I grew up in Villa Park and used to love riding my bike through the woods. Over the years the woods…read morestarted getting really creepy. Someone painted a image of Slender Man on one of the trees and I noticed a part of the woods where homeless people would camp out in! I strongly believe devil rituals have been held in these woods as well.

Not a safe area at all. Rode my bike to fish. Locked it to a sign. Kids starting trying to shake…read morethe sign out of the ground. I said stop! They called me the n word and started throwing rocks at me. Homeless people in tent living here. Lots of shady characters. STAY AWAY!

This is a clean, open, and easy place for a hike. It's not particularly woodsie but the lakes are…read morelovely. Paved path. Clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking. Covered picnic area. Easy access from Butterfield & Route 53. Enter on Route 53, across from Walmart and McDonalds. There are few trees to buffer the wind, so dress warmly. Lots of dogs on the trail today. Watch your step, as not every dog-owner tidies up after their dog, but the trail is mostly clear of droppings.

Hidden lake forest preserve is truly a hidden gem. Located in Downers Grove. It was a nice sunny…read moreSunday to just get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was a nice escape getaway from the city life. An ideal and nice place to relax and collet your inner thoughts. While walking along the trails everyone was so friendly and welcoming. It was a breath of fresh air to be out in nature. A perfect place to jog,kayak, fish, hike, have a picnic or just come and take a scroll. Not crowded and everyone social distances themselves. I came across a few people walking with their dogs. All dogs MUST be on a lease. Really enjoyed the scenery and the water from the river and lake was calming and peaceful.

Even though I've lived in the area forever, I've never been here before…read more I've been back here about six times since. I rode the Salt Creek trail from Villa Park to Wood Dale. It is a really nice trail with a few ponds, bridges, etc. I saw quite a few deer traveling this trail. The trail is fairly long and goes way beyond what I traveled. I plan on doing the whole trail in the future.

If you're looking for a peaceful place to practice your yoga this place is the perfect one!read more

It was a breath of fresh air the afternoon I decided to conduct a hike on the Salt Creek Trail…read moreSystem, starting at Brookfield Woods trailhead. What interested me about Brookfield Woods compared to the other trailheads nearby is that it is the mile marker starting point for the Salt Creek Trail System. As an outdoor fitness enthusiast who has been running for years, I would categorize the difficulty level as easy because the terrain is flat! I encountered mostly walkers, a few joggers, and many recreational bike riders along this path. While on it I felt that peaceful sense of being in nature as I heard birds chirping, the wind blowing, and the sound of the flowing salt creek which was off to my left while going out. I even got glimpses of chipmunk and squirrel running across my path; some even startling me at times when close by which also kept me in the moment during my hike. On my turnaround, I encountered a Canadian goose which I am absolutely terrified of! I am even known to alter my run routes just to avoid them out of fear of being attacked! It hissed at me as I went around it; it is like it instantly got its little goose panties in a bunch. I swear my heart rate increased as I eased by it because the last thing I wanted to experience was getting my ass kicked by a Canadian goose. That is a losing situation that I am unsure how I will bounce back from, but bye bye goose! I spent a little over forty-minutes during my hike on the path but could have easily gone longer if I were running instead. There are a variety of activities you can conduct on the Salt Creek Trail System path which extends 7.1 miles out; some of those activities I can certainly see are hiking, running, walking, biking, or even in-line skating. Other than my encounter with the Canadian goose, I had a pleasant experience on the Salt Creek Trail System as indicated in this review and would return. As a runner, I can see myself returning just to explore more of the Salt Creek Trail System. ~An adventure a day keeps the doctor away. ~ Thomas G

We entered at Brezina Woods, in LaGrange. If you are looking for a COVID-era place for a quiet…read morefamily walk, this is NOT the place. We only saw a few other people wearing masks. And it was so crowded, we left after only a mile. It was hard to maintain social distance on the paved path while avoiding the many bikers, roller bladers, and walkers. We found a few quiet side trials that each led 200-300 feet into the woods, but due to recent rains, those paths were very muddy, then flooded. We did find some moss. And some pretty trees and plants. So we hung out in the woods, then got out and went home. Pros: Free. Free parking. Clean trials. Plenty of parking. Paved trials. Not too many mosquitoes. Con: this trail goes through residential areas. We were literally passing inches from backyards of homes, yards filled with people. Fair enough. It is their home!! But it felt weird to just walk past their backyard while everyone is outside doing family stuff.

