Want a free workout that will kick your butt? Head over to the Swallow Cliff stairs. There are…read morepeople of all fitness levels that make the trek here. Stay to the right and keep your own pace. The forest preserve has done a nice job maintaining the area. There are tables to have a picnic, clean bathrooms, and seasonal café. There is a decent amount of parking too. It does get packed if weather is nice. People like to use rocks to track their loop numbers. Signs say no dogs allowed on the stairs.

Love swallow cliff stairs! This is definitely a workout!! My goodness this is nothing like regular…read morestairs or a stair climber. For those that even exercise regularly, this is a tough workout and you really have to build up to it. Nice location, great walking trail in addition to the stairs. Everyone that goes is very friendly. In the summer the smoothie shop is open. Police regularly patrol the area. Super big parking lots. The only issue is that you're really supposed to walk up one side and down the other - but often people are walking up and down the main flight of stairs which is annoying. Aside from that, it's a great experience.

Palos Preserves has a lot going on. You can fish; in fact, I saw a few people doing that. There…read morewere several people biking through the preserves (some casual, some much more hard core). Walking trails, which is what I was using with the group I was in. Of course, Camp Bullfrog is a major attraction at this site, situated on Bullfrog Lake; you can rent paces for camping anywhere from 2 or 3 days up to 10 days per month. And there's also picnic groves around the place too. There are a few port-a-potties, and there may be an actual restroom with flush toilets a bit southwest of Bullfrog Lake; I forgot to check. Nearby are Sagawau Nature Center and the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, amongst other places. Palos is an International Dark Sky location, so the Forest Preserve District of Cook County sometimes has programs here. There's some hilliness here, and some of the areas I was in were not accessible--though it's possible the campsite is. You should contact them if you are in need of an accessible place to recreate.

Never in a million years would I have believed you if you told me that one of the best running…read moretrails in the USA was in IL. But that's exactly what I found at Palos Forest Preserves. I ignored the Yelp map directions, which drops you in the middle of the street, and instead followed that street until it became a dead end. I parked in the parking lot by the dead end and began my trail there. This ended up being about a 2-2 1/2 hour adventure, at about 16K steps (running half way). The trail has some nice markers to help keep you on the right track, but more would be even better because I ended up doing "eenie meenie minie moe" at several junction points and just hoped for the best. My favorite part about these trails were the inclines and natural obstacle courses. Watch out for the trees though. A couple of the roots reached out and grabbed my foot on more than one occasion, causing me to kiss the ground. I'm certain I heard some giggles coming from the treetops. Cheeky lil bastards. The views were breathtaking during my autumn visits. Very peaceful in many areas and not too crowded, unless you came on the weekend when the bikers take over. They treat it like it's their world, which is very annoying. If I lived in the area, I would definitely frequent these woods with my mountain bike. If running/hiking was fun, biking would be a blast! However, I would remember to share the trails with pedestrians.

Good place to launch kayaks or canoes, this place used to be unkempt and dangerous. Near the…read morehistorically important Altgeld Gardens housing project, this end of the river has other important African American historic sites. It's the start to the African American Heritage Water Trail. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/33c3120579f9471e84e51f8684ced943

It's a great place to relax and fish and I suggest it to who ever enjoy being outdoorsread more

Oak Field Oaks has two parking lots. The lot by 87th street is quiet and gives a woods setting. The…read morefrontage road lot leads to the dog park.

This is a nice small walking path that isn't overly crowded. A good portion of it is shaded and…read morethen a small portion has some open prairie area. There's one main circle path that generally takes us twenty minutes. There's an option to extend the circle to make it longer about halfway through. We came at the end of October and weren't strict with keeping our dog directly on the main path. I extremely regretted it as I removed 7 ticks off of him after our trip. Lesson learned! If you are looking for a quick 30-45 minute, easy path that is mostly shaded, this spot is perfect!

Great park located around Yorkville with a few big lakes. It has lots of hiking trails. Silver…read moreSprings State Park gets its name from the pool of bubbling water. Of course, there's tons of other things to see around it. The popular activities include boating, fishing, and picnicking. Bigger park with a lot of history. It's an area that was purchased by the state in 1969 and turned into a park. The park was originally 1,250 acres, and added a prairie restoration project in 1980 among expansions since. Kind of what the land was like before settlers took it. There's a path that goes through it where visitors can check out animals, grass, and wildflowers. A few man made lakes are highlights. Loon Lake is the biggest one, popular for fishing or getting photos. A refreshment stand is located by it. The spring is the biggest attraction of the park though. Amazingly the water in it never freezes. There's amazing plantlife around it including watercress. Also fun when it's colder. There's a toboggan hill that's fairly steep. Among the kinds of trails are equestrian. There's also plenty for basic hiking. Has lots to look at here for hours and you can even stay overnight by camping. It's got an area that's available for youth groups. This area is only reachable through backpacking so it's far away from loud noises or vehicles.

Serene lake with a good 2-mile hike along lake, river, woods amd some prairie. It was a quiet…read moremid-day walk one snowy day... until I pass by a group of kids screaming and sledding along a slope, how fun :)

My wife and I love this area for taking peaceful walks, and we especially love when we come across…read morethe deer, if you're calm and quiet enough, they will not run away!

I've came here a few times and I wonder why my review got deleted? This place is absolutely…read morebeautiful! Tons of stuff to do and see, the trail has recently been repaved. Very well maintained by the city of Plainfield. Plenty of parking but use advisory from coming in from the Lockport road access.

The greatest, most underutilized resource in the county. 20 plus miles of great walking/bike…read moretrails, camp ground, spectacular river view and access, fishing, canoeing, etc. Awesome. Use it and clean up after yourselves.

I been going there for years I like the rock for great smallmouth bass.the only drawn back is the…read moreyou have to go early because all the other people will ruin it for everyone Else because the throw rocks and walk and splash in the water scare the fish away there is no range to check every one .because our government in Illinois they've cut the out the money to the Dnr in Illinois so the camp grounds and the rangers aren't present any more.i go in back in rock creek Walter the fish are.

Cannot recommend enough if you are a lover of nature at all. Great walking trails, but you might…read morenot want to forget Bug repellant. Early morning is my favorite time to hike the trails there.

Very well kept trails with Bluebird houses here and there . Nice views of the Mackinaw on bluffs .read more

Trail is great for cyclist, walkers, and runners. Trail is wide to accommodate traffic both ways…read more Trail is miles long and extends to other trails. I enjoy walking this trail and looking at the wildlife and enjoying nature. Trail is peaceful and tranquil. This trail can be enjoyed all year long. Open dawn to dusk.

Beautiful walking trail. Especially during the fall, the leaves are awesome! It was perfect for the…read morewhole family as the kids could run or ride their bikes ahead. Very safe area