Best Parks In Chicago For A Winter Nature Walk
Burnham Park
5491 S. Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60615
(312)742-5369
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
Just south of Grant Park, Burnham Park boasts 600 acres of beaches, a bird sanctuary and skate park and, in terms of winter, plenty of peaceful places to walk. Its jewel may be a spectacular chunk of land called Promontory Point, a man-made peninsula that is perhaps the best spot to view modern wonders (Chicago's skyline) and those that nature carved, like Lake Michigan and the shoreline. Designed in the Prairie Style by Alfred Caldwell, a well-known landscape architect who also created the lovely lily pool in Lincoln Park, the point is accessed by way of the Lakefront Trail that passes under Lake Shore Drive through a pedestrian tunnel.
6401 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 256-0903
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
Picturesque Jackson Park, site for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, was intended to serve as an escape from the daily urban struggle. If New York City's Central Park appeals to you, you'll be similarly attracted to Jackson Park since it was designed by the same men — Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Among the park's 500 acres, don't miss the renovated Wooded Island and the Japanese Osaka Garden, which should be identifiable even in winter. If that "Devil in the White City" film ever hits the screen, tons of tourists will discover Jackson Park before you do.
North Park Nature Center, Path And Trail
5801 N. Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60646
(312) 744-5472
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
A hidden oasis in the Peterson Park neighborhood, the forest preserve offers a birding area, paths and trails that snake through grassland, savanna, woods, prairie and wetlands — although in winter, you're pretty much guaranteed to see snow covering all. Nonetheless, the destination in the middle of the northwest side will gift you with serenity and quiet on a winter hike, and the Nature Center is not only a place to warm up but has educational displays about wildlife and flora. The 155-acre campus is open seven days a week except for Thanksgiving, Christmas day and New Year's day.
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Stearns Quarry
2700 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 747-6497
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
You'll certainly miss the native Illinois prairie grasses and flowers in the winter, but Stearns Quarry Park, aka Mount Bridgeport, has hills, an anathema in our long flat state. Nearly two miles of walking paths winding through the rolling areas offer a little more bang for your hamstrings and the payoff is a scenic view of the city when you reach the top of the highest hill. The park is crowded in the summer with humans and insects, but the colder weather eliminates the bugs and thins out the throngs of people. Reward your winter wander with a nice hot meal in one of Bridgeport's ethnic restaurants.
1400 N. Sacramento Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 742-7549
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
A gorgeous park dotted with monuments (including namesake Alexander Von Humboldt, who was a Prussian explorer and naturalist), a birding area, cafe, lagoon, various gyms, beautiful boathouse, a cultural center and hiking paths. Read up about some of the extraordinary features that the famed landscape architect Jens Jensen created and placed in Humboldt Park and plot your path accordingly.
