Great park located around Yorkville with a few big lakes. It has lots of hiking trails. Silver Springs State Park gets its name from the pool of bubbling water. Of course, there's tons of other things to see around it. The popular activities include boating, fishing, and picnicking. Bigger park with a lot of history. It's an area that was purchased by the state in 1969 and turned into a park. The park was originally 1,250 acres, and added a prairie restoration project in 1980 among expansions since. Kind of what the land was like before settlers took it. There's a path that goes through it where visitors can check out animals, grass, and wildflowers. A few man made lakes are highlights. Loon Lake is the biggest one, popular for fishing or getting photos. A refreshment stand is located by it. The spring is the biggest attraction of the park though. Amazingly the water in it never freezes. There's amazing plantlife around it including watercress. Also fun when it's colder. There's a toboggan hill that's fairly steep. Among the kinds of trails are equestrian. There's also plenty for basic hiking. Has lots to look at here for hours and you can even stay overnight by camping. It's got an area that's available for youth groups. This area is only reachable through backpacking so it's far away from loud noises or vehicles. read more

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Serene lake with a good 2-mile hike along lake, river, woods amd some prairie. It was a quiet mid-day walk one snowy day... until I pass by a group of kids screaming and sledding along a slope, how fun :) read more

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I've been coming here for a few decades now. Each time seems to be for something a little bit different: a good hike, picnic, sledding, biking (although you're not supposed to), and to admire the Farnsworth House across the Fox River. If you feel like a good walk/hike, fishing etc..give Silver a look. Huge property, plenty to do here. Cheers. read more

Silver Springs State Park - Farnsworth House - Parks Near Me - Yorkville, Illinois

Beautiful park and water. Fishing is ok could be better but the views are amazing!!!!

An excellent place for a hike! It gets busy on the weekends, but it's very peaceful during the week. The lake is a nice place to spend the day fishing. Dogs on leashes are welcome. If you're afraid of geese, beware during the spring and fall they're everywhere read more

Love this state park! Every time I visit it's so fresh and pristine! Never crowded and it feels like I have this wonderful place all to myself! A different beautiful landscape during each season. This year was the first year I visited in the winter, there were huge ice chunks near the river and the actual springs look beautiful in the snowy setting! If you want to make a day trip, I'd suggest stopping at Crusade Burger in Yorkville. Their adult milkshakes (varies weekly - follow in FB for cool pictures) are amazing!! read more

Silver Springs State Park - Parks Near Me - Yorkville, Illinois

Beautiful place to take pictures and walk. Lots of spot to park. I took my maternity photos there in may, lots of green. The water was clear. read more

An absolutely gorgeous preserve for enjoying the outdoors. There are a few hiking trails, mostly easy to moderate but you can find a more challenging one with steep hills on the north side of the main park area. If you would prefer a leisurely stroll there are several trails that wind around the park, through the lakes and along the river. You can also follow the paved road if you need level ground. You will often see herds of deer in the forest, sometimes standing on the path in front of you. Bikes are allowed on the paths but be careful when on some of the hiking trails as the paths can get quite narrow and people do use them for hiking. Excellent for dog walkers - in fact I'm there almost daily with mine. Lots and lots of picnic areas to choose from, as well as covered sites if you're having a large group gathering. Two playground areas are available for the little ones. I've never fished there but have heard mixed reviews... some say it's great fishing while others say it's over fished. There are two other areas that are part of the park. North of the river, off River Road, is an additional area for hiking, though it is closed September to January and open to hunters only. However, it's about a 2.5 mile walk/hike through prairie and forest. The forest path leads down to a bridge over Rob Roy Creek where the water is often crashing over the rocks - absolute serenity. However, this path has been only accessible in the early part of the year for the last couple of years, as it has been infested with ticks. But, it is still beautiful and fun to see the change in the seasons and the coming Spring. When on the prairie path, you'll often see bunnies, snakes, pheasants (the ones that survived the hunts anyway), deer and hawks. South of the main park, off Fox Road, is a large 6 mile trail used mainly for horse riding but is also closed September to January and open for hunting only. It's a nice, long trail for getting in a good workout, however I would not recommend it in the heat of the summer, as it is almost entirely through the fields with very little shade. read more

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If you haven't been to Silver Springs State Park. It's a hidden gem near Yorkville. Just 20-30 minutes west of Plainfield. My hubby and I brought our dog Millie. They let us bring her on a paddle boat. Only $8 for 30 minutes. She loved it. Super friendly staff. The also have small fishing boats w motors, row boats, and kayaks. I know the kayaks are $5 for 30 minutes. Didn't check other prices. Snack bar w reasonable good food and treats. They even have ice cream dog treats. Best of all it's never crowded. Millie jumped in the water after the geese but the water is so clean she wasn't a mess. Nice walking trails by the lakes and the river. read more

