Westmore Woods is a Lombard Park District park very near my house. I make frequent (pretty much…read moredaily) use of it to walk my dog. Though a smaller park it is quite picturesque, very kid and dog friendly, and offers a variety of amenities. You can enter the park on foot from Westmore-Meyers Rd., Maple St., or Highland Ave., but you can only enter by car via Maple (near to the intersection of Westmore and Maple). They have a generous lot with roughly 25 spots and I've never seen it full to capacity. At the front of the park is a public use baseball diamond and two playgrounds for the kids. A paved path begins to the right of the parking lot and this trail continues throughout the park, eventually linking up to the Great Western Trail. As you follow the path you will find a public use soccer field, and two stocked ponds for fishing. Additionally, a branch of the trail heads left into the woods if you'd like a more rustic hike (mulched trail throughout). You can also exit to Highland Avenue this way. If you follow the trail all the way back, you will get to the GWT and be able to exit to St. Charles Rd. as well. The park is very well-maintained and clean. Visitors generally always clean up after their dogs, and there are ample trash cans throughout (though no free dog pickup bags, so bring your own). Dogs should be kept leashed, though occasionally you will find an owner allowing free roam. I will note that on one very early morning run through the park I did see a coyote prowling so I'd advise against free roam for small dogs. Coyotes will generally steer clear of humans with dogs, unless someone has been feeding them. The neighborhood where the park is located is nice and I've never felt a safety issue when wandering the park, even early in the morning or on toward evening. The park does close at 10pm. There have been a few times when I've seen vandalism and alcohol bottles, which are very promptly cleaned up. I suspect it is just the occasional group of teenagers, as you will often find hanging out at all the parks! Nothing to be concerned over, I feel. Another item to note is that because of the ponds, mosquitoes can get quite bad in the summer. So do bring bug spray if you plan to be back by the water. All in all it is a nice place for a stroll or to take your kids!

I grew up in Villa Park and used to love riding my bike through the woods. Over the years the woods…read morestarted getting really creepy. Someone painted a image of Slender Man on one of the trees and I noticed a part of the woods where homeless people would camp out in! I strongly believe devil rituals have been held in these woods as well.

This is a clean, open, and easy place for a hike. It's not particularly woodsie but the lakes are…read morelovely. Paved path. Clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking. Covered picnic area. Easy access from Butterfield & Route 53. Enter on Route 53, across from Walmart and McDonalds. There are few trees to buffer the wind, so dress warmly. Lots of dogs on the trail today. Watch your step, as not every dog-owner tidies up after their dog, but the trail is mostly clear of droppings.

Hidden lake forest preserve is truly a hidden gem. Located in Downers Grove. It was a nice sunny…read moreSunday to just get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was a nice escape getaway from the city life. An ideal and nice place to relax and collet your inner thoughts. While walking along the trails everyone was so friendly and welcoming. It was a breath of fresh air to be out in nature. A perfect place to jog,kayak, fish, hike, have a picnic or just come and take a scroll. Not crowded and everyone social distances themselves. I came across a few people walking with their dogs. All dogs MUST be on a lease. Really enjoyed the scenery and the water from the river and lake was calming and peaceful.

Even though I've lived in the area forever, I've never been here before…read more I've been back here about six times since. I rode the Salt Creek trail from Villa Park to Wood Dale. It is a really nice trail with a few ponds, bridges, etc. I saw quite a few deer traveling this trail. The trail is fairly long and goes way beyond what I traveled. I plan on doing the whole trail in the future.

