I have been coming here for 45 years. My dad and I have hiked the trails many times over the years…read more My dad has now passed on and my wife and I still stop in to hike the trails throughout the property. This place has always had a special place in my heart for how many good times I have had here with family and friends over the years. We always end up seeing some kind of nature, whether it's deer, chipmunks, squirrels, fish, frogs, turtles, etc. There is always something new to see. Over my years of coming here it has grown to have larger building with more interactive things for people of all ages. Trails are well maintained. Staff is friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back for more hiking soon. Dedicated to my loving father, who taught me if you stop, stand still, and are very quiet in nature you will probably end up seeing nature reveal herself to you.

Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center is a great and inexpensive family day option! It offers free…read moreparking and admission to all. One can explore the old Nature Center with historical facts or the new Nature Center with a kid's play area and animal exhibit. The snapping turtles were an absolute hit with my niece and nephews! Outside, there are two owls and a hawk as well as two nature trails and some kid's activities. Each trail is maybe 0.5 miles and 1.3 miles which is perfect for kids. Along the trails, be sure to stop at the lookouts to enjoy the views. They even have short peeking slots for the kids. I had the best time visiting Little Red Schoolhouse and seeing all their updates from when I last visited as a kid. Highly recommend for all!

Large Open Public Park, with modern playground equipment for children, a splash pad, baseball…read morefields , a community center building and large green area . Very nice brick paver walkways and bench seating throughout the park. Located in a lovely quiet community, community church across street to West, 311 Pace Bus Route Stop. Follow Park rules and be respectful of residents and neighbors.

Nice and quiet neighborhood park in Oak Park. I was on Auntie duty over the weekend. I came here…read morewith my six year old niece. She had lots of fun playing with the other kids. Its a very nice small park for kids to come and enjoy. Nice slides and other amenities to enjoy. It has a nice peaceful feeling.

Burr Ridge has some parks, including this small one in a residential area. It supposedly is open to…read morethe public but it feels exclusive to the houses around it. Lake Carriage Way Park is in a subdivision. Good quiet atmosphere in spite of not much to do. The main thing is a big pond. Coming here is a little confusing. It's on a residential street of the same name so it's pretty easy to find it. The trouble about it though is what to do when you're here and trying to get into this. It's like, where do you park? There's no parking spaces. It's that which makes it seem like it's only for the residents around here. There's only a street. Apparently you can park on it. The park itself is small but nice. It has a big pond that takes up the majority of space that's easy to walk around. There's also a playground so kid can have fun. Have fun for a few minutes at most then go somewhere else. It doesn't have bathrooms or any amenities like that so it's not intended as somewhere you go for long. The only parking option is on the street, but look out for Karen residents who think they own this.

Lake Carriage Way Park is a tiny Pleasant Dale (Burr Ridge) Park District park located in the…read moreCarriage Way subdivision, near 55 and County Line. Though it is in the subdivision it is of course open to the public and is frequented by those looking to fish or just relax. There is no actual parking lot but you can park on the side streets of the subdivision, which is very quiet and never crowded. The main feature of the park is the large central lake with fountains. Throughout the summer there are many birds present (mainly ducks and geese) and there are various benches set up all along the pond for viewing. Many come to fish in the pond, so it is stocked. There is a large gazebo with the best view of the park. To the right of the gazebo is a small playground where children from the subdivision often play. There is a paved trail all along the pond, which meanders back into the woods at the northern most portion of the pond. This trail continues back into the subdivision a little way. Though it offers few amenities, it is a wonderful place to walk if you are in the area. It is very tiny and you can walk the duration of the pond in about 5 minutes. The park is dog and child friendly. Unless you're looking to fish, I'm not sure that it is someplace that you'd drive to specifically to spend time at, but if you're looking for a quiet location to go on a lunch break and work in the area, it is a great place to check out!

gorgeous park to take the kids too. my sis lives very close…read more always fun to go to, the kids love it. right next to the train station, they love that for sure.

