Dunne Park is a hidden gem in Rosemont, IL. Tucked away between the highway and Higgins Rd, behind…read moreMcDonalds and the Westin on River Road, is the small but mighty Dunne Park. Small, because it is not as big as some of the other outdoor public spaces in the area, but mighty for everything it has to offer. Dunne provides a much needed respite from the very busy O'Hare area. It has a walking path, a playlot for kids, a gazebo, fountain, a man made but lovely waterfall, ducks, swans, dragonflies and all the good stuff that makes an urban park. It is clean and meticulously landscaped. It can take a minute to tune out the highway and airplane noise, but once you do, you will hear the sounds of tall grass blowing in the breeze, birds chattering and the waterfall. Great place to take a walk, read a book or sit and have lunch outdoors. Limited 2 hour parking, but I have always found a spot even at peak times.

Love this forest preserve! Last time I was there I saw three baby deer. Awwwww…read more Good walking trail though it doesn't connect in an easy way...you'll need to stop and turn back in the same path you just walked. It's a lovely path though! There are nice spots for feeding the ducks, cute areas for picnics and an overabundance of parking!

Lots of people out enjoying the weather walking, running, biking, roller blading and picnicking…read more Almost 11,000 steps and 4.8 miles (so far)

This park is ok. It's not a bad location; it's directly across the street from the Edison Park…read moreMetra station. We met up with some friends for a summer concert here. It's nice that it's a large enough park that had plenty of space for folks to set up their camp chairs to enjoy the concert with the playground a few yards away. Right now I'm in my "fully enclosed park" era, and though Monument Park has fencing around most of it, there are several spots where there's no fence and a child can run away easily (like mine did, though luckily not through the fence; just to try and get on the "stage"). You know I like to add a bit of history for the parks, and Monument is no different. This was the first park created in the former village of Edison Park, shortly after the small village of about 300 people was annexed in order to obtain city services. It was originally established as Ridge Lawn Park, but it was formally changed to Monument Park due to the war memorial that was erected here. The extant monument was to honor local men and boys who died in "the World War"--that is, WW1, as the obelisk has been here since 1918. There's no dedicated parking for the park. However, there is street parking, and the Metra station has a parking area at the station and that extends a few blocks south.

Monument Park is located in Edison Park just across the train tracks from Moretti's and EPI. It is…read morequite spacious and has a large playground, open field and monument to World War I soldiers. The playground area is pretty well maintained and has a number of things for the kids to play on. There are swings, slides, monkey bars and some train related play structures. It is good for kids from newborn to about age 7. The equipment is all in good shape and it looks like they repaired some items for 2018. The main draw here is the location. Since it is right across from downtown Edison Park it is a great place for kids to blow off steam before/after going out to eat. The steady flow of trains on the Metra line also amuse young ones who are in to Choo Choos. Check this park out if your kids want a fun park with some lively scenery.

What a gorgeous option for outdoor space, walking trails, and picnicking!…read more After a large lunch nearby, we decided to stop by the Catherine Chevalier Woods for a quick walk since it appeared to have walking trails. With a bit of hesitancy since there was not a lot of information online, we stopped by and were immensely pleased. First of all, there was a plethora of parking spaces, making this a very accessible location! Second, we were immediately inundated with wild life, from lounging and munching white-tail deer to chipping chipmunks to singing birds, we no longer felt like we were in the midst of the city! Third, there were many spaces for picnicking and gatherings of people! What a great place to come for an outdoor gathering! Finally, we discovered miles of maintained and gorgeous walking trails. People were sparsely populated on the trails providing a beautiful and remote hiking experience! If you are in the area and are in the need of a good walk in remote outdoor space, head over to Catherine Chevalier's Woods!

Really awesome place. Deer within feet of the paths. Great spacious areas for picnics or parties…read more There were numerous large parties going on while I visited. The paths are great for biking although I recommend you have an off-road or hybrid bicycle.

I wasn't familiar with Wildwood Nature Center until the last few months but it is a cool spot. I'm…read moredoing an afternoon class at the park district with my daughter, as a way to introduce her to nature and some different animals. During class the kids play indoors at the various stations they have set up for about half an hour, then have a story, and then we wander through the forest preserve to see what we see. This first time we saw geese which she was interested in, and then we wandered through some of the rest of the park. When we went to the building with the animals and my baby got to see a whole bunch wildlife. There were turtles, a bunny, a couple ferrets, some gerbils, a prairie dog... and she even got to touch a snake, which I hope she enjoyed because she's never getting one.

So many animals for the kids to look at and a craft table. The staff is friendly and am def coming…read moreback again to celebrate the kids bdays

Community park known for its many athletic fields. It isn't humongous, but it certainly has a lot…read more Oriole Park is pretty much here for the surrounding subdivision, but is pretty easy to get to. Lots of programs. These are good for kids who need something to do in summer or whenever. An interesting history about how it came to be. It's located in a subdivision of the same name. This used to be a pretty rural area, but families began to move in when automobiles became popular. People started to move farther out. This area was purchased by the Park District in 1931, but not much was improved upon. A few years later it got a playground and a softball field. The park added more acres after WWII in anticipation of an increased population. Among the programs offered are those for kids and adults. Kids can go to storytime or play T-Ball. Certainly has plenty more options of course. Teens can play basketball and roller hockey. Adults also can have fun. There's piano lessons and volleyball. Park has expanded many times and now has lots of things to do inside. There's two playgrounds, one of which has a ship theme. Also there's an interactive stray pool, which is good when it's hot. The park also has paved paths for bicycling and jogging. Good location in a residential area. It's located along Bryn Mawr and west of Harlem. This is close to the Harlem O'Hare Blue Line CTA station.

NO MORE EXCUSES FOR NOT CLEANING UP DOG MESS!…read more I visited my good friend who lives west of Oriole Park. We walked our dogs. Now, the park has these containers filled with small plastic bags for picking up dog mess. Thanks to Girl Scout troop 20220 for this genius idea. Why couldn't the Chicago Park District come up with this idea? It's such a fantastic, simple, genius idea. I always enjoy Oriole Park for several reasons. It has a nice track for running, biking, walking dogs, exercising. The park is clean, well maintained and nicely lit in the evening. Fall colors are always spectacular! FINALLY, there are also tons of restaurants & coffee shops nearby.

This park is not bad, with swings, rope climbing, slides, and so on. It's a wood chip terrain. In…read moreaddition to the playground, there's a baseball field where a game was happening whilst we were here. I liked that they had a section that was more toddler-focused, which is great for my kiddo so she doesn't get too ambitious for her age right now. It's right next door to Franklin Elementary, so there's another playground that might be accessible if you come here as well. What might make this park better in my estimation is if the playground were fenced in. It's can be easy for a little kid to take off like a shot! For that reason, it's not my top park in the area, but I'd return to it if our friends wanted to visit. But there's lots of street parking.

Cute neighborhood park ... stopped between work to relax and regroup. Love the gigantic treesread more

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.