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    North Branch Trail

    4.6 (49 reviews)

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    Trail
    Xena L.

    So gorgeous. The trail is pretty smooth. I don't like that it cuts off a lot by intersections but that maybe 1/8th of the ride. Otherwise it's separated between runners and cyclists. I saw some deer and they didn't do anything but look up and then continue eating

    Ava F.

    The paved trails are great and run next to the river. If you want to cycle to the Botanical Garden you can. The views were breathtaking in many spots. A special attraction for kids were passing trains. The traffic and the noise did bother us little bit.

    Deer along the bike trail
    Paul W.

    The North Branch Trail is a pretty cool thing, but not quite what I expected. While the trail does wind through some pretty wooded areas, it is broken up quite regularly by busy roads and is very crowded at the weekends. I suppose I'm a victim of unrealistic expectations. I was just hoping for more of a relaxed ride instead of being forced to dodge an inordinate number of people moving very erratically in both directions. Although, I'd be hard-pressed to think of another place where one could be treated to an encounter with a huge Hasidic family on inline skates. All in all, the bike trail experience was not unlike the lakefront slalom down by North Avenue. Just be alert and prepared for a little competition. That being said, the trail itself is smoothly paved and well-maintained. Under normal weather conditions, it should pose no problems whatsoever. Deer sightings are pretty much guaranteed, but just remember to pull to the side if you want to stop and enjoy their graceful beauty! If your entry/exit point is at Caldwell and Devon, do stop for a treat at Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream in Edgebrook (Devon/Minehaha). On the way home, when you've earned it! The staff are friendly and the ice creams are great. I particularly recommend the Zanzibar Chocolate in a sugar cone. Happy biking!

    Jenny D.

    Absolutely love this trail. The North branch of the Chicago river winds through this trail and there are forest preserves along the way that you can stop at and use the facilities and take a break and have a picnic before continuing on. Portions of trail are through the woods so it's nice on a hot day to have some shade. There are a few streets you'll need to cross to continue along the trail and some where the crossing is not at a stoplight, so you'll have to be very careful. I've never seen the trail very crowded but there is a good mix of walkers, bikers(both casual and speed), roller-bladers, dog walkers, families, etc. so you will need to do some weaving but nowhere near the amount of chaos as the lakefront trail. People are mostly courteous of others. We've never made it all the way to the Botanical Gardens, but it is my goal to do so. One of the women's bathrooms didn't have any doors, to the stalls, which I found particularly odd. I definitely recommend this trail during the Fall season as you'll be treated to beautiful colors along the trail and possibly deer sightings. Construction has started on an extension to the trail even farther North, which I am very excited about. Here is a link to the trail map. Enjoy! http://fpdcc.com/downloads/maps/trails/english/FPCC-North-Branch-Trail-Map-10-15.pdf

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    14 years ago

    Love this trail for running north of Dempster, except on weekends when the bikesters are out.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - North Branch Trail

    Review Highlights - North Branch Trail

    Don't miss the Skokie Lagoons at the far north end, and take time for the Botanic Garden.

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    Millennium Park - The famous Bean

    Millennium Park

    4.6(1.5k reviews)
    11.5 miThe Loop

    The wife and I visited "The Bean" and the surrounding area for a bit…read more The mirrored bean is cool and drew a hefty crowd on this Saturday afternoon. It is pretty massive and iconic for this city. I captured some fun "funhouse" type reflection images of us in it. This area with the river makes for a nice walk and visual architecture splendor on full display. There were some huge mural water fountain art displays nearby. During the summertime water runs vertically down them.

