Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve is an excellent place for a picnic, fishing, canoeing, biking and…read morea tranquil walk. The wide gravel path is 2.5 miles around the beautiful Sterling lake. It's shady with many trees and also nice and breezy. They have nice private picnic areas right on the lake front along with a couple restrooms. It's a great fun day out for families!

Easy hike we took the Yellow Trail. Kid friendly, playground and restrooms are available. The trail…read morehad some cool wood chairs around the trail.

This place is beautiful, with an awesome little pier, multiple nice shoreline walking areas, and…read morepretty direct access to the des plaines river and another, much smaller pond with a stream running just south of the parking lot. The only reason this place doesn't get a perfect 5 star is for 2 reasons: 1. On the northern edge of the lake, the expressway and electric towers are very loud and get pretty annoying, and 2. You better pack bug spray because the day I came here, I had 6 ticks crawling on me after I left. luckily none of them bit me, but still. I understand it's tick season but it's still pretty crazy. Awesome place overall, and seems to have good fishing. Even saw a loon on the day I went. Would recommend as a walking/fishing area.

Lake Carina is a forest preserve. I went here to eat a late lunch and walk around with my…read moreboyfriend. It's quite small and easy to miss when you're driving on 21. The venue has a lot of parking and the lake is very pretty. It's a nice place to go for a walk. Beware of the many mosquitoes and gnats - it is a lake after all. I am afraid of bees, and there seemed to be an abundance of them on the trail. Along the walking trail, there are benches along the way. There are picnic tables and trash bins by the entrance of the trail. When you enter, there is a dock for fishing. You must be licensed to fish if you are over the age of 16. There is also a bike trail, but I didn't get a chance to check that out. I believe the walking trail is about a mile long. You could also walk your dog. They conveniently have doggy bags at the beginning of the trail as well. There is also a bathroom area next to the parking lot. The walking trail itself is pretty, but nothing amazing. You do go under some big electric posts. When we were walking, they were buzzing which was a little scary for me. The last thing I'll add is be careful where you step. Some people aren't considerate enough to pick up after their dogs. Other than that, it's a nice place to go for a walk. It's not a place I would go out of my way to see.

Google maps leads slightly away from the address…read more Decent amount of parking and super clean bathrooms. (Yes, for a forest preserve!) Trails were pretty flat. I saw lots of wildlife. Trails were clean.

This trail is so peaceful! I've now done the trail twice (once in May, and once in October). The…read more(gravel) paths are extremely wide and leave plenty of space for bikes and walkers. Easy way to get in a good 10k steps before you even realize it, and the changing landscape is absolutely beautiful. We missed the sunflowers/wildflowers this year, but I will be sure to not miss them again next year!! Plenty of parking for a weekend visit. Wear sunscreen as the path is wide open, and bring hand sanitizer as the restrooms were out of soap both times.

This seems like a nice park. Lots of trees and trails and picnic tables and what more do you need…read moreat a park? It was raining pretty hard today and cold so we just sat in our car and ate our lunch today but I'm good with coming back for a hike.

I enjoy coming here…read more. Not to mention I am a park explorer. This park has awesome trails, super clean and even has a spot where you can get free poop bags if you are walking your puppy and forget your bags. There is also lavatories. Park closes when the sun sets. Throughout trails you will see signs about the park and habitat. Great views, no picnic tables which is fine with me since I enjoy I good walk/run. This places goes up and down which is amazing. You you are looking for a cool spot to run this is a good one. The only thing is that parking is not very big. Other than that I'd be returning.

I love, love, love this place when there's not deep snow. When there is, it's a fall risk. Normal…read moreplows can't navigate these unpaved paths, but isn't there some kind of equipment that could beat this down, allowing us to more easily beat this down while walking? If I fall and break a hip and I'm lying in the snow, I hope someone will walk by and help me up. This could have happened today.

Very clean and nicely mowed paths. Not a lot of shade in the summer…read more Thought there was a pond for pups based on online map

Perfect day for a walk, beautiful weather and temperature. Couldn't ask for a better. The trails…read morewere really busy lots of people walking. Love all the birds and the different walkways. Plenty of benches around the walking path if you want to just take a deep breath or just sit down and read a book. There is other areas where you can just sit maybe bring a picnic basket, a blanket to lay on and read a book or just to sunbathe enjoy nature. This is one of the nicest place that I have come across definitely will be back!!!

Beautiful facility. Great open gym hours available. Staff is friendly. The gym is well maintained.read more

Hastings Lake Forest Preserve has approximately a 2.1 mile hike. The path is paved and pretty even…read morethroughout. It wraps around the lake which offers nice breezes. Many areas along the trail are shaded by large trees so it's not all sunny and hot. The lake has a good population of turtles and surprisingly also has big mouth bass among other species that you are allowed to fish! They offer a boat ramp to bring your boat or even canoe! They also have plenty of places around the lake to sit and just reflect and relax. The path was very clean and markers easy to spot as there is only 1 path and no diversions. It's a great morning activity with family and friends.

This is a hidden gem with a paved walking path all the way around the lake and beautiful woods.read more

This is a great small town park and it's huge. Baseball diamonds, soccer area, football area, stage…read morefor music or movie evenings, a great bike/walking path all the way around, a fishing pond and more. Great American park in a great American town.

From the owner: Central Park is one of the biggest parks in Grayslake, IL. Operated by the Grayslake Park District,…read morethe park features 2 playgrounds, a splash pad, softball/baseball fields, football/soccer fields, a lacrosse field, a 1.5 mile walking/biking trail, picnic shelters, disc golf, a band shell, washrooms, and so much more! Several large community events are hosted at the park throughout the year.