So far my time in Park Ridge has been fine. I've used the park district a few times and it's been…read morevery good; I've taken a class with my little one and will be starting another one in a couple weeks with the Wildwood Nature Center. The park district also has a preschool program, including a nature preschool, which has really piqued my interest. They did a leprechaun hunt that was kind of easter egg hunt but make it leprechauns, and I also signed up for their thing where residents can put out a leprechaun trap and a park district employee will come to leave fun stuff from the leprechaun. I signed up for the easter egg hunt at home that they have too, and that will be fun for my little one. The schools are excellent; one of the elementary schools has recently been deemed the 20th best elementary in the state. And there are some famous Park Ridgians (none who live here any longer, of course): Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harrison Ford are probably the two most famous. Park Ridge is bordered by three Chicago neighborhoods: Edison Park, Norwood Park, and O'Hare. The plane noise isn't too bad, given its location to the airport (which can be quite a convenience). There's ample access to public transportation as well; the CTA blue line can be found in Chicago just across the street from the border to Park Ridge. There's a large parking lot there for commuters. In addition, there's both a Dee Road station and a Park Ridge station on the Metra line (currently called the Union Pacific Northwest line, though Metra is planning to change the names). The Dee Road station has a lot of parking (I've never had a problem finding a spot, though it may have been different pre-Covid) and I think there's probably plenty of parking for the Park Ridge station as well. The farmers market is really great. I have been to several neighborhood markets in Chicago, and only the North Branch Market in Edgebrook is better. That's including the Green City Market, in my opinion. Last year they started a night market that took place once per month during summer and it was a lot of fun as well. There was a band and adult beverage vendors, as well as quite a few food vendors. Parking wasn't bad for either market. Overall, it's not a bad suburb nice that it's so close to Chicago.

Park Ridge City Hall is a stately building located in Uptown PR. City Hall is the home to most of…read morethe governmental offices for Park Ridge. The city council meets here, so this is the place if you want to attend a meeting and voice your opinion. If you are a resident then you will likely need to come here for a variety of reasons - to pay City bills in person, get vehicle stickers, dogs tags or bike tags. During elections this acts as a voting place. The lines are typically shorter than the local schools and there is ample parking by the attached police station. The City does a great job of decorating the building for holidays and really adds to the community feel. They also host a variety of summer concerts on the steps of City Hall. Hodges Park is located in front of City Hall and is the home to many grea community events.

Love going to the ARC center to workout. The staff is friendly and courteous, the machines, free…read moreweights and aerobic equipment offer plenty of variety. Not intimidating or crowded.

Air conditioning on 2nd floor track hasn't worked all summer - actually there have been issues with…read moreit going back as far as the summer of 2020. We asked several times about this in June, and were told, "a part is coming in at the end of June, and another part is coming in in August." Ok. Nobody even thought to put any large industrial-type fans on each half of the track apparently. Considering most of the people who walk the track here are probably between 50 and upper 80's, this is a considerable disservice to the community to have this many problems with the A/C for over 3 years. Keep in mind, we all pay for this. Word around town is, "almost nobody goes to walk the track because the air doesn't work." You've been warned. Now for nice weather or for fall/winter months, things are usually ok. But the fact that they have had issues with the a/c for over 3 years is also telling.

The nature center is a great place to see some animals and other exhibits. The forest is much…read morebigger than it looks from the street and has nice flat paths. We saw several deer and chipmunks. Great place to go for a hike.

Well, on this hot and muggy Sunday, we decided to have an atypical weekend visit to the shady Grove…read moreto do our almost daily walk. We typically only visit here on quieter weekday mornings. We were pleasantly surprised and fortunate to find the Blacksmith Shop open and that is the case only on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3pm. Alec was the blacksmith on duty and he provided some insights into his craft as well as a walk-through of their various iron products, both functional and decorative. He is one of five volunteer blacksmiths on the staff here and really enjoys his time here. Thanks for the tour Alec!

My organization has rented out their main space for a holiday party for families/kids for the past…read moretwo years and have had really good experiences with both. Parking is easy with their own lot. The space is beautiful and spacious. We were able to use several 6-foot long tables and chairs. You practically feel like you get the whole place to yourself, too. They also have cool birthday themes that you can check out if you're looking to host a birthday party. Such as an Animal Party whcih includes rubber stamps to make a take home project or "Space Out" to make your own model comet. There is so much here that I don't know if I can cover from summer camps to community gardening to Critter Care that you can volunteer for. Best of all, the Evanston Farmers Market goes indoors from December to April and is hosted here in the Ecology Center.

A great place for any large event. I was here for a wedding ceremony and they did an amazing job…read more You have to have your own coordinator but for the price it is totally unbeatable. Nice grounds with trees for wedding photos and plenty of space for up to 150 people. A friend had their kid's 16th bday here and said it is a great option even for dancing. Bring everything yourself or cater but save lots that way. A parking lot across the street as well, plus plenty of street parking around.

Great city but the noise from the airplanes and racing motorcycles really takes away from the…read morequality of life here. Wish the village could do something about the extreme noise pollution. Sometimes it's almost unbearable.

