If you want to see part of what Chicago looked like before it was developed, this is it. Check out the very rare oak savanna, only a few left in the US. It’s a 46-acre nature preserve and educational facility. This nature preserve has trails through woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and savanna’s. And check out the few building left from 1915 when the Chicago Department of Public Health had it’s TB sanitarium located here, the largest in the US at the time. They now act as the park’s field house.

Great park to go to. Different walking paths and wild life. I cant wait to come back when its a bit warmer and everything is green. It seems like theres different areas of varying flora. It keeps your walk interesting!

Unexpected delight in The City! Meadows, hills, trees, lily pads floating in a charming watet feature, birds, critters and more! We missed the no dog notice and were well into our stroll with our sweet little dog before folks mentioned our mistake. Well definitely go back but still leave the pooch at home. There is a nice picnic area too. All located adjacent to a historical compound that used to be a TB treatment community. Nice walking around that too.

I honestly didnt expect to find such a pleasant escape in the middle of the city. My roommate and I came here a week ago, but arrived just before it closed. The few minutes we did have inside, though, were refreshing to the soul and absolutely beautiful. The informational signs are interesting and helpful and the scenery is obviously beautiful!

Lovely autumn stroll through the woods, prairieland. Easy to follow trails, no steep inclines. Almost everyone masked and not crowded at all. Beautiful in city retreat.

Really beautiful community nature, of you look carefully ok the backside of near the round about you will see deers roaming around randomly eating grass or even on the trail.

This park is brilliant! My wife and I visit regularly and still find ourselves surprised by the beautiful and incredibly diverse flora and fauna of the wetlands and forests. Even though its not huge, theres so much to experience, appreciate, and learn from. A real gem in the area!Please remember to wear your masks during this time and please do not bring dogs, they are not allowed and can negatively impact the delicate ecosystem of the preserve.

Really nice to have this nature walk just off Pulaski and Foster. Well cared for. We even saw a deer with antlers!

Always such a fun place to visit! The nature trails are so peaceful to visit! A great place to take friends and family! Love the benches they have along the path too where you can sit down and just take in the nature for a bit! Also we went during the fall festival and they had free scarecrow making / contest for the best scare crow! It was so cute and it was free for everyone! Such a wonderful place!

A secret piece of nature surrounded by the city. Great place to meditate and get away from the hectic parts of life.

Wonderful nature walking park. Good for single person enjoying flowers, butterflies and birds. CGood to share with friends. Romantic in many ways. Lots of ladies with kids walked on the paths.

Really nice nature area with lots of variety of landscape. Just enough for a nice walk. The wetlands and savanna were a pleasure to experiment. A bit busy on the weekend.

Very nice nature walk. I love birds, so Ill have to come back in the Spring.

Such a hidden treasure with in the city!Waterfall, beautiful hiking, places to sit and read. A wonderful afternoon!

Been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Best if visited in fall or winter in my opinion!

Family Friendly trails!It is nice for a refreshing hiking.

Hard to believe such a lovely natural oasis exist in the heart of the north side. Nice manageable trails, and several places to sit and meditate quietly. The staff has always been nice, helpful and friendly. This is one of my favorite nature getaways when Im feeling overwhelmed by urban life. Im lucky enough to always get to see deer everytime I go walk the trails which is fun.

Truly a treasure. The paths thru the forest and Savannah were beautiful with a amazing Lily pond.

There was a sign that read, sanctuary in the city. How true. I felt like I was far from the city on a relaxing nature vacation. Its really a beautiful place. It reminds us how incredible nature is.

Beautiful place for a beautiful walk.

Visit with friends at a beautiful part of Chicago tucked away from the hustle and bustle. Waterfalls, deer, and friendly faces.

A tiny escape from the big busy city. A beautiful reminder of what this area once was

Great to walk along paths to see ponds, trails nature, wetland and prairie land, etc

A wonderful place to go as a family , or alone/ theres a great big waterfall to sit near that is peaceful & calming.

Its an amazing place, but you might have trouble finding your way in.Simply enter on peterson Avenue and go down the road to the apartments, and turn right at the fork.