If you're looking for a peaceful place to practice your yoga this place is the perfect one!read more

It was a breath of fresh air the afternoon I decided to conduct a hike on the Salt Creek Trail…read moreSystem, starting at Brookfield Woods trailhead. What interested me about Brookfield Woods compared to the other trailheads nearby is that it is the mile marker starting point for the Salt Creek Trail System. As an outdoor fitness enthusiast who has been running for years, I would categorize the difficulty level as easy because the terrain is flat! I encountered mostly walkers, a few joggers, and many recreational bike riders along this path. While on it I felt that peaceful sense of being in nature as I heard birds chirping, the wind blowing, and the sound of the flowing salt creek which was off to my left while going out. I even got glimpses of chipmunk and squirrel running across my path; some even startling me at times when close by which also kept me in the moment during my hike. On my turnaround, I encountered a Canadian goose which I am absolutely terrified of! I am even known to alter my run routes just to avoid them out of fear of being attacked! It hissed at me as I went around it; it is like it instantly got its little goose panties in a bunch. I swear my heart rate increased as I eased by it because the last thing I wanted to experience was getting my ass kicked by a Canadian goose. That is a losing situation that I am unsure how I will bounce back from, but bye bye goose! I spent a little over forty-minutes during my hike on the path but could have easily gone longer if I were running instead. There are a variety of activities you can conduct on the Salt Creek Trail System path which extends 7.1 miles out; some of those activities I can certainly see are hiking, running, walking, biking, or even in-line skating. Other than my encounter with the Canadian goose, I had a pleasant experience on the Salt Creek Trail System as indicated in this review and would return. As a runner, I can see myself returning just to explore more of the Salt Creek Trail System. ~An adventure a day keeps the doctor away. ~ Thomas G

We entered at Brezina Woods, in LaGrange. If you are looking for a COVID-era place for a quiet…read morefamily walk, this is NOT the place. We only saw a few other people wearing masks. And it was so crowded, we left after only a mile. It was hard to maintain social distance on the paved path while avoiding the many bikers, roller bladers, and walkers. We found a few quiet side trials that each led 200-300 feet into the woods, but due to recent rains, those paths were very muddy, then flooded. We did find some moss. And some pretty trees and plants. So we hung out in the woods, then got out and went home. Pros: Free. Free parking. Clean trials. Plenty of parking. Paved trials. Not too many mosquitoes. Con: this trail goes through residential areas. We were literally passing inches from backyards of homes, yards filled with people. Fair enough. It is their home!! But it felt weird to just walk past their backyard while everyone is outside doing family stuff.

The last time I was on this trail was almost 20 yrs ago. In the 90's I lived in downtown Wheaton…read moreand often biked the DuPage portion of the GWT. Occasionally I'd throw my bike in the back of the Jeep and tackle the Kane side. Back then I would choose it over the Prairie Path when I wanted more sun and less people. It wasn't as kept up as the PP back then, but it was still a nice, lengthy trail. Fast forward to today. I'm living in the Kane now. I also just bought a bike rack for my car so I can eliminate the 15 miles it takes just to get to the 0 marker of the GWT in St. Charles. Beautiful day for a ride, billowy clouds, mid 80's, sunny and minimal wind. Headed west towards Sycamore around 2pm. Made a couple stops to enjoy the scenery including a stop around Virgil to photograph the black cloud system seen way off to the south. Looked west, no such clouds were headed my way, and kept peddling. No more then 15 minutes later the sun disappears and it looks like overcast conditions are taking over. Feeling good about my distance I start back. At 10 miles away it's getting a little darker by the minute. Closing in on a half dozens miles to go I turn around and spot pure black and purple clouds. Shit. Peddle faster. The storm caught up to me with five miles to go The first mile was a light rain, but I got walloped over the final four miles. I'm talking puddles in your shoes, can't see shit while biking walloped. I had to smile as a hammered down on the peddles to get back, there's something supernatural about getting caught in a storm while biking. Many of my most memorable rides over the years have included getting caught in a storm. Let me get back on track..the GWT. Like I said, I hadn't been on the Kane portion of the trail since the 90's...MUCH has changed since. There's a hell of a lot more tree and brush cover now and that's kinda nice. What hasn't changed is the quality of the trail. It's well groomed, scenic and mostly flat for good speed rides. Hell of a ride today, I'll have to conquer the DuPage side next time. Cheers.

