Big park located in the North Park area. Gompers Park is one of the bigger ones around here. It has…read moreathletic facilities and fields as well as natural wetlands. For sure has a lot to do and see in it. There's many youth leagues and programs among other things. A really big park with a lot of area to cover. It's more than 42 acres and it's on both sides of Foster Avenue west of Pulaski. This has long history of how it came to be and what it is today. First it used to be farmland. In 1926 it was transformed into parkland. Additions were soon to be added. These included a natural stream dammed to create lagoons. Also there were basketball courts and football fields. Later WPA funding was used to restore the wetlands. It was named after the founder and first president of the American Federation Of Labor. There's a statue of him at Foster and Pulaski. For certain it's a good way to admire the natural beauty of the area. It's located along the North Branch of the Chicago River. This also has a swimming pool that's popular in summer, but if wanting to see more authentic bodies of water, go for a walk around the wetlands.

Nice trail from nw side Chicago towards lake. Stopped short because of encampments and messes…read more Don't go past Lawrence

The Hernandez Picnic Grove is part of the Forest Preserve of Cook County system. This place is…read morepacked during the summer with people having their cookouts and parties. It's a large area with trails for walking and biking and Gompers Park is here too where there's a playground. (The two don't have a fence or anything separating from one another.) There's a large parking lot that can get quickly filled up, so Foster is a one-lane street oftentimes during the summer since folks park along Foster. The North Branch Trail System, which is 20 miles long, starts here and continues to Glencoe, where it ends at the Botanic Garden. I haven't biked much of the trail; only about two and a half miles from the trailhead here at Hernandez to Lechowitz Woods for a five mile round trip, but it was nice seeing part of the city from a different viewpoint. I'd love to ride along other parts of the trail and maybe someday make it the full twenty miles! Once upon a time after World War II, they had some pre-fab homes erected on this site for all the returning veterans to have their families. This caused some NIMBY issues around the neighborhood and the houses were in pretty poor condition since they weren't expected to be permanent, but they were gone within about a decade. I found that pretty interesting when I learned that tidbit.

Great place to park for a hike across the river. Hike across the park and you can access an old…read moretrain track then head into woods by river

We came here to see a live action Lucha Libre back in August 2024. It was a beautiful day to be…read moreoutside, although warm in direct sunlight. Parking was on the street and was somewhat of a challenge, but I manage to secure a spot not to far away from the park. The event was organized by Unity Park Advisory Council (UPAC) and Wrestle League (WL), and I have to say it was pretty well organized. There was a professional looking ring and the various wrestlers looked great. Because it was outside, you had to bring your own chairs. There was a small concession stand selling drinks and popcorn. There were quite a few matches, with villains and heroes, and high flying antics in the ring and outside the ring and over the ropes. It was a lot of fun and The Doctor and I totally got into the act by booing the villains as they strutted their stuff. This was such a good time and I guess they do this every year, so I will keep an eye out for the notification. Next year I will plan appropriately and make sure we get there early so we can camp out under a good shade tree.

Love this park used to go as a kid and now they made it look even better! The remodel looks…read morebeautiful and it has great picnic spots as well as cute water entertainment during the summer time for kids

I've been wanting to visit this park since it opened, but it never came to pass. I'm really glad we…read moregot to visit during their 10th anniversary celebration! That party was cool; they had various community orgs, like a citizen science group and the Budlong Woods branch of CPL here to share info and stuff. There were park volunteers doing arts and crafts with the kids. They even had a fishing derby in the little pond, I think, which was really cool. There's at least one or two works of art in the park that are nice as well. This isn't your typical CPD park. It's a nature area that was acquired from neighboring Rosehill Cemetery and developed into a natural area/native preserve. Though the cemetery is over 150 years old, this portion on the northwest corner of Western & Peterson was never used for burials and was simply an undeveloped section of the cemetery. I used to live a couple blocks away from here and remember thinking it was a bit of an eyesore. But the Chicago Park District, and the advisory council for the park, have done wondrous things. There's a walking path throughout the park for a leisurely stroll. The park also hosts various events; I believe they recently had an equinox program, and I hope the bat program comes up again so I can take my little one. They even had Hocus Pocus movie night a few days ago (just before Halloween). But my favorite part by far is the nature play space. It's gorgeous! There are lots of benches and stumps for adults and children to sit on, and they had a couple of outdoor play kitchens. There's a little mound (which to a small child could look hill-sized) for kids to play and sit on. There's a small stage and I'm not sure if they've always had events or if they've started hosting more, but I'm keeping an eye on it because it's truly one of the best nature play spaces I've seen around. It's absolutely worth a visit if you have children, or just want a little quiet contemplation.

