Spring Valley has a Nature Center and also features the Heritage Farm. It's really a neat place for…read morea walk as you walk through a wooded area for about 5-7 minutes and then you see the farm houses with animal barns along with a few trails to follow. Spring Valley is a refuge of about 135 acres comprised of fields, forests, marshes, brooks and streams. Some trails are wood beamed while others are rocks and grass. It's a really enjoyable place to spend a few hours by yourself, with friends and family. Parking and entrances to the park are available on both sides 1) off Schaumburg Road 2) off Plum Grove Road.

I have been going here since the 80's and it is even better than ever now. I love taking my…read moredaughter for a hike to the farm after enjoying the nature center building. It is awesome how so many aspects of Spring Valley have remained the same while wonderful upgrades and additions have been made, too! Definitely a place that we will continue to visit throughout the year!

My husband, friends, and I love this place! It's pretty clean and is absolutely beautiful,…read moreespecially during sunset. There is a path around a decent sized pond where many run or jog, and there are plenty of benches to sit on around the path, as well. A nice perk is that you can watch all of the cute ducks and geese all over the place. Be careful where you're walking because poo is kinda everywhere, though haha! There is a free outdoor workout area you can use with a good amount of different machines, and there are also canoes and peddle boats that you can rent. I haven't been here in the winter season yet, but apparently you can ice skate on the pond when it's frozen during winter, too. Don't let me just tell you how gorgeous this lake is, see for yourself! Many people also fish here, but during certain times, the lake has green algae, so I wouldn't recommend being that close to the water if there are signs out.

Great park and very relaxing time!!! Would recommend for…read moreanyone looking for a great place to unwind!

A kid's dream playground and totally worth the small entrance fee. This nature-themed play space…read moreis huge, creative, and packed with fun. Because it's so popular, they use timed entries to give more families a chance to enjoy it without crowding. It's located inside the Spring Valley Nature Center, so after playtime, you can wander the trails or explore more of the natural area. A great combo of fun + learning + nature. Perfect for an afternoon with littles

I honestly did not know what to expect when we came here with my two young grandkids. Admission was…read more$3 per kid because we are not Schaumburg residents. My understanding was we were allowed to stay for one hour, and it was well worth the nominal admission fee! It had all the best components of a park, with lots of attention being focused on exploration and discovery. I did not see any swings, but there was plenty to climb on and signs posted everywhere encouraging the parents to not be helicopter parents... to let their child explore and try to problems solve on their own. There was a man-made creek running through one edge of the park and half the children were in bathing suits and had shovels and buckets with them. My grandkids declared it the best park they've ever visited! The playground is attached to a large piece of land that has tons of walking paths and picnic areas along with nice bathrooms and an educational nature center! It would be very easy to spend the better part of a day here!

Nice park area (with parking) with basketball area, restrooms, a few covered picnic tables, and…read moreolder/younger play areas. A nice walking path next to retention pond takes you to MacArther school park next store which has nice new equipment. Nice spot to stop and play for a bit. Some shaded benches. There are tennis courts here as well.

Enjoyable walk with some interesting statues. I've read that they've added some new works since I…read morewas there. I was there in the winter and the paths were still covered in snow. It made for a peaceful, beautiful day even without the missing displays.

What a cool spot! I've driven by this area countless times while shopping nearby and never knew…read morethat the sculpture park existed until I was looking for a place on Yelp to get a quick walk in after a meal. Fortunately for me, this was more than a quick walk as there are about 16 sculptures located throughout the park all which are quite distinct from one another and good for fun photo taking opportunities. Sculptures here range from a wooden arch to steel structures to chiseled rock to a giant muse and even a colorful giant sundial. While not as large as the sculpture park in Skokie or University Park, there's not too many options in the area (unless you also count Morton Arboretum). Overall, worth a visit if you're in the area at all. It's fun and free, and maintained nicely.

