Better alternative to the crowded trail along the lake. It has plenty of beauty of its own to see…read more North Shore Channel Trail goes from the Ravenswood neighborhood to Evanston, a long ways. Has lots of nature to come across. There's a few parks along it and other fun things. A lot less crowded on this trail and it's still got pretty good views along it. It's about 7 miles from the beginning to end, so that's a good way to work out. This begins at the intersection of Francisco and Lawrence in Ravenswood. First it goes north through River Park. There's trails on both sides of the channel most of the time. It goes all the way to Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in Evanston. The trail is made of variously of asphalt, gravel, and crushed limestone. Has to be one of the less appreciated trails around here. It's not as popular as the one by the lake to be sure. There's plenty of parks along the way so these make for good places to stop for bicyclists, runners, or whoever.

How did I not know a paved, uncongested bike trail ran along the river from Lawrence to Golf where…read moreit turns to fine gravel and continues on... I don't know apparently to Wisconsin? OK, that might not be true but it at least hits Wilmette. Regardless, it's an absolutely wonderful surprise. You can pick it up on the north side of Lawrence between Sacramento and California. It takes you along the east side of the channel, through parks and under cross streets until almost Devon. There you jog northwest on Lincoln to re pick it up on the west side. You follow McCormick through Lincolnwood and Skokie with trees and sculpture and happily few people to keep you company. It's a great little ride. Maybe 10-12 miles round trip with all the twists and turns. I also love that I've seen none of the super serious jackwads with their full body spandex and forward triathlon bars going 35 miles an hour and looking at you like you're in the way if you ride casually. There are a few other cyclists and walkers. At the lots along McCormick folks clearly park and walk to the many benches to eat lunch on nice days. But even on a beautiful weekday in the low 80's with little wind I was alone with my thoughts and camera most of the time. There are port-a-potties at one of the lots near the midway point but once across Lincoln there aren't water fountains like there are in the city parks. If you really need hydration you can always jump off the path, back into real life just a few hundred yards away, and grab something to drink. Make sure you to remember to press the pedestrian button at intersections once out of the city or you'll never get across. Also even though it's a lot of fun don't accelerate through the downhill blind turns as you hit the under passes. There are lots of strollers and moms with kids in tow. Save those collisions for the d-bags on lakefront path.

Good park located in Edgewater. It has a location that's shared with a high school. Senn Park has a…read morelong history, and on this very site, some things happened before this. Maybe the history is better than the park itself. The current features include baseball fields, basketball courts, and other facilities for playing. Before this was a park, it was site of the Nicholas Kranz homestead and inn called the Seven Mile House. It's been said that Abraham Lincoln attended a caucus of local farmers during his 1860 campaign for President. The sculptor Charles Keck created a statue. As for the other parts of the park, there's plenty to do for athletes. There's also the ADA approved playground. It has a water spray feature. This and the high school are named after Nicholas V. Senn. He was a physician and the founder of the Association Of Military Surgeons Of The United States, and was a President of the American Medical Association. The experimental research performed by him included acute pancreatitis, head and neck oncology, the intestinal tract, leukemia treatment through x-rays, and plastic surgery. Has a pretty busy location. It's on Ridge close to Clark and Thorndale. This is often busy with students, but it's also okay for younger children, and the facilities are open to the public or whoever.

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

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.

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.

Good people maintain this natural area. It has a pretty interesting history. Dunning Read is…read morelocated next to a mental hospital if you can believe it. Pretty crazy this is located in a fairly boring area with strip malls. The area has a few trails. An interesting history about it. It's a grassy area that's kept natural. This has many native plants and wildlife. Before this area was just pretty much nothing. The mental hospital opened up here and there was still this open space. Basically the Parks Department bought it. This has been restored to a natural area by bringing in native plants and letting these grow naturally with as little maintenance as possible. Check this out while around the Portage Park area. It's located near the intersection of Harlem and Irving Park. This is a good opportunity to get close to natural vegetation.

"For many generations of Chicago children, bad behavior came to a halt with a stern warning: "Be…read morecareful, or you're going to Dunning." The prospect sent shivers down the spines of youngsters, who regarded it as the most dreaded place imaginable." - Perry Duis, Challenging Chicago. The sprawling stretch of land north of Irving Park and west of Oak Park is one of the most storied, but presently forgotten, sites in Chicago. Opening in 1854 as a "poor farm," it initially served people who had fallen on hard times. By 1870 an Insane Department was added to the site- on the premise that keeping the mentally disturbed isolated and away from the city's stress would be beneficial. Over time, the site which also featured sprawling expanses of cemeteries for over 38,000 bodies, became chronically overcrowded. Patients were abused and neglected, their food full of weevils. "You could think of this place as the prototypical evil dark asylum of literature," Joseph J. Mehr notes in his book, "An Illustrated History of Illinois Public Mental Health Services." Today, the fringes of the site are covered by box stores and residential development. But the stretch by the northeast intersection of Irving Park and Oak Park is one of the most sublime and tranquil settings in Chicago, containing some ancient remnant wetlands. This place is so underutilized that you're just as likely to come across a zombie corpse as a member of the living. But I've seen a garter snake, heard tell of a coyote sighting, and once almost stepped on a possum. If you walk past the medical center to the south you can find an expanse of woodchip trails, mostly unmarked, which may mysteriously lead you *behind* a No Trespassing sign at the neighboring Streets and Sanitation complex. This park is neither part of the Park District nor the Forest Preserve. If you want to be a part of restoring the area, Friends of the Parks hosts volunteer days every Thursday and every Second Saturday from March through November.

Beautiful walking trail. The trail is clean, well-paved and safe. Lots of people on it but not too…read morecrowded. Only one downfall for someone recouping from surgery, no places to seat for a break.

Easily my favorite trail. Growing up this used to be train tracks but since 2008 it's a trail…read more Convient to use however a woman was sexual assaulted recently so be careful. Awesome place for the neighborhood

Easy parking in front of the museum. Light trail but doesn't go in a loop or you can but have to…read morecross the street and then walk on some unpaved brush. Or one can just back track.

This popular spot is usually a little busy for my tastes, but catch it at a quiet time and you can…read moreenjoy a placid hike down easy paths. There's a broad, charming bridge where kids (or adults) can throw sticks into the water on one side and watch them float to the other side. There are multiple dirt trails into the woods off the paved path that's frequently teeming with bicyclists. And there's a gravel path where people often walk dogs. Note that there are multiple entrances to Harms Woods. I like the northern one, but so do a lot of other people, apparently.