Its length, secluded appearance, and terrain were three reasons why I ventured out to the Green Bay…read moreTrail rather than the Des Plaines River Trail or Chicago's Lakefront Trail, which are two areas where I love to conduct long runs. As for its length, per sources the trail extends 9 miles from Wilmette to Highland Park which makes it the perfect spot for a long run in preparation for the Chicago Marathon. As for secluded, the majority of Chicagoland trails give off that vibe of being secluded in comparison to Chicago's beloved Lakefront Trail, a trail that sometimes drives me bonkers encountering many individuals doing multiple activities. The secluded vibe is one thing that I love about the Des Plaines River Trail and what keeps me returning. I figured that this trail was no different. As for terrain, after I viewed pictures shared on both Yelp & Google, the Green Bay Trail appeared to be a mixture of gravel and paved which eliminates the whole muddy experience when damp. A muddy trail is the last thing I wanted to have dealt with while conducting a long run. I eased into running on this trail because I was not familiar with it. As expected, the path was a mixture of gravel and paved which appeared as an off-and-on path that takes you through parking lots, downtown areas, and other parks. The path starts in Wilmette and ends in Highland Park; the Metra train station in Highland Park from what I experienced. I had a hard time finding parking in the Wilmette area, so I drove out to a park known as Shelton Park, a park located in Glencoe which worked out just fine for me. In the meantime I will most likely continue to make it my starting point until I am fully accustomed to running this trail. I also hope to discover where the trail picks up once you hit the Metra train station in Highland Park because I did not see it. Not only did I encounter a deer during my run, but also a chipmunk, and a redwing blackbird. And with the path being along the railway you will hear the sound of the Metra train zooming by every now and then, which will be viewable off to the side. Very clean and maintained was this path that even had garbage cans along it. And for those that bike there are bike pumps in select areas where the trail resumes. At times the bike pumps helped guide me on the way. Other than its broken up appearance taking you through parking lots, downtown areas, and other parks I was not let down by experiencing the features I visited for such as its length, secluded appearance, and terrain. I would surely venture out again from time to time because the area is a different experience. ~Blessings~ Thomas G

Beautiful bike trail - rode from WIlmette up to Highland Park and then Lake Bluff. Spectacular…read moretrail with beautiful trees, wildflowers and foliage on either side for a long time. Well maintained and easy ride. A joy to experience.

We looked at this park for accessibility for mobility challenged people. Know before you go! Here…read moreis what we found: - No handicap accessible parking or restrooms - Terrain is wood chips, concrete, and patio bricks - 2 ramps to get into the park - 2 accessible water fountains - No play ramps - No accessible equipment Nice park!

Located across the JC Penney parking lot at Golf Mill Shopping Center, this is a nice park in a…read moregreat location. It is another favorite playground for my 3-year old. What maks this one great is the multitude of slides: regular, twin, spiral, roller and tunnel slides! It is not uncommon for my son Erik to go down 20-30 times on a single visit to this park. There's a nice bridge to run across or bounce on, lots of climbing contraptions, and usually the ice cream truck shows up too. This park is a nice stop for us before we go grocery shopping and helps Erik burn off some excess sugar and behave once we get to Shop & Save afterwards, also located across the parking lot. Another nice thing about Golf Mill Park is the ethnic diversity. I see lots of Indian, Mexican, Korean or Middle Eastern kids. One time my son played with a group of very well-behaved Lebanese kids whose strict, eagle-eyed mom watched them from afar. Most of the regular kids coming to this park are from nearby unincorporated Maine Township, which is a working class neighborhood. It helps my son see there are other people out there besides the sparkling white boys and girls with perfect haircuts he usually meets at the other parks around Park Ridge and Niles. In the early evening, there's always a group of adults playing soccer on the nearby field while their kids are at the playground. The park has tennis courts and an outdoor stage of some sort, which I've never seen used for performances. On the down side, there is no field house and the porta-potty smells pretty bad, so kids sometimes use the bushes for bathroom breaks. Funny story: One time my son Erik saw a gray-bearded grandfather wearing a white turban and robe, sitting on the park bench watching his grandchild playing nearby. Erik pointed at him and asked me, "What do you call that guy?" Correct answer: "You call him a person."

