I don't make it out to the Kenosha area very often.But a friend's band was playing at the…read morepetrafying Springs beer garden, so we took a drive out for some Saturday evening entertainment. Tons of parking available. A huge amount of picnic table seating around the small stage. Plenty of activities happen all throughout the week.On the different days. The beer garden has a wide selection of beverages and also has large refillable beer stein's available for purchase. All the food that came out of the kitchen looked absolutely amazing. We tried the kenosha Pizza and also the pretzel, which was accompanied with somersausage cheese, curds, a delicious mustard and an absolutely incredible cream cheese type dip.I highly recommend it. Music was done at nine o'clock and the beer garden closes at ten. Played an interesting game which you can view in the photos. Very kid and dog friendly with a playground and dog park nearby. Wasn't able to walk through the rest of the park , but had an amazing time just at the beer garden. Stay thirsty my friends.

What a nice park. We were cruising through town and saw this on the map and decided to check it…read moreout. There is a lot going on at this park. + Free spring water where you can fill up your own jugs. + A dog park + A beer garden (though unfortunately it was closed given it is off season) + A golf course + Plenty of picnic areas and shelters + Hiking trails + Bike trails + A raging river (spring runoff) + Many playgrounds + Free Wifi (given the ravine it is in cell service was spotty - at least T-Mobile) The one negative is that a number of the picnic shelters do not have convenient parking nearby - it is a very odd set-up. Overall a real gem for this community.

Found this little gem of a park passing through town. As others noted, clean and well taken care…read moreof. Our girl loved it. Thanks Waukegan!

Took he girls to the dog park yesterday. Really nice and clean park. Separate areas for different…read moresize dogs and an agility training area. Will go back a couple times before we leave Illinois. Highly recommend for dog owners. Children's play ground just outside the dog area. Walking trails. Fun for the whole family. We give it 4 paws!

I love, love, love this place when there's not deep snow. When there is, it's a fall risk. Normal…read moreplows can't navigate these unpaved paths, but isn't there some kind of equipment that could beat this down, allowing us to more easily beat this down while walking? If I fall and break a hip and I'm lying in the snow, I hope someone will walk by and help me up. This could have happened today.

Very clean and nicely mowed paths. Not a lot of shade in the summer…read more Thought there was a pond for pups based on online map

This park is almost entirely run by donations from dog owners. It has trees for shae and picnic…read morebenches. Regular users bring lawn chairs and leave them for the use of all. The city mows the grass and put in a water source a couple of years ago, which we all appreciated. A separate small dog area was added years ago, and there are structures for dogs to enjoy, such as tunnels and ramps to play on.,

Lakewood dog park is so great. I love all the lake county dog parks they are all peaceful and…read morebeautiful. I like Lakewood because it gets super pretty in the fall and there is no place to swim. So when the weather is getting cold I don't have to tempt my dog who loves swimming by walking her past a pond. There are multiple trails and I've never had a problem with owners not watching their dogs there. Everyone's friendly and the dogs are so happy there. Whether you are walking the trail or hanging out in the front area the dogs are getting great exercise and you get to enjoy the pretty nature.

I'm not usually a dog park person but this is not your normal small squished dog park. Lots of room…read moreto run your dogs AND get some excercise yourself ! Beautiful!

This is a nice little beach in Wildwood. You do need a resident parking sticker to park along the…read moreposted area however. We are not Wildwood residents but have found parking not too far off. The swimming area is marked and mostly attracts families with young kids.

Nice park. It has a pavilion and a small beach area. The park is not very big, but it is a hidden…read moregem. Recommend you check it out. Oh, and Joe says, "Don't forget...it turns out the grass isn't always greener on the other side."

The 2nd most popular state park in Illinois, Illinois Beach State Park was initially established in…read more1948, with the northern portion being added in 1982. It is located on over 6 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, encompassing 4,160 acres. I spent a lot of summers here (both at the beach and the campgrounds) with my dad and brother during my youth, and was also the area where I proposed to my girlfriend over 30 years ago...was nice to stop by with my now wife on this rainy day. It's official name is Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park, renamed for the former state senator and conservation advocate in 2010 (a year after her passing). I went to high school in the area, and she was an important presence during that time, often sponsoring various academic and community awards for local students. Since it was rainy and a weekday, the large parking lots and beachfront were pretty empty. We walked it a bit, collected some sand (recently started to collect and label beach sand to further document my travels). There is a 'resort' hotel on the grounds (which I remembered) and The Pavilion (a combination camp store, souvenir shop, and concession stand), which I didn't remember (makes sense since it opened in 2021). The latter was closed when we stopped by (has limited hours during the non-summer time and is closed during winter).