We had a great morning at West Ridge Nature Park! We came here on a Sunday morning to celebrate the…read more10th anniversary of the park. They had a lot of kid friendly activities like face painting, coloring, fossils to look at, and our favorite -- music from old town school of folk music! After enjoying some wheels on the bus, we walked around pond. The path was so pretty and well kept. We saw lots of geese, butterflies, squirrels, and even a hawk which my two year old loved. Our favorite though, was all the turtles! We saw about 10 out in the pond swimming. They were so cute, we could have sat out there for a hours watching them bob around. Definitely recommend West Ridge if you're wanting some peace in the city.

Hidden gem. The field house is always clean and staff friendly and inviting. Even walking on the…read moretrails around the park, I never feel uncomfortable nor unsafe. Thanks Ms Rei Rei and her staff. My son (Howard U student) and I walk to the fitness center, he plays pickup basketball with whomever is on the outdoor courts. Love it!!!

Great park I visited for a live jazz band. This park is awesome for live music as the trees are…read morevast and provide lots of shade. My only complaint was there was a lack of trash bins and no bathrooms to speak of.

Park 593 isn't much, but sometimes you take green space where you can get it in a large city…read more The park is a small triangle in the middle of Avondale, which you might miss if you drive to quickly by (which you shouldn't, there's way too many cars parked here for you to do that). It's relatively new, having been acquired by the park in 2018. There are no services at the park, but there's various terrain for park users to do their thing. It's got a paved area, which may be where the picnic tables are (I can't recall). There's a nice little nature play area; I like how they're incorporating these into more parks, and it's good for kiddos who are into imaginative play.

This delightful little secret is not so much a "park" as it is a trail, but it's very cool and was…read morea fun discovery! The riverbank project is a labor of love for the community living in its immediate vicinity. What was once an eroded area of land along the Chicago River, filled with debris, is now a well-tended trail along the riverside that runs several blocks. There's even an area near the southern end that provides river access, if you've got a kayak or something to get into the water (however, there's not really parking for non-neighborhood members, except possibly farther down Rockwell). The restoration work that has been done by neighbors and the community is truly wonderful to behold. Enjoy this very quiet trail and you may occasionally stumble upon others on the trail, as well as overhear folks along the waterway in their boats. There are several areas along this trail where the trees are marked; there are American Elm, Black Walnut, Hawthorn, and more. You'll find little decorations along the trail, and there are also two Little Free Library boxes near the Pensacola entrance. Some sections of the trail are more accessible than others, though calling it accessible at all may be a stretch given how narrow the trial is and the rocky and sometimes steep steps throughout.

Apart from the highly visible homeless issue at the NW corner of the park, have many happy…read morechildhood memories at this local bit of well maintained grass. Frequently see people playing with their dogs or weekend softball games taking place here. The field house hosted many of my family events over the years as well. Oddly, the basketball and tennis courts were removed sometime along the way. The play area for little kids has greatly improved with great playground accessories and rubber mats.

Dunning and Dunning-Kruger. What is up with all the softball diamonds now? The swings are still…read morethere. The jungle gym isn't. I'm not sure if monkey bars are a public health hazard of some sort. I know the lead paint was. The foursquare diamonds are new --- or at least new to me. The first time I saw fourquare was in the 80's in a rival city. We used to have this thing called 'hopscotch'. I never played. This has never been such a nice neighborhood, but I've been here dozens of times when I was younger. Have fun, don't smoke, and don't let your parents put you into one of those baby-style swings when you can almost swing over the bar using the regular ones. It used to be a lot of fun to swing to the inflection point and jump as far as you can from the swing. I'm too old to tell you to do that or not to. Stay safe though.