I actually found out about Fullerton Woods - Des Plaines River Trail off of AllTrails application…read morevia Google Play. It was one of the few trails that would allow me to cover at least 10 miles. Plus, it consisted of some of the perks that I love about trails, such as it being shaded, having soft terrain, and that therapeutic feeling of nature, so why not?. I drove about 8 miles to Fullerton Woods from the west side of Chicago and it was totally worth it! The Des Plaines River Trail was not congested at all in comparison to the Lakefront path in Chicago which I wasn't in the mood to run today. Oh, the thought of being on the Lakefront path with the sun melting me away was not in my interest, so I sought out something different. Shame on me! I packed my trail running shoes, but did not utilized them because the paved portion at the beginning of this trail threw me off. So, with that I encourage you to bring out those trail shoes if you plan to run this trail as I did, but its ok if you do not have any trail shoes. On this trail you will encounter hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners which all are friendly from what I have noticed. The encounters with the mountain bikers can throw your pacing off depending on how many there are in a pack. With that, I recommend taking it as the time for a short rest break to hydrate or gather yourself until they pass by on whatever portion of the trail you may be at if there isn't enough room. My end milage ended up being 8.44 miles, but it easily could have been more if I would have taken a turn, heading under W Lawrence Ave bridge towards Catherine Chevalier Woods. I kept this run simple, looping around at Robinson Woods South because it was my first time out, but next time I plan to not be so attentive to my route and ready to explore the trail more. And on a side note, another entrance that will put you at a more reasonable area to get good trail mileage at is Jerome Huppert Woods which is on the other side of Fullerton Woods. A tip on how to not get off track on this trail is to stay along Des Plaines River, which you can see on your left hand side while going further out on this trail. If you cannot see it, then you may have went in the wrong direction, but I assure you it is not hard to miss. I really loved this trail! And will most definitely be returning because its distance satisfied my preference of the mileage I wanted to accomplish without doing it in the blistering heat and on a hard surfaced pavement. Thomas G

The first little hike is nothing much, but coming back I turned onto a trail, went under a bridge…read moreand found the real trail. At sunset, in the middle of the city I was pleasantly surprised to greet this deer! This is a great getaway when you're just on your way home from the store!

09/14/20 - I walk the trail on the west side of Central Ave all the time and I see this sign for…read moreEdgebrook Woods (on the east side of Central Ave) all the time. Today my curiosity got the better of me so I crossed over to explore. Edgebrook Woods is a tiny isolated blip on the radar part of the immense forest preserve system that spans across multiple cities and counties in Illinois. Yes I crossed over to the other side and dared to venture where no Yelp reviewer had ever gone before and dare I say I entered it into the world according to Yelp. Walking into this unknown I was the only soul in the entire forest preserve or so I thought. It was nice to get off of the path so frequently traveled w/all the other hikers, bikers, joggers and dog walkers. I found total peace & isolation. As I meandered deeper into the woods I had an overwhelming sense of peace & tranquility. All the way at the back in the turn around I saw a service van backed into a corner nestled tight against the bushes maybe resting after his shift was over (or hiding or sleeping). As is so common in these woods there is an over abundance of wildlife that seems to thrive and coexist w/uggg humans. I saw a deer & a red tailed hawk looking for its next meal.

It is very frustrating to give these woods a 1 star review because I drive past them everyday and…read morethey look beautiful and I have always wanted to stop there. So a few weeks ago I went on my lunch break to walk around and take some photos of the changing leaves. I have to say, I was genuinely creeped out while being there. There are men parked EVERYWHERE. Just sitting and staring in the abyss. They gawked and waved at me. One tried to follow me around. I immediately became uncomfortable and left. It is like they have never seen a woman before?! Honestly, these woods are gorgeous and I would love to return, but ladies DO NOT go here by yourself. Even in the day. One day there is going to be something weird that happened here with all of the creeps that just sit around watch women.