This is a great path and at this spot the Illinois Prairie Path is almost right next to it so there…read moreare plenty of places to go. This path I would say is better for walking and jogging because there are roads that intersect the path every so often. Biking on this path is alright, but it just feels like you constantly have to stop because of the intersections on the path.

This is a fantastic Yrail here in Chicago. Lot of space for biking, walking, running and picnics…read more They don't approve of dogs but people bring them anyway.

Fantastically maintained trails for walking/biking. You truly feel like you're not in a major metro…read morewhen under the canopy of trees and streams. Perfect ride from trail head on west end all the way to the zoo and back.

When I need to fool myself that I am getting away from the city into isolation I head to a nearby…read moreforest preserve. This particular preserve does more than trick me! We had a family picnic here and it is large enough, quiet enough and empty enough (on a Saturday) to put me in the outdoors kind of mood without travelling too far from home. The groves are very well kept and there is plenty of open spaces! This location is a great urban getaway!

Great place for a walk. Its nice in the winter with all the snow. Its also nice in the spring with…read morethe changing weather. It can be a bit hot in the summer without trees blocking the sun. Kinda sad many of the trees are being cut down.

We went for a walk here on an unseasonably warm day after Christmas. The trails are clearly…read moremarked and the scenery along the creek is really nice for being in the middle of a suburban area. Definitely wear old shoes if it's been raining. The crushed stone makes a white paste that will cover your shoes and lower pants legs if you're walking fast; it brushes off easily once dry, but maybe not the place to wear the new running shoes. The Mill and museum were closed for the season, but it was still interesting to see the mill from the outside. Trails are all short with the longest being 2.5 miles, but it's easy to patch a few together if you want to do a longer walk.

Eldridge Park is well kept little park along Salt Creek. There are paved paths that are great for…read morewalking, jogging or biking. There are plenty of benches throughout the park. When I've walked along the paths, I've seen people fishing in the pond during the warmer months. The playground looks like a nice one. They have a basketball court next to it. I've heard there are tennis courts, but I think they must be on the East side of the park. I'll need to explore that side a bit more. There's a cute little bridge that allows you to easily cross over Salt Creek. I didn't see any photos of the canoe launch, so I'll share a couple here. Unfortunately, we had a lot of rain the day before, so the ramp to the boat launch was pretty flooded. There are also doggy bag stations on the path near the parking lot.

Great park in the middle of Elmhurst. They have hiking/biking trails, 2 children's playgrounds,…read morenice pond full of ducks and geese. Benches to sit on scattered around the park. Nice and peaceful to just walk around and enjoy the pretty scenery . The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there is a lack of adequate bathrooms. I walked the whole park both side and only saw 1 porta potty on the commonwealth side where the p,at ground is. They could use a few more. Also they could put out a few more picnic table near the pond, and both playgrounds.

The entrance to Pick Park is hidden away in an Elmhurst residential area…read more Much of the entrance area was sectioned off during my recent trip in March of 2024. There are signs indicating plans for "park and facility improvements". The trail is a paved path, so it's ideal for biking and walking. There are a few areas that you can follow a short dirt path and get up close to Salt Creek. Salt Creek is a very zig zagging creek and there are bridges that allow you to easily pass over it. If you follow the trail south, you'll end up at Rotary Park in Villa Park, IL. You can either cross a busy road (St. Charles) or go thru the underpass. There are some portions of the trail that show just how close you are to the busy streets. In one of my photos you can see Portillo's on the other side of Route 83. I prefer the parts of the trail that are more natural. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new improvements will look like. Hopefully they will have restrooms!

Lyman Woods is a natural center that is a partnership between the DuPage Forest Preserve District,…read moreVillage of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Park District. Dogs are not allowed, there is an area with turtles and other animals. Great place to spend a day.

Great trails with a small nature center. You would never know it is so close to Yorktown Mall.read more