Great place in the city to take in some nature. Perfect for little ones and very easy trails

Beautiful hiking trails of natural marshlands

Friendly staff and well-maintained pathways.

Always great to visit the nature preserve.

This place is lovely. All sorts of animals teaming through out the preserve. Several deer were out and about that seemed interested in peoples presence. Potential raccoon sightings and the whole trail is great for a healthy walk. Great to walk in all seasons.

Its a nice, clean place to go for a walk.

Great place to learn about the diiverse ecological environments which existed prior to Chicagos founding.

Beautiful scenes, pretty flowers, and lots of places to take pictures. I really like this park!

Beautiful nature, a lot of trees to climb on

This is a lovely nature spot on the Northwest side, about 5 minutes from our house, and we have been coming here for 30 years. We love it, from the large ponds, to the older oak and Maple Groves. Didnt see any deer today, but they are there for sure.

A beautiful jem in the north side.

Nice to hike with your family.

Really nice public park, easy to forget youre in the city! Wish it were a tad more wheelchair accessible, the old ramp was not necessarily made for modern wider wheelchairs. We like walking the main loop! Staff are nice people, and the events they hold are always enjoyable.

The trails we muddy and thats what i expected and was happy to have. I cant wait to come back further into spring! The woman in the nature center (i wish we had gotten her name) was so helpful and kind. She explained so many things to us.

We come here very often all year round. We love the trail.

Peaceful and serene nature trails. Will be revisiting on the regular.

Wonderful escape inside city.

This place was my escape when life was too harsh on me when I lived in Chicago.

A verdant, placid urban oasis. Lovely.

Great place to interact with nature animals do roam freely, dont startle the deer

Great trails perfect for little ones, lots of take wildlife, great nature center. Too bad they choose not to support the continuation of Forest Play School. That was a real loss!

What a beautiful place for a walk in the city!

A gem of some nature trails - without leaving Chicago

Beautiful park!!!

Beautiful park! We had a great time cross country skiing and enjoy the scenery.

Beautiful quiet place to walk around. Good accessible paths out of wood chips. Deer, fox and other animals can be seen at times.

Its accessible yet secluded

Would have given this place a five-star rating, but the people working at the desk inside the Nature Center can be standoffish, short, and generally not too friendly

A wonderful place for an easy, short hike/ walk on Chicagos far north side. The field house is open regularly and has public restrooms, a few displays and hosts special events and classes, many for children. The site itself is full of history and was once a tuberculosis center. There are always deer and birds to be seen. Weve often seen turtles and bullfrogs as well. The trails are easy and not at all long. We usually walk the loops multiple times.

Excellent nature trails and hiking. Also great events like the fall festival. Definitely worth checking out.

Very nice place to go

Great hikes. Good book rooms for reading to kids.

Nice nature trail within city limits. Not huge but a great place to spend an hour or so.

I love this place so much! It is a hidden treasure in the middle of Chicago.

Nice place for a 30 min walk.

Beautiful space with lots of restoration happening. Has some of the last remaining tall grass prairie in the City! Nice place for a stroll away from the city.....in the city. Check it out!

Great place to float in the middle of the city

A beautiful nature trail in Chicago. Friendly people.

A great nature center. Great little place away from busy city life to relax.

Peace very peasant.they have things to no matter how old or young

They ought to open up the center on weekends.

Nice, relaxing park most of the time. Animals used to run this area... they return... most people dont like them so I wonder why theyre even here. Depending where in this park you go, you can see Nature as you wouldnt expect in the city. . You just have to look.

A Beautiful nature preserve

This is a neat little gem in far north chicago metro and let me just say, the staff are awesome. ive never seen a bad trail there and theyre all well kept and marked. kids and adults programs are wonderful and i would recommend junior counseling in the summer, or doing the camps themselves for younger kids.now for the park: it is an awesome park although pretty small, you might need to walk trails a few times to notice/encounter lots of wildlife. good for families although avoid the board walk as it is easy to fall in if pushed. relatively accessible for wheelchairs as there is a ramp and banisters. if you are a person stopping by that appreciates nature then you will not be disappointed. generally most people are actually surprised with how good it is. thanks for reading my essay and im doctor phil, and youre watching disney channel.PEACEEEE

Great place to feel like youre out of the city and with nature.

