It was a breath of fresh air the evening I decided to run at Miller Meadow Forest Preserve. Being…read morethat I work nearby as well as drive along Roosevelt Ave where I pass by Miller Meadow - North, it was only a matter of time that I would conduct some form of an activity at Miller Meadow. I entered off 1st Ave which is labeled as Miller Meadow - South; and the first feature that immediately caught my eye was its off-leash dog area which was huge. As a fitness enthusiast that has been running for years, I would categorize the difficulty level of Miller Meadow - South as moderate because the terrain is not entirely flat. Distance markings are marked along the path, a loop style path totaling 1.70 miles per loop. I encountered mostly walkers, a few joggers, and a couple of recreational bike riders along the path. At one point during my loop, there was a woman who caught and overtook me as I ran. We went back-and-forth with me overtaking her and her overtaking me which brought competitiveness during my time on the path. I spent no more than forty-minutes during my initial run on the path but could have easily gone longer if I had the time. While well into the path, I felt that sense of being in nature as well as engulfed by tall grass in certain parts. I also felt that feeling of being secluded, but there were always nature's animals within sight that kept me in the moment. I could not help but enjoy the beautiful sounds of birds chirping, glimpses of the red-winged blackbird throughout the entire path, and I even saw a deer from afar in the woods. There are a variety of activities you can conduct within the path of Miller Meadow - South; some of those activities I can certainly see are hiking, running, walking, biking, in-line skating, or even bird watching. The area can also be used to conduct large gatherings, or picnics; and its large field is perfect for many recreational activities you can partake in. The area is well-maintained, consisting of benches with tables located in shaded areas near or underneath trees, but very few picnic shelters which are perfect for large gatherings; and there are even a couple of portable restrooms within the space. Along the path, there are waste and recycling bins, even in some of the secluded spots. And on top of it all, Miller Meadow has a very spacious parking lot. Overall, I had a very pleasant experience at Miller Meadow Forest Preserve, as indicated in this review and would definitely return. As a runner, I can see myself returning just to conduct interval runs around its loop in build-up to long run events I participate in. ~An adventure a day keeps the doctor away. ~ Thomas G

It was good. It went perfectly. I got to ride a tandem bike. There was a lot of stuff to do!read more

This is an excellent spot to have a coffee, maybe a short date, or just a quick reconnect with…read morenature. I bet dogs love it. It's wonderful, first of all, but I guess I was expecting it to be a little longer, like maybe a mile, but it's a little guy, maybe a big block. Wild life was spotted -- saw a turtle and a family of ducklings. And the mechanics of it are fascinating. I guess i also wasn't expecting it to face the waste management facility, but just try not to look at that really. I'm glad it's here and i look forward to more. I hear they are having a wildly successful impact on the cleanliness of the river; a tip taught to the city by the indigenous who absolutely know what they are doing.

Chicago has its own floating gardens! "Wild Mile" is a built island, home to local plants and…read morecritters. We just walked around checking it out, and we heard there are various events, little concerts, yoga, what-have-you. This wild mile is the razzmatazz!

Evans Field is part of the Des Plaines River Trail (South Section) located in River Forest, IL…read more It's one of the smaller parks near a residential area. It has a pavilion and restroom facilities. The trail is gravel, but you find smaller dirt trails along the way. Once you start heading east on the trail, it joins up with the north/south part of the trail that goes along the river. Dog friendly park, but you must keep them leashed.

I actually found out about Fullerton Woods - Des Plaines River Trail off of AllTrails application…read morevia Google Play. It was one of the few trails that would allow me to cover at least 10 miles. Plus, it consisted of some of the perks that I love about trails, such as it being shaded, having soft terrain, and that therapeutic feeling of nature, so why not?. I drove about 8 miles to Fullerton Woods from the west side of Chicago and it was totally worth it! The Des Plaines River Trail was not congested at all in comparison to the Lakefront path in Chicago which I wasn't in the mood to run today. Oh, the thought of being on the Lakefront path with the sun melting me away was not in my interest, so I sought out something different. Shame on me! I packed my trail running shoes, but did not utilized them because the paved portion at the beginning of this trail threw me off. So, with that I encourage you to bring out those trail shoes if you plan to run this trail as I did, but its ok if you do not have any trail shoes. On this trail you will encounter hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners which all are friendly from what I have noticed. The encounters with the mountain bikers can throw your pacing off depending on how many there are in a pack. With that, I recommend taking it as the time for a short rest break to hydrate or gather yourself until they pass by on whatever portion of the trail you may be at if there isn't enough room. My end milage ended up being 8.44 miles, but it easily could have been more if I would have taken a turn, heading under W Lawrence Ave bridge towards Catherine Chevalier Woods. I kept this run simple, looping around at Robinson Woods South because it was my first time out, but next time I plan to not be so attentive to my route and ready to explore the trail more. And on a side note, another entrance that will put you at a more reasonable area to get good trail mileage at is Jerome Huppert Woods which is on the other side of Fullerton Woods. A tip on how to not get off track on this trail is to stay along Des Plaines River, which you can see on your left hand side while going further out on this trail. If you cannot see it, then you may have went in the wrong direction, but I assure you it is not hard to miss. I really loved this trail! And will most definitely be returning because its distance satisfied my preference of the mileage I wanted to accomplish without doing it in the blistering heat and on a hard surfaced pavement. Thomas G