River Forest offers very little for the extremely high property taxes. With the exception of good…read moreschools, the park district offers very little to residents compared to other communities. A note for parents with little kids, The parks are nice, however, prepare accordingly as there are no bathrooms with the exception of portable potties that are disgusting and difficult for potty training toddlers.

Such a cute theme for a park and perfect for car-lovers! This is an awesome pit stop for road trips…read morein the Chicago area without going downtown. The park was clean and well cared for. I wish the bathrooms and AC for diaper changes, but many don't so I wouldn't fault them for that.

It's a little park with a walking path, small playground and place to sit to eat. There's lots of…read morebenches to sit for a while. Also there's a pond and a baseball diamond. Very peaceful!

Update: Our weekly COVID-era walks are different than before- masked, well-spaced, play structures…read moreand tennis courts closed. But Taylor Park is still one of the best parks in Oak Park for getting exercise and observing nature up close. We watched two playful red-wing blackbirds for 20 minutes, and listened to their sweet bird calls from our spot on the marshy bridge. It was really lovely! Muddy and marshy!! But perfectly lovely. Oak Park has many beautiful spaces but Taylor Park is especially beautiful to me. It's larger that most others and has a lovely hill, marshy region, walking path, shade trees and soccer field in addition to tennis courts and a really excellent playground that older kids can enjoy, too. There are even a few trees that are suitable for climbing which is cool to find in a more urban park. I stop by to play Pickle Ball in the tennis courts with my dad. The courts are very well maintained. It's early in the season and a bit chilly still, but we have never had to wait for a court this year. I'm sure things will pick up next month. Easy, plentiful, and free street parking. Fun to visit any season.

A park on the continental divide between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi watersheds, and on the…read moreformer shore of ancient Lake Chicago. Now it has tennis courts, athletic fields, a tot lot, and what passes as a sled 'hill' here. There are also picnic tables with grills and public restrooms. And I think there is a solitary black squirrel here. So a nice park for the area, but don't go out if your way.

Mills Park is a lovely park that's fairly close to the business district in the city of Oak Park…read more The park's well landscaped, with a nice winding sidewalk, as well as lots of trees and a cast-iron fence all around it. Tip: This park is quite dog friendly :-) In the North East corner of the park stands the Pleasant Home mansion, which is a National Historic Landmark designed in 1897 by architect George W. Maher for John W. Carson. Both the park and mansion are a delight to experience, and the docent-led mansion tour is very interesting. A number of parks in the area have playgrounds for small children, but Mills Park doesn't have one. For me, that's a plus because it makes this place just a bit more peaceful and relaxing. I enjoying visiting to read a book or just to relax. In the evening, this is a nice place to stroll after dining out on Marion Street :-)

Dr. Reid is amazing !…read more Absolutely love this dentist! Dr. Reid is the sweetest and super knowledgeable! Love the hygienist Andrina also! Very thorough and gentle while she cleans your teeth. Highly recommend

Such a shame that $400,000 Illinois taxpayer dollars were used to cut down the beautiful old growth…read morehardwood trees and turn them into mulch. The money was supposed to be spent to "improve urban green spaces", but the money was used to destroy beautiful trees worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and turn them into mulch.

Not to be confused with the Eugene Field park on the North Side of Chicago. Guess people love…read moretheir Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Great park with lots of trees to block the sun and wind. The splash pad is sunny though. There's a playground for little ones, one for bigger kids, and across the soccer/baseball fields is the Mann playground for even bigger kids, and is open to all when the school kids aren't at recess. All the playgrounds are on top of rubber, so no wood chips for toddlers to eat! Also nice is a tiny sled hill, good for beginners to figure out what to do and climb up and down in the summer. The bathrooms are usually pretty clean, and have a changing area. They may be closed when playschool is in the field house though. If you are dropping a kid off at an activity at the field house, you can enter the north end of the one-way alley and use one of the two dropoff spots. Be prepared to wait if it's a busy class, as it's a narrow, first-in-first-out kind of alley.