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!

I grew up 2 blocks from this park and have seen it evolve over the years…read more I'm so happy to have this park for my children. There are a variety of options for kids of all levels, no matter what the weather. Bring snacks or picnic food, and plan to stay hours. At times there can be so many people that it is chaotic and it can be difficult to keep a close eye on your little ones, so make sure be extra vigilant when there on a crowded day.

If you have different aged kids, want to spend more than 20 mins at a park, want a park that has a…read morevariety of things to do then this is the place to go!! Man! To be a kid again!! My kids had so much fun and I enjoyed the Chicago theme of the park! You can spend the whole day here by going to the park, playing some basketball or tennis, then getting your energy back by having a picnic! There is a sand pit with a water pump so may want to bring extra clothes for the kiddos!

Best park I've taken kids to that is free! It's got a small splash pad, a great sand playspace, a…read morestream the kids can dam up and turn the flow on and off, a farm house that had lots of sounds, a train, slides, swings, bridges, a picnic area, clean restrooms, lots of benches, easy parking, sand volleyball, baseball diamond, soccer field, and more to discover.

This gem is about 45-50 minutes outside of the city (depending on traffic and where you're…read morelocated). The stairs are a great workout! I wish more places had something similar! Bring a water bottle! I saw only 1 fountain (old rusty manual hand-pump one) that was about a 10 minute walk on the yellow trail by the stairs. Not even sure if it works! There are a lot of trees (which is surprising since most trails I've been to in the Chicagoland area is pretty sparse)! Watch out for horse poop! Apparently, these trails are shared with bikers, pedestrians, and equestrians!

Can I get a w00t w00t for Forest Preserves?! The Sag Valley Trail System in Palos Park is a great…read moresystem of forest preserves that one can use for hiking, biking, running, horse riding, and of course throwing a stone soul picnic. We decided to grab our mountain bikes for some early spring trail riding. Plenty of people out and about enjoying the trails, and even an equestrian or two. (Watch out for road apples!) The trails are clearly marked but do yourself a favor and print out a color copy of the trail map or you might take a wrong turn at Albuquerque and wind up doing a loop twice. Trails were well-groomed albeit somewhat muddy in spring, there is definitely some degree of difficulty of steep uphill and fast downhill riding, so be prepared to get a workout. There's an old toboggan slide that we decided to carry our bikes up to shorten our ride. This hill makes Rocky's jog up the Philadelphia Institute of Art stairs seem like child's play! And there was a high school wrestling team taking advantage of it for workouts. It's a Vision Quest! I can't wait to do this again in summer when there is full greenery. This is an incredibly peaceful Oak Savannah, with many oaks and the occasional fir, and we had four deer run across the trail 20 yards ahead of us at one point. The Sag Valley Trail System in Palos Park is only a 45-minute drive from the city center, so rack up those bikes and surrey down! You won't regret it!

Want a free workout that will kick your butt? Head over to the Swallow Cliff stairs. There are…read morepeople of all fitness levels that make the trek here. Stay to the right and keep your own pace. The forest preserve has done a nice job maintaining the area. There are tables to have a picnic, clean bathrooms, and seasonal café. There is a decent amount of parking too. It does get packed if weather is nice. People like to use rocks to track their loop numbers. Signs say no dogs allowed on the stairs.

The stairs provide a pretty intense workout-the east steps are rough and a little irregular while…read morethe west set is a bit easier-more flat areas for breaks, if you need them. I go up the east side, down on the west. I think it's 125 stairs on the east, and 145 on the west. All ages and fitness levels are here! Lots of parking, clean. Dogs are not allowed on the stairs. There's a snack bar, restrooms, and a fairly large room for meetings, presentations, and activities. There are also several trails if you still have energy after the stairs!

This is another of Orland Park's wonderful neighborhood parks ... this one on Red Oak Lane in the…read moreIshnala neighborhood. This park has roughly 3 1/2 acres of land and includes facilities for children and adults. It includes a pavilion for cooking out, a basketball Court, room for practicing your golf swing, horseshoes, and a nice playground. This park has two sets of playground equipment for children ... one each for the different age groups. There are also fenced-in tennis courts for those that play that sport, and the courts have the added attraction of being lined out for pickleball games. This is a great park for all to use ... and it is close by in the neighborhood. Try it ...

Park is fine just no parking signs near the park you have to park on Main Street and walk through…read moregrass.

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!