Great place to walk by beach very tranquil and peaceful, were many walk and jog, surrounded by…read morepeople with similar goal of exercise and maintaining good health

09/25/20 - This area just to the east of recreation drive will always have a lot a special place in…read moremy heart for me. Over the years I have seen the changes that have taken place along the lakeshore where this runs along the lake to the opening into Belmont Harbor. I use to take my 3 dogs (2 Akita's & 1 Golden Retriever) here once or twice a week in all kinds of weather. I've seen everything from the lake being glass smooth & almost motionless to having huge waves crashing up on the rocky shores. I would come out all year long and got to see the magnificence that is Lake Michigan and it's many seasons & moods from summer to complete white outs w/snow and the lake starting to freeze. The shoreline used to be huge stones that were cut and layered to create stepped rows that ran continuously along the shore, but over the years the water & waves caused so much damage that the stones were literally being pulled and sucked into the lake destroying the intended purpose of protecting the shoreline against erosion. At some point Chicago decided to rebuild the shoreline. They put steel sheet piling I along the lake & poured the first layer of concrete. As they stepped back & away from the lake they stepped up in elevation completely rebuilding each tier to provide a more durable protection for the shoreline. Even though it's more durable wind, water, rain and the lake levels constantly pounding it at high tides and winds is causing wear and tear. Chicago has created a beautiful lakefront w/much of the same type of protection along the lake for everyone to use, ie hikers, runners, bikers, skateboarders, roller bladers, swimmers, dog walkers, swimmers. I give them so much credit for what the city has created for everyone's use, but alas Mother Nature w/ the wind & waves has created erosion along parts of the shoreline. Awesome city, awesome lake, awesome food. Chicago is my kind of town

Google maps leads slightly away from the address…read more Decent amount of parking and super clean bathrooms. (Yes, for a forest preserve!) Trails were pretty flat. I saw lots of wildlife. Trails were clean.

This trail is so peaceful! I've now done the trail twice (once in May, and once in October). The…read more(gravel) paths are extremely wide and leave plenty of space for bikes and walkers. Easy way to get in a good 10k steps before you even realize it, and the changing landscape is absolutely beautiful. We missed the sunflowers/wildflowers this year, but I will be sure to not miss them again next year!! Plenty of parking for a weekend visit. Wear sunscreen as the path is wide open, and bring hand sanitizer as the restrooms were out of soap both times.

This is a relatively peaceful place for hiking and biking. But it's a little hilly for an Illinois…read moreforest preserve, so wear appropriate footwear (I learned that the hard way). I've seen people getting professional photos taken with these woods as a backdrop, and it's a good setting for that. There's an expanse of grass between the woods and the parking lot where you can sit, have a picnic, whatever. The paved trail runs up the hill and onto the bridge over Lake St. to the north or towards Old Orchard to the south. As you move south, the forest preserves get a bit busy, so I prefer to head north from here. Just to the west of the main trail, there's a gravel path that tacks off to one side and is a little quieter, if that's what you're looking for. You won't lose sight of civilization completely, but you'll get a breather from the steady flow of bike traffic on the main trail that way.

07/03/20 - Yet another part of the extensive trails that make up part of the vast Forest Preserve…read moreNorth Branch trails. These start East of me by the Chicago Park district on Foster Ave & go West through Labaugh Woods off of Cicero Ave (5 houses East of me) through Forest Glen Woods (2 Blocks west of me) the turns north all the way to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. These trails are awesome as they provide people a little respite from urban life literally right in their backyards. People especially now that the weather is warmer come out for walks, running, roller blading & biking along the trails. My sister and I are both on a mission to not only get exercise, but see our own natural beauty our forest preserves provide & at the same time shed some pounds. The amount we have been walking you see all sorts of wild life, everything from deer, Blue herons, snapping turtles, chipmunks scouting around, squirrels, raccoons, hawks, redwing blackbirds, cardinals (no Cubs though bummer), blue jays even a fox. Today we walked from the Blue Star Memorial Woods to the south end of The Skokie Lagoon & back about 6.3 miles.

My discovery of Sunset Bridge Meadow came after I took an alternate run route because the underpass…read moreheaded north towards Schiller Woods South was blocked off due to flooding. And since then, I have been slowly moving further south with hopes of locating paths that lead to Thatcher Woods which I hope to eventually start off at in the future to train for marathon runs as I have done before, but at Fullerton Woods trailhead. What I like about this trailhead is that its parking lot is spacious, and highly visible being that it sits along a highly driven on W North Ave. And on top of it having a spacious parking lot, it has a huge open field that is perfect for activities outside of outdoor picnics at the grove. Out of the trailheads in this area which are Fullerton Woods and Jerome Huppert Woods, I recommend this one for safety and security purposes due to its location if you plan to be on the Des Plaines River Trail for more than an hour exploring. Because with its location being in a highly visible area along W North Ave anything suspicious will be easily identified. And also there are a decent number of visitors in-and-out. Once you enter the Des Plaines River Trail, it is a whole different world where you can easily escape reality and be one with nature that covers an estimated total of 28.4 miles. And if you are lucky you will encounter some of the wildlife that live within the preserve too. On the Des Plaines River Trail, you will encounter hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners which all are friendly from what I have experienced. Most encounters with mountain bikers can throw your pacing off depending on how many there are in a pack which most of the time are no more than four. I do recommend taking the encounters as the time for a short break to hydrate or gather yourself until they pass by on whatever portion of the trail you may be on if there is not enough room. And lastly, a tip on how to not get off track on this trail is to stay along the Des Plaines River, which will end up on your left hand side once you cross the bridge. If you cannot see the river then you may have went in the wrong direction, but I assure you it is not hard to miss. And the further north you go towards the state line of Wisconsin the more the trail disconnects. ~Blessings~ Thomas G