My first time here. I've avoided this area because it's surrounded by iffy neighborhoods with high…read morecrime rates like murders. They had a fall festival this past weekend with free guided walks so I figured it would be safe for us. Loved the guided walk and how informative it was. This is a high quality state park with lots of native plants still intact. So the whole place is pretty deserted but it did rain in the morning. Cars with completely tinted windows drive around in broad daylight. Pretty scary...The campgrounds have security that do not allow you to pass through unless you are a camper so that would make it safe. I saw a few police cars in the area as well. Personally, this isn't for me but if you are street smart, know your way around the neighborhood, it's great for hiking.

This park is super clean and has a decent size area for dogs - nothing compared to mukwonago or…read moreminooka. There are no bathrooms by the large breed but there are by the small breed area. You need a county park pass to enter. They provide poop bags as well just like the other parks. No free water for the dogs to drink though like Mukwonago.

Love this park. It's always clean people are friendly. Love the hiking trails. My dogs get a…read moregoodnight sleep after with all the exercise they get.

Today, my boyfriend and I rented a paddleboat for an hour. The weather forecast indicated rain…read morewouldn't start until 1:00 PM, so we thought we had plenty of time. However, around 12:20 PM, the sky turned black. We immediately turned around and began pedaling back to the dock as fast as we could. While we were heading back, a safety staff member on a speedboat approached us. He told us we had to return to shore but added that he couldn't tow us in--we had to pedal all the way back ourselves. While we were already doing that, the storm was rolling in incredibly fast, and it was a genuinely scary experience. As we finally approached the dock in the storm, we saw two teenage employees who had been assisting people earlier. One of them looked right at us, but instead of helping us secure the boat, both boys ran back into the covered checkout area and completely ignored us. As we struggled to park and tie up the boat in the pouring rain, not a single staff member stepped out to help us dock safely. Meanwhile, at least 10 employees were crowded inside the checkout area. As a person of color, I am unfortunately always hyper-aware of how I might be treated in certain environments. I have visited this forest preserve many times, always thought it was beautiful, and was so excited to show my boyfriend around. To be treated with such a lack of care was incredibly disappointing. When we spoke to the male manager, he explained that they are required to clear the water during storms. My boyfriend clarified that we had no issue with leaving the water; our issue was the complete lack of staff assistance to help us dock safely in a dangerous situation. The manager offered us a "rain check" for a free rental, but missing out on time wasn't the issue--our safety was. No one seemed to care that we were the last ones out on the water. I hope this forest preserve implements a better emergency protocol, because storms on the water can quickly become life-threatening. I guess my question is if the staff are closely checking the weather , why even let people still go out on the water ? Instead of saying "hey there's a storm that is going to be rolling through , we are holding back on rentals at this time for safety reasons " .

Independence Grove is such a nice forest preserve with lots of things to do especially in the…read moresummer time. Beautiful trails to walk/run along but they also have a playground for kids. They have a beer garden and snack shop. They also have water activities that you can rent like paddle boats and kayaks. It's just a nice place to go solo or with friends if you are looking to connect with nature for a bit.

Being from California, I thought "dog exercise area" was synonymous with "dog park." Boy, was I…read morewrong. Dog parks are like prison compared to the Independence Grove DEA. The boyfriend and I love taking our dog here as a special treat. She just loves to explore, sniff, poop and mark territory to her heart's content. A daily parking permit costs $5 but I recommend purchasing an annual pass. The permit is good for any of the dog exercise areas in Lake County. And if you're a good owner, you'll probably take your dog out enough times that the permit pays for itself.

A perfect park for a dog that likes to get in the water, or for a brisk walk. As a place to meet…read moreand romp with other dogs, however, this park is less than ideal since it has really only one open area. The day I went it was muddy, but in drier weather I wouldn't think this would be much of an issue. A nice touch is the multiple garbage cans along the trail that encircles the lake, so you dont have to carry your pooch's shame with you for miles. The people a this park seemed less than friendly to me, but I guess I didn't go there to talk to other people either, so I'll cut them a break there.