I recently walked through a variety of parks in Evanston and I think Dawes was my favorite. It's…read morealong the lakefront and provides access to the beach and amazing views. But there's also a gorgeous water fountain and seating to enjoy both the water and the park. Not to mention all the squirrels, ducks, and dogs everywhere. There was just a hustle and bustle from all creatures with this great park as a backdrop.

Dawes Park is lakefront park in Evanston. It is along Lake Michigan and near Northwestern…read moreUniversity campus. There is a lagoon with a beautiful fountain with plenty of ducks. The park has a paved path along the lakefront. The spacious grass lawns has plenty of shade trees, picnic tables, and barbecue grills, A nice park to enjoy waterfront views.

One of the grand-darlings started her 2026 softball season and this park is her team's home field…read more From what I saw, the huge 113 acre park and the facilities are extensive and top notch. I only experienced the use of their well maintained, well equipped, and lighted youth softball fields on my first visit here and there are 4 of those, but there is much more here. There are batting cages, a snow sledding hill, a 9 hole golf course, a 22000 ft2 skate park, soccer/lacrosse fields, walking trails, and an activity center building which includes a fitness center and basketball courts among other things. There are also well spaced and adequate parking lots for all of these facilities. Impressive public sports and fitness venue and a big thumbs up!

I've driven through Techny, but I have never heard of Techny Prairie Park and Fields. Northbrook is…read morehaving a plein air photography festival open to the public (even the non-Northbrook-resident public) so we made our way up here to take photos fitting the challenge, one of which is to take a photo here. This park is really quite extensive. They have a workout facility which had fewer folks there than I expected for a Sunday afternoon. The parking lot of the park is very large as well, which is good to support all the activities. They have multiple ballpark fields (three, I believe), as well as batting cages and a soccer field. There's a skate park, and I was surprised to see the breadth of folks who use it--there were some younger folks here but I also saw someone in his 50s or 60s skateboarding. They have a playground. There's a picnic-type shelter for people to have gatherings, complete with a fire pit. And there's a golf course! I don't know anything about golf but it certainly looked large. I think the golf course is free, as may be the other activities (unsure about the batting cages). There are also walking trails, and you can fish here but you must release what you catch. And near one of the ballparks, there was a tall hill... perhaps tobogganing in the winter? Really nice, well-kept park for all to enjoy. Glad to have learned about it and hope to return.

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.

I've been coming to Gillson Park since I was a kid, and it's been great to see it evolve and get…read morebetter over the years. The Lake Michigan views, beach, and open spaces make it a great place to spend the day, and the lake is a great temperature for swimming toward the end of summer. On this visit, I saw these two dogs wearing sunglasses and had to get a picture!

I love this beach so much! It's beautiful and clean, but just recently, they fenced up a few parts…read moreof the beach and now require payment for residents and non-residents AND when you leave one part of the paid beach to move to another part, you have to pay again! Which is absurd. I was also thinking about renting out a shelter for a party, but the park doesn't allow you to bring your own grill, doesn't allow alcohol, only provides you with two tables, and you have to still pay for parking and access to the beach. It all just seems like a money grab, which sucks because the beach was free to the public for so long! I know a lot of people are upset about the new rules. Aside from that, there is a park, tennis courts, and Fat Shallot, where they serve food and drinks. There is also a patio area to eat and drink, and outdoor showers. PARK ON MICHIGAN AVE and just walk down to avoid some fees!