Large forest preserve with miles of paved paths mostly following the Chicago river. I walked with a…read moresmall group and we saw deer and chipmunks as well as a golden finch. There also some interesting plants to observe. There's parking at Devon and Milwaukee as well as many spaces within the preserve. There are also several picnic groves with shelters and restrooms.

I've driven by here literally countless times in the two decades I've lived in the Chicago area. I…read moreknow there was a pool and toboggan run here but just never had much reason to stop, and it wasn't until the pandemic that I realized what a true gem the Forest Preserve District of Cook County is. I was stunned by how extensive it is, and yes, it does feel like a small woodland. I saw someone with their hammock strung up between two trees. It must have been ok, because there were multiple FPDCC staff around within sight of it. (I don't know if you need a permit or other permission, though.) We were kind of on the western side of the property and farther east in a copse of trees we saw a deer. That deer surprised me a lot, because it was there for several minutes and it was only a few feet from a dog, who was quite interested in the deer. At some point the deer must have decided it had had enough of the dog because it retreated a bit. But it was so fun to see it there. Caldwell Woods has various programming, all of which can be found on the FPDCC website or on one of the signs on the property. We were here with a play group for their yard games day, and it was fun! There may have only been one or two other parties there besides us, but I hope the forest preserve staff don't feel discouraged because our children had fun throwing bean bags, hitting plastic croquet balls, running up the hill, "axe throwing", and so on. They've either recently added or renovated a fire pit area, and one of the master naturalists was up there popping corn and providing materials for making s'mores on the fire. It was a really fun night (though watch the weather; it got a bit chilly and I forgot sweatshirts), and I'm looking forward to more events here and to visit the wellness center.

Seeking to take part in a fun winter activity? Mount Trashmore has got you boo. Here are some fun…read morefacts about it. The hill was birthed from a former landfill from the 1960's. Two decades later, it was dedicated as a sledding hill for recreational use. This hill can be found along Oakton Avenue and lies within the confines of James Park. You can see it from a distance and during winter season, locals bring their children with sleds in tow to enjoy a fun filled day of winter thrills free of charge. On Mount Trashmore, there are two small bunny slopes on each side. The slope to the left of the mountain is for younger children (Ages 4-7). To the right, you'll find another bunny hill where older children (7+) hang out. The big kahuna out of the three hills is Mount Trashmore in the center. When the forecast over the weekend called for snow, I pulled my unused sled out of storage and went with my husband to Mount Trashmore. I did not conquer the mountain on my first visit for fear of the unknown and avoiding injury. On my first visit, I chose the bunny hill to the right. I was probably the only adult amongst a sea of preteens on this hill but I didn't care. As much as I wanted to, I didn't go all the way up. I chickened out and rode my sled a third of the way down. Despite the short ride, I did get a few seconds of thrills as I was coming down and actually enjoyed myself afterwards. After a fun morning of sledding, here are my afterthoughts. As a first timer cautious to sledding, I'll say this. #1) Start slow and do the bunny hill first. My two big issues were: *Mounting my sled at the midway point while avoiding a slip and fall. I managed this with no injury however the act was super awkward and my husband was laughing at me the entire time. *Steering my sled For you folks like myself who are new to this, here's a primer I wish I had prior to coming here: https://www.wikihow.com/Sled Once you've gained enough confidence, start going higher up the hill and then move on to Mount Trashmore. #2) Sledding etiquette. Wait your turn to come down the hill and if you're lingering at the base of the hill, be cautious and make room for those coming down so you don't become a sled-block casualty. #3) I would advise not going down the hill face first. I saw a kid doing that and it made me cringe inside. If you're reading this, sled at your own discretion. Come early on a Sunday before 11am to find free parking nearby on Oakton Avenue.

Man haven't been here since I was a kid back in the 80's. I forgot the place existed. I thought My…read moretrashnore didn't exist and was just a name of a hill I used to sled on. Can't wait to come back when it's snowing and bring my kids