anniversary of the park. They had a lot of kid friendly activities like face painting, coloring, fossils to look at, and our favorite -- music from old town school of folk music! After enjoying some wheels on the bus, we walked around pond. The path was so pretty and well kept. We saw lots of geese, butterflies, squirrels, and even a hawk which my two year old loved. Our favorite though, was all the turtles! We saw about 10 out in the pond swimming. They were so cute, we could have sat out there for a hours watching them bob around. Definitely recommend West Ridge if you're wanting some peace in the city.

Nice park for all ages. Took my 5 year old and she had fun on the variety of playground equipment…read more Playground is ideal for toddlers to elementary aged. Many sports fields, leagues happening inside/outside throughout the year. Free street parking was easy to find in the middle of a weekday.

Lovely park to have as a neighbor. Lots of trees around the perimeter and wide open space in the…read morecenter. Softball throughout the summer, a nice playground for the next generation, and a field house with a basketball court (limited open gym hours).

Here is another local park, that's good for chilling or playing baseball. It certainly isn't the…read morefirst one of these to go to in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, but it's often a quieter and less crowded option. Jonquil Park is known for the athletic fields and playground. Even though it's not big, it's big enough. The entrance even has a cool sculpture. A neighborhood park is the best way to describe it. It's not nearly as popular as the neighborhood's namesake park. This is more for those who live in the area than for other locals and tourists. Best known for the baseball. There's also a few tennis courts. A playground is pretty modern and it's ADA approved. There's a spray area to keep cool in summer. At the entrance is a sculpture by Richard Hunt. The Eagle Columns was inspired by a Vachel Lindsay poem about former Governor Peter Altgeld, who was an early proponent of playgrounds. He actually has a studio across the street from here. The park does have a few homeless but they don't really bother others. Good area. It's close to the Fullerton CTA station. This is located at the intersection of Lincoln, Sheffield, and Wrightwood.

I am now a student of tennis on the lake at jonquil park. But before starting lessons I read every…read moreYelp review looking for details on how to reserve a court and didn't find any! So here's are the details: Nice enough public park. Safe in my experience - there might be a few eccentric folks around but it's always felt safe during the day time. I've never visited the restroom but I've heard tell it's often out of order. The courts at jonquil are hard courts and they do have lights at night. Tennis On the Lake reserves 1 court (of 2) evenings throughout the week and morning/afternoon on the weekend for lessons during the nice weather. Each of the 2 courts has an "even/odd" rack. Hang your racket to reserve the upcoming even or odd hour. So if you arrive at 3:30, hang your racket on even to reserve for 4, and odd to reserve for 5. Tennis on the lake always plays on the west court. Not sure if there are any other coaches that reserve space - I've never seen that nor any other signs. Some people will go in the morning and hang their rack with a note reading "6 PM" this is against the rules and also again court etiquette. Not much we can do about it but if you wonder if you should do that - just don't. It's rude. Also I DO recommend tennis on the lake if you're looking for lessons.

I'm child free but I walk through this park almost every day to keep my corpse in shape and I…read morenoticed a lot of grownups use this park for various gatherings. There's tons of bench seating so it's easy to get a large group together. I've seen neighborhood fun runs organize and start their day here and just about any group that wants to gather outside can benefit from it's open space when the weather is nice. I like walking through the little red gazebo and seeing a few birds and squirrels on my way to Horner Park's farmer's market on Saturday mornings. It's nice to have so many small and very useful parks in Albany Park / Ravenswood.

As someone who doesn't have kids, I never really give parks any thought. However, I recently had…read moresome friends over with their kids, and we headed to the park. Based on the kids' reactions and my keen observations, this is a great little neighborhood park. There are plenty of swings and a couple of large play systems (which I ignorantly referred to as jungle gyms...I'm so 1980.). The kids had a blast, and the other folks in the park were very friendly. Pluses for adults with or without kids: Merle's coffee shop is a half block away if you want something to sip on while watching your kids. Additionally, there is often live music on the weekends and even a play or two during the week!

I visited the pickle ball courts at Eugene Field Park for the first time this morning and had a…read moregreat experience! Though there were only two courts to play on, people were very friendly and rotated out after their games were over. The area was clean, bright, and a fun atmosphere for all! The nearby park and splash pad area looked like a fun spot for the kiddos, and there were tennis lessons happening in the courts next to us! Lots of fun on this Sunday morning!

The park district has allowed the homeless encampment to spread right next to the children's…read moreplayground at foster and avers. And now a new one appeared right next to the baseball field. The one next to the playground has been there for months. Since then, I've seen an uptick of drinking and drug use, people from the encampment walking down the alleys looking into back yards, guys with crazy behavior next to field house. If they weren't causing problems in the community, it would be a different story. But is a public safety and health issue. Please remove these so we can enjoy our park again. Parents please be careful with your kids around here.

Fellger Park is one of my favorite Chicago Park Districts parks to take my little one to. It is…read morewell kept and offers a variety of play equipment for toddlers and beyond. This park also features a cute miniature house, train and water area. It is often crowded during the day with tots and their nannies. I appreciate that the entire park is gated as it butts at the corner of a busy intersection. The park sits kitty corner from The Bleeding Heart bakery, so you can stop by before or after for a cup of coffee and tasty treats!

Fellger Park was the perfect place for my sidekick to run off some energy…read more The park seems very well-kept and there are a lot of different playground choices so my son never got bored. I love the safety ground that covers the play area. I wish all parks could have this. I think it's made from recycled rubber and it's a little bouncy. So the tumbles that toddlers take have less of a chance for serious injury. The slide, miniature train, the rocking train/fire engine and plane kept my son amused for such a long time, he even ignored our calls for ice cream when I came back with Gelato from Black Dog just across the street. In fact he ignored me and my husbands calls when it was time to leave too. There are benches, a nice shaded area and a grassy area. And the large water sprinkle area for the kids to cool off. The park is gated so if you have a fast-breaker, they can't get too far. So glad we found this park!

Only wish the pool hours were extended in the summer. This public pool is free and offers a less…read morecrowded option for families and individuals alike. The park itself is gorgeous and has a softball field for sports leagues and offers plenty of space for sunbathing and other games. Highly recommend the area as it's safe and beautiful.

I have lived in the area for a few years and I always wanted to love this pool but every experience…read morefell short. This morning was very different! The lifeguards are a lot better this year. They opened the pool on time for adult lap swim and they were very friendly. I hope this continues the rest of the summer. The lifeguards last summer were terrible.

Fun free local playground. Swings, slides, ropes to climb space to run. Great for toddler to young…read morechild.

I love this park! It's huge, beautiful & there are always tons of dogs around. If I was a little…read morekid I would so be running around in the giant sprinkler thing, and the garden is gorgeous and totally well maintained. I come here and picnic sometimes by myself, I just love it here.