I so adore this park!! I remember dreaming of bringing my own children here one day, while nannying…read moremy way through college, and that day finally arrived TODAY. I appreciate the beautiful greenery, and although the park is faded and more worn than it was 11 years ago, my daughter and her bestie (4) had an absolute blast here! We spent a solid 3 hours here, bouncing between the spray park, playground, hedge maze and sandpit. The grass is spacious enough for a picnic lunch, and there are also two picnic tables on site. There are bathrooms onsite, including a family restroom which is great for changing. Not the cleanest, but decent for a park. I do wish they'd bring back the bench swings!

I've been hearing about this park for a while and we were able to take a visit over there today…read more I'm glad I knew what I was looking for because Google Maps was going to take me to a small playground on the other side of the school, rather than Little Bear Park which is on the very corner of Patriot and Chestnut (and is almost entirely fenced in, which makes it attractive with little kids). The Little Bear Park is actually a section within the larger Gallery Park, so you may need to put that in if your GPS is confused about LBP. This park was established as part of the redevelopment of the military airfield in Glenview. Overall, I was disappointed in the park, but there were some things I really loved about it along with those that left a bit to be desired. First, it looked like a gorgeous, romantic garden like you might envision from an Austen novel. Truly a beautiful setting, with a small hedge maze and a several picnic tables. Quite an idyllic little spot within the larger park, and ostensibly where it gets the "garden park" part of its name. There's also a really awesome water feature here. It's really large, and unlike some "splash pads" that are little more than a tall pipe sticking out of the ground, this one had several arms coming out of the ground of different heights. It also had some water coming from spots in the ground, for a lot of different ways to play. My kiddo got soaked and loved it. Sadly, the playground section looked kind of old and worn. It has a cute castle/medieval theme, but all the play equipment was quite faded. Of more concern was that the playground terrain, which was that composite rubbery stuff, was broken off in quite a few places; more than once my babe brought me small or large pieces. Seems potentially fraught in a few different ways, but it was weird since in all the parks I've been to with that kind of ground cover I haven't seen chunks of it missing throughout the playground. There's lots of parking at/around this park, because it shares space with a middle school and park district headquarters. The playground itself isn't the attraction for me--though if we are already in Glenview, I might stop--but I would absolutely return for a beautiful picnic in the garden, and that's what really makes it shine.

We looked at this park for accessibility for mobility challenged people. Know before you go! Here…read moreis what we found: - No handicap accessible parking spots (street parking only) - One handicap accessible water fountain - Terrain is wood chips, patio brick walkway - About 10 feet from main attraction to street Nice Park!!!

This is a rather large park out of the way from most of the busy traffic along the major streets…read morenearby. Woodland Park straddles the Niles-Park Ridge border and is another hidden gem of a neighborhood playground in the area. While most of the park space is devoted to soccer games, it has a sparkling new playground which was totally rebuilt in the summer of 2006. To get to this park from Dempster, you can take Parkside Ave. all the way to the parking lot near Glenview Ave. From Oakton, it's 2 blocks north on Western Ave. in Park Ridge. Lots of dead-end or cul-de-sac streets keep outsiders from finding this place. You can't get to it easily from Greenwood Ave. Besides soccer, there are tennis courts and a basketball court. The playground is in the middle of the park, next to a big hill, which is great for "wheee moments" riding in a wagon, bicycle or on skates. It's also fun to run up and down the hill, though I have seen many kids falling down while doing that. In the winter, you can sled down this hill - even do it on a flat sheet of cardboard - as I saw some kids improvise last winter. A very large weeping willow nearby gives it the added touch of beauty. The playground has a fancy climbing apparatus that resembles a funnel-shaped spider web of red, braided rope. It connects to a walking bridge and 2 slides. This looks dangerously scary at first but seems like most kids navigate it quite well, including my 3-year old. There is also a steep climbing wall for the kiddies. A smaller playground for little kids is at the other side of the playground, but it is not as exciting. The little sandbox has clean white sand. Early in the day or in the evening after soccer is over, the open fields of grass are great for running around and playing in what looks like a big backyard next to all the residential homes nearby.