This is a fantastic Yrail here in Chicago. Lot of space for biking, walking, running and picnics…read more They don't approve of dogs but people bring them anyway.

Fantastically maintained trails for walking/biking. You truly feel like you're not in a major metro…read morewhen under the canopy of trees and streams. Perfect ride from trail head on west end all the way to the zoo and back.

When I need to fool myself that I am getting away from the city into isolation I head to a nearby…read moreforest preserve. This particular preserve does more than trick me! We had a family picnic here and it is large enough, quiet enough and empty enough (on a Saturday) to put me in the outdoors kind of mood without travelling too far from home. The groves are very well kept and there is plenty of open spaces! This location is a great urban getaway!

Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook is a really top notch park with excellent walking trails to suit…read moreevery walker! There's different parking lots but the one next to the Nature Center is nice as it has full restrooms. We did the riverbed trail (gravel) which was a bit short but made up for in babbling brook like calm sounds from the river. We then went walking on the Night Herron trail (asphalt) which was pleasantly shaded throughout and led up to the Graue Mill grist mill museum. I would definitely return as it's well kept up and there's different trails that cross over one another if you don't want to do the full circle.

Went here for the first time to join a sketching event by the Urban Sketchers Chicago/Dupage group…read more The place is truly magical with the river, bridge, pathways, trees, shrubbery, wildlife amd surroundings. It is inspiring. I would come here again for a walk around the park.

Eldridge Park is well kept little park along Salt Creek. There are paved paths that are great for…read morewalking, jogging or biking. There are plenty of benches throughout the park. When I've walked along the paths, I've seen people fishing in the pond during the warmer months. The playground looks like a nice one. They have a basketball court next to it. I've heard there are tennis courts, but I think they must be on the East side of the park. I'll need to explore that side a bit more. There's a cute little bridge that allows you to easily cross over Salt Creek. I didn't see any photos of the canoe launch, so I'll share a couple here. Unfortunately, we had a lot of rain the day before, so the ramp to the boat launch was pretty flooded. There are also doggy bag stations on the path near the parking lot.

Great park in the middle of Elmhurst. They have hiking/biking trails, 2 children's playgrounds,…read morenice pond full of ducks and geese. Benches to sit on scattered around the park. Nice and peaceful to just walk around and enjoy the pretty scenery . The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there is a lack of adequate bathrooms. I walked the whole park both side and only saw 1 porta potty on the commonwealth side where the p,at ground is. They could use a few more. Also they could put out a few more picnic table near the pond, and both playgrounds.

The entrance to Pick Park is hidden away in an Elmhurst residential area…read more Much of the entrance area was sectioned off during my recent trip in March of 2024. There are signs indicating plans for "park and facility improvements". The trail is a paved path, so it's ideal for biking and walking. There are a few areas that you can follow a short dirt path and get up close to Salt Creek. Salt Creek is a very zig zagging creek and there are bridges that allow you to easily pass over it. If you follow the trail south, you'll end up at Rotary Park in Villa Park, IL. You can either cross a busy road (St. Charles) or go thru the underpass. There are some portions of the trail that show just how close you are to the busy streets. In one of my photos you can see Portillo's on the other side of Route 83. I prefer the parts of the trail that are more natural. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new improvements will look like. Hopefully they will have restrooms!

Nice trails that are fairly well maintained. Lots of wildlife throughout. Loved the Winnie the Pooh…read morethemed items throughout the trails. Definitely would recommend for anyone who likes novice-level hiking trails.

The map is outdated and hard to follow. The trail is flooded in parts and blocked by downed trees…read moreor overgrown plants blocking it to the point you don't know if your on the trail or should turn back. The Winnie the Pooh stuff is lame, no pictures of them, just some spots like small doors or something attached to a tree with a sign that says they live there. It has potential. Too small to jog through too. At least it had bathrooms....