Outdoors in Chicago

Kosciuszko (Thaddeus) Park

Park & field house offering sports facilities & programs, plus an ADA-accessible playground & pool.

Eggers Grove

Vibrant nature park featuring hiking paths, marshes, waterfowl, picnic spots & open spaces.

Palmer Square Park

7-acre green space with a "Velveteen Rabbit"-themed playground & a track that circles the park.

Piotrowski (Lillian) Park

This 22-acre park offers sports fields, tennis courts & a skate park, plus a year-round domed pool.

Bartelme (Mary) Park

1.4-acre park featuring a play area, a sunken dog park & a viewing hill with city vistas.

Gethsemane Garden Center

Sprawling, upmarket garden center & greenhouse offering plants, flowers, gifts & outdoor furniture.

Douglass (Anna & Frederick) Park

A 218-acre park featuring ponds & gardens, plus athletic facilities, a pool & a historic fieldhouse.

Midway Plaisance Park

Green stretch of parkland with an outdoor ice-skating rink, soccer field & volleyball court.

Douglass (Anna and Frederick) Park

Catherine Chevalier Woods

This expansive tract features a variety of nature habitats, plus areas for picnicking & hiking.

Palmisano (Henry) Park

27-acre area providing interpretive wetlands, a fishing pond, athletic track & field & city views.

La Villita Park

This 21-acre park offers turf & natural grass fields, plus a skate park & community gardens.

Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo

Prairie-style garden with trails, filled with native plants & home to birds, frogs & other wildlife.

Washington Square Park

Small, shaded park founded in 1842 with a large fountain surrounded by a floral garden.

North Park Village Nature Center

46-acre nature preserve with hiking trails, a birding area & a center with educational programs.

Forest Glen Woods

Nature & recreation area featuring paths amid woods & wildlife, plus a picnic pavilion.

Osaka Garden

Japanese garden on Jackson Park's Wooded Island featuring a waterfall & foot bridges.

West Ridge Nature Park

Walking, bird-watching & fishing are popular in this lush, outdoor area with a large pond.

Bloomingdale Trail Park - Eastern Trailhead

This 2.7-mile elevated former rail track is open to both cyclists & walkers.

Indian Boundary Park

Boasting a Tudor-style fieldhouse, this park also features a lagoon, playground & tennis courts.