The first little hike is nothing much, but coming back I turned onto a trail, went under a bridge…read moreand found the real trail. At sunset, in the middle of the city I was pleasantly surprised to greet this deer! This is a great getaway when you're just on your way home from the store!

My discovery of Sunset Bridge Meadow came after I took an alternate run route because the underpass…read moreheaded north towards Schiller Woods South was blocked off due to flooding. And since then, I have been slowly moving further south with hopes of locating paths that lead to Thatcher Woods which I hope to eventually start off at in the future to train for marathon runs as I have done before, but at Fullerton Woods trailhead. What I like about this trailhead is that its parking lot is spacious, and highly visible being that it sits along a highly driven on W North Ave. And on top of it having a spacious parking lot, it has a huge open field that is perfect for activities outside of outdoor picnics at the grove. Out of the trailheads in this area which are Fullerton Woods and Jerome Huppert Woods, I recommend this one for safety and security purposes due to its location if you plan to be on the Des Plaines River Trail for more than an hour exploring. Because with its location being in a highly visible area along W North Ave anything suspicious will be easily identified. And also there are a decent number of visitors in-and-out. Once you enter the Des Plaines River Trail, it is a whole different world where you can easily escape reality and be one with nature that covers an estimated total of 28.4 miles. And if you are lucky you will encounter some of the wildlife that live within the preserve too. On the Des Plaines River Trail, you will encounter hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners which all are friendly from what I have experienced. Most encounters with mountain bikers can throw your pacing off depending on how many there are in a pack which most of the time are no more than four. I do recommend taking the encounters as the time for a short break to hydrate or gather yourself until they pass by on whatever portion of the trail you may be on if there is not enough room. And lastly, a tip on how to not get off track on this trail is to stay along the Des Plaines River, which will end up on your left hand side once you cross the bridge. If you cannot see the river then you may have went in the wrong direction, but I assure you it is not hard to miss. And the further north you go towards the state line of Wisconsin the more the trail disconnects. ~Blessings~ Thomas G

Charming little park…read more My friend and I met up here to catch up and soak up some sun.

Nice, clean beach with easy access parking. Beautiful area to stroll on the beach or sidewalk…read more Plenty of benches along the walk to rest and enjoy the view on a beautiful day!

Beautiful Evening to go for a stroll. Around 70 degrees with very low humidity. Walk along the…read morelake heading north towards Northwestern University & circle back along Sheridan & see the beautiful homes.

09/14/20 - I walk the trail on the west side of Central Ave all the time and I see this sign for…read moreEdgebrook Woods (on the east side of Central Ave) all the time. Today my curiosity got the better of me so I crossed over to explore. Edgebrook Woods is a tiny isolated blip on the radar part of the immense forest preserve system that spans across multiple cities and counties in Illinois. Yes I crossed over to the other side and dared to venture where no Yelp reviewer had ever gone before and dare I say I entered it into the world according to Yelp. Walking into this unknown I was the only soul in the entire forest preserve or so I thought. It was nice to get off of the path so frequently traveled w/all the other hikers, bikers, joggers and dog walkers. I found total peace & isolation. As I meandered deeper into the woods I had an overwhelming sense of peace & tranquility. All the way at the back in the turn around I saw a service van backed into a corner nestled tight against the bushes maybe resting after his shift was over (or hiding or sleeping). As is so common in these woods there is an over abundance of wildlife that seems to thrive and coexist w/uggg humans. I saw a deer & a red tailed hawk looking for its next meal.

It is very frustrating to give these woods a 1 star review because I drive past them everyday and…read morethey look beautiful and I have always wanted to stop there. So a few weeks ago I went on my lunch break to walk around and take some photos of the changing leaves. I have to say, I was genuinely creeped out while being there. There are men parked EVERYWHERE. Just sitting and staring in the abyss. They gawked and waved at me. One tried to follow me around. I immediately became uncomfortable and left. It is like they have never seen a woman before?! Honestly, these woods are gorgeous and I would love to return, but ladies DO NOT go here by yourself. Even in the day. One day there is going to be something weird that happened here with all of the creeps that just sit around watch women.