    My friend and I were recently traveling to Chicago, and we stayed along Michigan Avenue. We didn't…read morerealize until arriving that it was so close to Millennium Park, which we spent part of one afternoon exploring. Like every other tourist, we took photo after photo at Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean." We wandered through the rest of the Millennium Park Campus and found the entire area to be quite delightful. It was hard to believe that only yards away were busy streets and hotels and buildings. I was impressed with the level of security in place at each of the two park entrances. There are metal detectors in place and bag searches for a variety of prohibited items from weapons, explosives, fireworks, and open flames to noise makers, narcotics, drugs, and animals (other than service animals). The lines moved quite quickly. The officers were friendly but clearly focused on keeping everyone entering the park safe. Millennium Park is a world leader of art and architecture in a public, outdoor, urban setting. The Millennium Park Campus includes the Lurie Garden, the Chicago Cultural Center, Maggie Daley Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Harris Theater. The Lurie Garden is the Millennium Park's 'secret garden'. This naturalistic garden is a place of rest and renewal for humans and wildlife alike. There are also many events from summer workouts, summer music series, and summer film series to a variety of different festivals. The Millennium Park is open daily from 6 AM to 11 PM, and there is no cost for admission. The Welcome Center is open from 9 AM to 5 PM daily. The Lurie Garden will be closed through early July though. There is nearby parking in the Grant Park Garages (North & South) and the Millennium Park and Millennium Lakeside Garage. You can pay in person at each garage or pre-pay online. You can also take the CTA to Millennium Park where $5 will cover your entire trip. You can learn more about the Millennium Park at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park.html. If you're in Chicago, you need to visit the Millennium Park!

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    Millennium Park - Chicago bean

    Chicago bean

    Millennium Park - Ig@mel_foodie_ventures

    Ig@mel_foodie_ventures

    Millennium Park - Millennium Park

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    Millennium Park

    Palmisano Park - Palmisano Park@Night (6pm) BridgePort Cool Place for Relax/Meditation/Walk/Jogging/Exercise/fishing! Middle of the City! Nice!

    Palmisano Park

    4.7(47 reviews)
    12.8 miBridgeport

    Underrated and beautiful. It's got a fantastic view of the city skyline and there's a whole…read moreindustrial vibe going on but I don't mind it. It's serene and if it wasn't so warm I'd go to it more often. It's good for a long walk but there's no trees along that walk so I'll be frequenting more in the fall va the summer.

    Check out this incredible transformation of a quarry into a park in Bridgeport. In between it was a…read morelandfill. Palmisano Park has went through a lot of changes to be sure. A lot of nature of course. There's trails and an interpretive wetlands among the many things to come across while going through. Best to know about the transformation before going. It used to be the Stearns Quarry. The city purchased it in 2008, cleaned it up, and opened it the next year. Has lots of nature to see and more to do. There's more than a mile of paths, including recycled timber boardwalks, and walkways. At first this was the site of a coral reef if you can believe it. Limestone was formed, and there's been fossils discovered here that are now in the Field Museum. In the 1830s it became a quarry, and operated until 1970 when it became a landfill. There's a fishing pond that still has the old quarry walls. After opening this park there was cause for celebration. The community before this had a lack of green space. Have to go here if you like parks that have been restored from abandoned areas. It's quite impressive. There's all kinds of plants and wildlife.

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    Palmisano Park - Palmisano Park .BridgePort (Halsted St/Archer Ave) Cool Place for Relax/Meditation/Walk/Jogging/Exercise/fishing! Middle of the City! Nice!

    Palmisano Park .BridgePort (Halsted St/Archer Ave) Cool Place for Relax/Meditation/Walk/Jogging/Exercise/fishing! Middle of the City! Nice!

    Palmisano Park
    Palmisano Park

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    Maggie Daley Park - Chicago Park District - I got stuck up there, fire dot not needed

    Maggie Daley Park - Chicago Park District

    4.5(235 reviews)
    11.7 miThe Loop

    It was a random 60-degree day in late March here in Chicago. I personally have been wanting to…read morecheck out "Maggie Daley Park" in downtown. With that thought, let the exploration begin! Of course we took our kids along because they would be the ones who could take full advantage of the facilities. The park itself was quite large, but we went for the kids playground. Signs were clearly marked for direction so we got to our destination with no difficulties. Our boys definitely enjoyed the suspension bridge, though my younger one was hesitant to go on first. I did see some older kids who were climbing "outside of the bridge infrastructure. There was a note to remind anyone not to do so. Oh well, it is what it is. Even if some accidentally fell when doing risky tricks, the soft padded ground would reduce the impact. On the other hand, there was one section of playground exclusively for children older than 5 years old. The slide seemed to be more advanced for young toddlers for sure. Therefore, we performed our sightseeing duty and walked away since our munchkins were 2.5 and 4.5 years old. Our older one enjoyed the straight slides. I liked that fact there were multiple slides with various speeds so that kids would not get bored on staying on the same one. Normally I wouldn't recommend anyone to drive to downtown but we did this time. My partner was able to secure a spot via SpotHero at the Harris Theater for a reasonable price. I got there much later than our scheduled arrival time yet he was able to extend for another 30 minutes in the app. Overall, we highly recommend parents to visit "Maggie Daley Park" and let the kids release some energy. We probably will be back again to poke around other areas when spring and summer in Chicago are in full bloom.