I've passed by Busse Woods a million times along Higgins Road but never pulled in to have a look…read morefor whatever reason.  Probably because I could always do it tomorrow or another day lol!  Well, today I did pull in because we had an extended family celebration event at one of their picnic groves, specifically Grove 5 which is located quite conveniently close to the intersection of Higgins and Arlington Heights Roads (as opposed to deeper into the Woods). I must say this place Busse Woods is large, sprawling, neat, clean, and impressive (it's 3558 acres in fact). I think I knew that it was sprawling driving along Higgins Rd, but pulling in, you can see how well laid out and maintained the premises are.  It would be quite nice to revisit during winter and the change of fall colors also. Grove 5 in particular is an extra nice picnic grove in that it has a shelter and is near (540' to be exact per the website!) a nice and accessible restroom building.  The shelter is pretty large with a capacity of 100 people.  It's located in a section called Busse Forest-South and which comprises Groves 5 - 16.  Of those 12 groves, 4 have shelters, but only Grove 5 is close to an accessible restroom.  So, our family member apparently picked out the best grove, good job!  Busse Woods has 11 sections like Busse Forest-South, so it's massive with a lot of picnic location and other leisure activity options.  Anyway, go to their website for more info, but I was pretty impressed.  Busse Woods includes a Busse Lake as well as a 7 mile trail.  Big thumbs up for this Cook County Forest Preserve!

Great place to get out and enjoy nature. Bummed we didn't see any elk roaming this time, but I have…read moreon other visits. Sometimes the bathrooms are open, other times sorry it's porta potties for you. Plenty of garbage cans around so don't litter in nature! The 7+ mile trail is paved. Bikers can be a little intense if you are walking or running. Lots of parking so be specific if meeting a group.

Can't believe I didn't review this place! Nature deserves reviews 2…read more Meachum Grove is a great place for running up a huge hill that most people seem to think is hard! My friends dad said running up that hill was the reason he was able to finish the marathon! I guess to him mentally running up the hill was hard, for me sprinting hills is easy peezy. But running long distance itself was hard for me. So the best place to train for a full marathon was Busse Woods doing the loop 2X's on Sundays. Meachum grove isn't too bad for 4-6 miles, but you'll have to run it 3-4 times so it's not ideal if you don't like doing loops. I did train here for marathons though because of the hill aspect.

Great little path, little bit of an incline going up over the bridge, can be a little rough as some…read moreof the trail is just gravel and dirt. Friendly people walking along this path saying hello and smiling at you.

Such a fun little find!! This is a zoo, a park, a little history lesson and an overall great place…read moreto visit!! Best part, FREE!! Now, this is not a huge zoo, but man do they pack a lot of love into a little spot. Food selection of animals, very friendly staff and cute well maintained facilities! Then, there are multiple large parks on site!! Perfect picnic spot for place for large family gatherings!

I love this park because it's an all in one! There's a decent sized splash pad, a park, a ninja…read morecourse, baseball field, and there's a trail around the pond. There's also a bathroom. You do have to get there early if you want some shade and a place to sit. It's a park that rarely is empty especially in the summer time! I like that if you have kids in different age groups, there's something for everyone! Also like that it's not run down and it's clean!

Broad experiences. Astro turf!! Clean restrooms and friendly participants in the park experience!!…read more Highly recommend, mostly, safe!!

My husband and I went to Willow Stream Park on a Tuesday evening. The weather was nice and we…read morewanted to take advantage of it. We went with a friend and walked around the walking path. There are also basketball courts, soccer and football fields, baseball fields, a frisbee golf course, and a swimming pool available at Willow Stream Park. I highly recommend Willow Stream Park for a great place to enjoy a walk!

Huge park with all the amenities you could ever think of like swimming pool, picnic shelter,…read moreplaygrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, bike path, volleyball courts, baseball diamonds,soccer fields, and ice skating rink. The parking is large and plentiful as well in this park so it can easily accomodate lots of events at the same time. My favorite feature of this park is the disc golf course. It's enormous, well kept, and features a variety of different shots -- without the fear of hitting buildings or roads unlike some of the smaller courses. Definitely worth a visit to enjoy some activities if you live in the area.