Smeh. The longer I live here the more scared I am of actually buying a home. I read people's…read morecomments on FB EGV groups (which I left all of them) and allowed local businesses to supply me with their services. It is like pulling the toupe off a guy and seeing he is bald. Elk Grove Village is a Self Rule Government that apparently (by reading other people's comments who have lived here for years) does as it wishes. The fire department employees are great people. The police department has nice people also, but does some underhanded hiding to snag speeders such as parking in the middle of the road at night with their lights off. I called them out on this and I was told it's legal and that is how they make money. Sure it's legal. Shaking my head. There is a great industrial park where a Freedom of Information Act should be filed as to how much tax dollars are coming into this village for there is not one park bench found except for along Devon Avenue where they have some sculptured Elk. Devon is not very close to residential areas. The residents have pointed out to me the government has offered land development contracts to friends out of the area (no proof of any friendship). They have torn down a bowling alley people used. Restaurants have closed up due to daydreaming landlords of property value. The Jewel/Osco during the last snowstorm let the people's feet melt the ice and snow. The manager of course blamed the landlord. The hospital, is a whole other story in itself. The people are nice for the most part. They are NOT heroes because they worked during the pandemic. A hero has a different meaning than doing your job. This last time I was there in the emergency room with terrible stabbing pains in my back, the nurse wheeled me into a small intake room and whacked the side of the chair into the doorway. No sorry as I grimaced in pain. EGV is not cute by any stretch of the word unless you think Rumplestilskin was handsome. If you want cute, go to Galena. That is cute. EGV...Hunchback of Notre Dame.

It's a 4 star if you are into this type of thing...it's not really my thing, which is why it's a 3…read more This is Chicago's oldest house, according to the literature. Pros: The guides are extremely knowledgeable. Our guide was a history major & she knew every little thing about the house & and its history. She also grew up in the neighborhood. One guide was a biology teacher & when we were outside, she told us all about cicadas, more than the generic info you read about in the news. It's really pretty & the interior was filled with old wedding dresses & it's history. Interesting fact I observed... wedding dresses don't seem to go out of style. The wedding dresses were numbered & correspond to a phamlet detailing its history. It's a recommendation of $5-$10, affordable & you do your part on old building restoration. Cons: It's a very small house.

Check out some old Chicago history. If looking for the oldest place in the city then come here for…read morea look. The Noble-Seymour-Crippen House is the oldest structure. Even though it wasn't a part of the city for a long time, it is now and it's older than anything else. Pretty much this is used for banquets and stuff mostly even though it's also a museum but you can make an appointment to visit. Before coming here it should be known this isn't like a museum that a lot of people know about. It's used mostly for events. Things like weddings and that. It has pretty limited hours if just coming to look around. This is open only Saturdays. It's the oldest known structure in the city. The oldest part was built in 1833, and the addition was built in 1868 or so. Among the artifacts are a collection of things found in the ground collected in an archeological dig. There's objects like buttons, guns, toys, and more. Other exhibits show the history of Norwood Park and what it was like. This place is also the home of the Norwood Park Historical Society and is where they have meetings. Good place to check out if you can make the limited hours. It's a must if wanting to learn more about the local history and what it was like back then. This is also pretty popular for those looking to have some big event like a wedding or whatever.

This is the headquarters of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. We are so lucky to have…read morethis institution here as well as sister agencies in the suburbs and other areas of Illinois. I'm from Oregon which has lots hiking, state parks, and so on, but the forest preserves are special. They provide a lot of great programming and the agency maintains over 70,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, trails, and other outdoor spaces in Cook County. My experience with the FPDCC has been to attend various programs they're hosting. Usually those are some sort of hike or trail walk with a naturalist providing context and education along the way. Whilst there's several nature centers (kind of akin to the field houses at parks in the Chicago Park District) in the FPDCC system with different amenities, there are picnic groves, walking/hiking trails, camp sites, aquatic centers, and places for folks to have events, etc. I've been to the more "typical" events you'd expect of a forestry agency, such as a night hike at Sand Ridge Nature Center; hike learning about and looking for beaver activity at Trailside; owl education at River Trail Nature Center; and so on. An event about nature journaling held by a FPDCC volunteer piqued my interest in learning more about and doing some nature journaling, and led me to join the Chicago Nature Journaling Club. But they also have tried to expand to include some cultural programming and that's totally my bag. One of the signature programs supported by the department of Conservation & Experiential Programming is the American Indian Center's annual pow wow at Schiller Woods. I haven't been to that yet but it's on my list! Today I went to one of the Black History Month programs they're hosting, which was a lecture-style program with an indoor poetry trail and a discussion and introduction to Black naturalists and environmentalists from the Chicago area and beyond. It was a really interesting presentation and I'm only sad that I was the only person besides the employees who showed up! But we did have some good conversation about trying to reconnect Black folks to nature, environmental racism, how the issues early Black activists were concerned about are still germane today, and what folks are doing in the present to ensure these concerns remain part of the conversation. I really appreciate the discussion I had with Art, Bill, and Will. I'll be attending the BHM program at Sand Ridge that is a self-guided tour through trails that connected to the Underground Railroad. The forest preserves are fascinating, y'all!

Due to the weather that's been impacting Illinois I am not able to continue family reunion for…read moreAugust 15. I'll call today August 14 at 10:30 and was told I was not able to be refund, but if I call I yesterday the 13th, maybe they would have considered it. It's sad because those who work at the preserve know that it has been storming and I have been without power for the last four days.

On a walk from Chicago to Evanston, I passed through South Boulevard Park. It's quite lovely, just…read morepast the large rocks on Sheridan and provides access to the beach as well as a grassy area. Definitely recommend spending time there.

Overall atmosphere & experience clean and inviting. My favorite beach front. Great for a romantic…read morestroll or as a meditation spot.