Thanks for opening the nature trail. We really needed it today.

Cool place for families. Lovely nature center and trail.

Nice walking paths!

Beautiful paths along wetlands, with deer walking around like youre not even there. There are frogs in the wetlands and many other animals you might not expect to see in Chicago proper (albeit getting close to the burbs). The center has classes and fun discovery activities. The nice folks who work there round out the experience. Highly recommend.

I miss going to the nature center every weekend. We moved out to Elgin, but when we lived in Chicago the kids would always like to go to the nature center every weekend. So peaceful. I wish they had one out here in Elgin.

Believe me when I say that despite its comparative lack of size this is a nature preserve you can easily get lost in. Access from three different points of interest (two of which are on CTA bus routes, namely Pulaski and Peterson) and a whole vista of stuff to check out and temporarily forget youre surrounded by a city of 2.8 million people.

My husband was impressed this place was right here all these years and he never knew. Its not easy to impress him! Cool little place with a couple of nice trails to check out.

Always a nice place to take a short walk through the woods. The traffic surrounding the woods is kind of a deterrent, but that’s just how Chicago woods are in general. It has a parking lot so it’s very easy to get to.Also, if you need to recycle a large amount of stuff that won’t fit in a blue bin, take it here...there’s a drop off here on the left by the entrance.

This is always a nice place to go to. If you early vote, you can go here to do that. The nature trail is fun to walk on. The people that work here real nice and theres also a recycling Resource Center over here. Thats a nice park and there are some old buildings to look at and you can just enjoy yourself over here.

Very relaxing

We went for the maple syrup festival today and it was fun for the kids and adults. It was cold but I think we wouldve stayed much longer if it had been warmer. Well definitely be back for other events or just to explore!

Great place for kids to see deer, frogs, turtles and other animals in the wild. Many signs just got updated describing the habitats. Wonderful escape from city life!

Wonderful spot in the city to have walk in the woods.Nature Center often has excellent programs.We love to come, this is precious place in the city.

This is a wonderful place to visit with your kids or friends on the north side. Plenty of parking, easy access, friendly and helpful staff.

This is such a wonderful place for kids. I have fantastic memories of this place from 2 decades ago. Its still a great place for a walk, but all the events Ive been to since feel really kid-oriented.

Great place to get out of the city and family friendly.

Nice place to walk an see the and herons

Where else can one enjoy a picnic to a choir of red wing blackbirds?

A peaceful getaway in the city. The stewards here, do an amazing job with this reserve. Great way to unplug.

Great place to take a walk...lots of nature to be seen even in winter. Definitely worth a trip!

Amazing tranquility.

Very nice drive.Saw a Mommy & her baby.

If you havent been then youre missing out! Staff very friendly and knowledgeable!

Get your nature on at this great refuge in the city. Many of deer. Changing seasonal landscapes. Good field house with helpful docents. Regular community events. Surrounding park has a community garden and play lot as well as open field for running and kite flying and scenic WPA stonework.

Beautiful place, as close as one can get to nature in the city. During my trip I saw some red-tailed hawks, deer, and much more. Truly a marvel and worth checking out.

Great for young kids to get out of the house! My 2, 5, & 8 year old walked all the trails and enjoyed their animal sightings - deer, hawks, heron, ducks, geese, caterpillars, and LOTS of squirrels!

Wonderful natural getaway in the city. Walk the extensive paths and relax among the trees and plants.

Love this place....deers, beautiful birds, toads, ponds, bridges, .....very scenic for a morning stroll.

This is a wonderful place to experience a small dose of nature. Young kids will love the reading center. There are great, free activities year-round, and it is a good site for field trips for primary through intermediate school groups. Upper grade students also enjoy the site, but quickly exhaust the activities.

This is aways a great place to get a little closer to nature, right in the middle of the city!