    We met friends with their kids at the Maggie Daley Park area of Chicago's Millennium Park before a…read moreday of shopping (Feb 2026). It's a bit of a walk in, and the path from the southwest corner of the park at Columbus & Monroe is longer but less-steep than the winding path uphill from the southeast corner at Lakeshore & Monroe. You get some lovely views of downtown Chicago. We continued past the (seasonal, of course) ice-skating ribbon, because we were not prepared to skate. There are several play areas of swings, slides, and climbing structures, some intended for (and with signs to indicate) specific age ranges. The giant slides and towers, and the ship-shaped climber, were very popular. Busy, but not over-crowded. It was quite entertaining, and we played there over 1.5 hours!

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    Maggie Daley Park - Chicago Park District
    Maggie Daley Park - Chicago Park District
    Maggie Daley Park - Chicago Park District

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    Garfield Park Conservatory

    Garfield Park Conservatory

    4.8(830 reviews)
    8.4 miEast Garfield Park

    Yes, yes, yes! A must visit!! This place has been on my list for years to come visit and I finally…read morewas like let's gooooo!! Came on a nice spring day around 2 pm. The most annoying part was the line to get in. They have qr code to pre-pay in line. But not all guests choose to do this which slows down the line. They only had one staff scanning people in. Beautiful flowers and plants. We saw the turtles as well. Plan to spend about an hour here. There are some people that stop and take too many pictures to block walkways for other guests. Parking was free. Also located right on the green line for convenient public transportation option.

    What a gorgeous (and free) experience to check out in Chicago! I loved that this wasn't downtown,…read moreand there is (usually) plenty of free parking. However, when we visited with our group to celebrate Earth Day, a lot of the conservatory was under construction. Half of the lot was blocked off, along with the children's area, sensory garden, and outdoor paths and gardens. I understand that Garfield is free, but it was a bit of a bummer to make the full trek out from the burbs to only experience half of it. I hope to visit again once this children's area is open, as my 4 year old would love it! The pathway to the entrance isn't very accessible-friendly - glad we didn't have anyone in a wheelchair this go around, as the path is rocky and uneven. Front entrance is under construction, so let's hope that's easier to walk on. Don't forget to make your reservations in advance! No admission without a reservation!

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    Garfield Park Conservatory
    Garfield Park Conservatory
    Garfield Park Conservatory - Section of interior.

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    Section of interior.

    Earl J Field Memorial Playground

    Earl J Field Memorial Playground

    4.4(9 reviews)
    2.8 mi

    We stopped here whilst waiting for our pizza order to be done. It was just alright; I was rather…read moredisappointed. There are two sections to the park, with the big rocket being the centerpiece. It's huge, multiple levels. There are at least three slides coming out from it. Lots of places for kids to climb and scurry and jump. But that part was too big for my kiddo so we went to the smaller section a few steps away. There was a structure to climb, several slides, some bars, and then even a little further away a bunch of swings. I tried to keep her from seeing the swings, to be honest, since I didn't want to have to deal with an upset kiddo when we had to leave without enough swing time. She played around a bit but didn't seem as interested in the playground. We went down a slide or two, but some of them had standing water since it has been a bit rainy recently. The playground isn't technically fenced in, but it is effectively so because it's behind the practice courts which are all fenced in. It'd be hard for your kid to get away from you. There's a parking lot for the Norridge Park District building but the neighborhood parking could be tricky, especially in the summer because there is restricted parking from Memorial Day to Labor Day (ostensibly because of the large pool structure that would keep the residents from having any parking for three months otherwise). The terrain of the park is wood chips and soil, decidedly not my favorite (maybe especially after a rain) and she got dirty pretty quick. I may bring her back when she's old enough to play on the rocket ship, but this won't be a park that we return to much if ever.

    Very very nice huge playground in the woods. The air is clean, the people are nice... I wish we…read morelived closer :))) it has actually 3 playgrounds near to each orher

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    Earl J Field Memorial Playground
    Earl J Field Memorial Playground - Lookout tower

    Lookout tower

    Earl J Field Memorial Playground - Toddler playground

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    Toddler playground

    North Branch Trail - parks - Updated May 2026

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