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For being about 50 miles out from Chicago, this is one of the easiest and beautiful places to go for: - Fishing - Hiking - Hanging out with nature Some of the features and amenities I can list, but are not limited to: - Two completely separate spring fed freshwater lakes - Access to the Fox River - A camping area - Concessions and bathrooms - Hiking and biking trails in very nice forest areas The lakes are super clean and clear. Since they are spring fed, the water is clear straight down, and an amazing blue green. You can see fish from shore and see all kinds, such as bluegill, crappie, smallmouth bass. In one lake, you can see the fish right at the overflow feeder just waiting for small fish to come by. The lake are also surrounded by a large forest with multiple trails going around both lakes. The nice thing about this place is the park is far enough away to be in a beautiful wooded area, but not so far that you can't get ice cream or beer from Plainfield, IL. In the fall, they have an Outdoors Day where a number of vendors come out and have many kids activities. Next time we go, we are bringing our bikes to see the entire expanse. The toilets are outhouse style with a hole in the ground. Functional, but pretty standard. NUMBER-OF-SPIDERS-UP-YOUR-BUT-WHILE-YOU'RE-ON-THE-CAN Rating = 3 TERRAIN = Hilly, but mostly flat OUTDOORS FACTOR = Great family outing for the day, and definitely bring your fishing poles. read more

This place is a pretty nice state park. Being in the city wished I lived a little closer to take advantage. This park is right on the Fox River and has 2 lakes so fishing is a great option. There's a concession stand there to get hot dogs, water or whatever. But my personal favorite is the hiking trail though the woods that circles the place. It's well maintained and has some serious hill climbing involved, definitely a work out. There's also a ton of outhouses throughout this place so definitely a huge plus. TL;DR Great fishing and hiking. Unfortunately too far from city. read more

A nice park for short hikes. GREAT views of the Fox River. They even have a few lakes/ponds on ground. We spotted several deer and woodpeckers on our last walk. One warning, we tried to come during the summer and the mosquitos were just atrocious. Came back in the fall and it was perfect. read more

Silver Springs State Park - Typical signs in the park. - Parks Near Me - Yorkville, Illinois

Very nice park with several walking paths and trails along with a couple lakes AND it is along the Fox River. The trails vary in difficulty with most people easy/moderate but you can find some hillier areas if you want to "feel the burn" in your thighs a bit more. They have camping, fishing, several picnic areas and some shelters, too. The restrooms are your average state park type but much better than a regular port-a-potty. There is one area along the Fox River where you can sit on a bench directly across from the Farnsworth House on the other side of the river. Don't know what the Farnsworth House is? Look it up online - it is another excellent hidden gem in the area to check out! read more

Nice place to walk/run, go fishing or go on the boats. They even have playgrounds for kids, grills, and a concession stand. read more

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This park is great, it has all u could need for a quiet picnic, walks in the lovely scenery, you can have a fun day with family but if you are planning to bring a group over 25 people you will need to get a permit. This park even has an area for Trap shooting which is preety convenient, all they ask is that you clean up after yourself, archery range is on the other end of the trap area and both are free of cost to all visitors, which allows the outdoors man (or woman) the opportunity to practice with the natural out door elements... Over all I like the area as this is well kept. Just ashame we dont have something similar with all the other parks in my city of Elgin, nothing in my area here. This is located about 40-50 mins drive from my area. read more

Silver Springs is a great state park. There is fishing, hiking, boating, playgrounds, pavilions, hunting, trap range and archery range to name a few things to do at Silver Springs. It is a great place. I love going there. read more

The best for Walks me and girlfriend walk every morning the whole park sir how she found a way goes tru all park on edge of it by lake too etc nice park read more

This is a great state park with wonderful developed walking trails. Some follow the river, some are in the woods and some follow the lakeside. The spring is great and quite easy to get too. Never really much traffic as there is not much else to do there except walk and fish. Which is just fine for me. read more

Wow! Coming from a noisy urban environment I enjoyed the peace and quiet this park had to offer on a Wednesday afternoon. There are two entrances so make sure you check out each one to see what is offered. There are plenty of picnic tables, benches and even toilets (yes!). read more

Majestic and quaint. Great for fishing. Caught several bass and panfish :) The freshwater spring isn't much to see but the setting is peaceful. read more

Perfect place to just sit by the river and smoke a cigar.

Kind of scary if you're alone but a must if you have someone to walk with. Very well maintained and beautiful and relaxing.

Love hiking this area with my kids and dogs! This place is so beautiful in the summer and late spring. There are blue green ponds to fish in and use paddle boats (fee). I am a photographer so I use this area a lot! There are also many functions that go on here during the summer that are fun to attend. read more

There is plenty of fishing spots and great for family go here every week the fish are carp that are very big there are also bass, bluegill, plenty of catfish and the trout there are great and very fun to catch. There you may also recive food and bait there is also hiking. read more