I had an amazing time exploring and hiking Veteran Acres Park. There is a wide variety of tree species and a rolling prairie. There is a special type of wetland called a fen in the forest preserve adjacent to here. The nature center is fascinating and is host to good information and some live animals. I recommend anyone living near Chicago to visit this beautiful land.

Beautiful park. Lots of land and great playgrounds. A couple of miles of scenic, holly hiking paths behind the park. Great place to go. Popular park, sometimes fairly crowded due to lack of other food parks in the area.

Our family loves Veteran Acres! We love visiting year round. In the warmer months my children love the splash pad, hiking, and exploring the trails. In the winter months they enjoy playing on the playground and hiking around the pond and visiting the Crystal Lake Park District Nature Center we can walk up to from the path. An enjoyable park weve come to the last 15 years and my husband even remembers going to this park when he was a kid. Beautiful place to enjoy!

We love this park and go here pretty frequently. The playground is designed for kids of all ages, which makes for many great ways to play. I recommend this place for families as well as adults who just want to go hiking on the trails.

Some of the only true mountain bike trails in the area. Some great winding single tracks that can get pretty challenging with lots of elevation change, and also some wide open prairie trails that are more family friendly. I ride here almost every day on my lunch break.

Day out on organised trip weather was horrendous but was saved by the wide variety of birds and animals the wife fell in love with the red pandas and the otters were as usual very entertaining all the birds in there bright plumage brightened up the day .. and not forgetting the wonderful staff helpful with questions and the cafe for coffee and a scone for a warm up after a walk round do not hesitate visit as soon as possible for a great experience.

Beautiful trails that meander through a rolling prairie landscape. The pond is filled with life from large birds to frogs and muskrats. I love to walk the trails in the early morning to listen to birds and smell the fresh air.

Great place for hiking and cycling. The veterans acres park borders with another state park which makes it a larger territory to enjoy. Its a mix of paved bicycle road and hiking trails, with most trails running through the pine and mixed forest so you can enjoy the fresh air and natural sounds. Not too busy during the weekdays but may get very crowded during the weekend, especially if weather is nice.

Awesome place. Splash pad and park are great. My kid loves it. Also good for sledding in the winter.

Ran here a couple times, including the Viking Dash. I survived, lol. Excellent trails for some technical work.

Took My GrandDaughter There!!Great PLAYGROUND FOR CHILDREN!!!! In Summer Has A Splash Pad....Has Washrooms....Has A Walking Trail You Can Do.Has Baby Swings..Loads Of Slides...Trees For Shade...Places To Sit If Needed...Can Have A Picnic Here!!LOVE THIS PLAYGROUND!!!!!!!

Many beautiful trails and my hometown favorite park! Many happy memories there.

Has little bit for everyone. Walking paths, playground, baseball diamonds. Great place for an engagement.

Even though it is currently a bit flooded, it is still a peaceful and serene place to visit. Plenty for the kids to do, hiking trails are beautiful, and the nature center is super informational. The restrooms are typically kept very clean.

Love hiking bike riding! You have to visit this beautiful place!

Great place. Great play area and splash pad for the kids.

I love that it intersects with the nature center and Stearns woods. Lots of great hiking.

I love this park, the nature trails are short but sweet my dog loves going here!

Nature rules. And there is plenty of nature and great running and hiking trials.

This may be the most compact and still legit trail run within and hour-ish of Chicago. Almost the entire trail is an incline or a decline (very few flat spots). Better in Fall as it can be hot an humid in summer. Lots of side trails apart from the main trail, which is mostly obvious to follow.

Beautiful place. Nice amenities, enjoy it very much here.

Wonderful place to take the kids. They loved the splash pad!!

Lovely park for a quick stroll around the pond or an hours long amble through the woods. When the nature center is open it is quite informative. Lots of turtles and frogs.

Ive been thru here on the bike trail. First time on the trails. Will return!

Great place lots of things to do. Park, baseball park, pond, hiking trails, tennis courts, basketball ball court, splash pad, large hill, lots of parking bathrooms on site. Trails could use a little work.

Great place to take the grandkids.

Clean facilities. Well thought out design of the playground and splash pad

Spent my childhood at this park. Great walking trails, lots to do!

What a wonderful thing to do on hot days! A very well taken care of property, the splash pad has a good enough amount of seating that my husband and I have always found a table or bench to sit at and be able to see where our children aren playing. The Park area has activities for all ages of kids, my kids are 1, 5 and 9 and they all had a wonderful time here. I know that there are more parts to this park but my family has not yet explored them Im sure theyre just as wonderful though as the part we did get to see!

Such a beautiful place to enjoy nature or spend time with your family.

We love veterans acres. The splash pad is now open and so much fun!

Always beautiful and so much to explore for all ages

Would have been nicer if there were bathrooms

Quite the jewel of a park. Beautiful hiking trails. Has everything from native open prairie areas to thick woods. Many parking areas around park allows you to access different trails.Has a great nature center (entrance off of Route 176 on South end), super fun and education for kids and adults.Main parking area off of Walkup Ave on the west side of park has playground and water feature area, along with real bathrooms and a large pavilion. In the winter sledding is popular with a great long n fast hill.No matter what your into, I think this place has it, except no skatepark.

We love it here! Walking trails and splash pad are our favorites. My dad was a happy tourist on the trails during his vacation from England. Bathrooms are very close to the splash pad, not the cleanest but usable in a pinch.Bring spare clothes and lots of sunscreen and hand sanitizer, the soap in the bathrooms isnt always full. Bug spray is a must if you go anywhere near the lake.Highly recommend this place.

Easy to take hiking trips with kids. Well maintained, nice park for kids, bathrooms, trails are marked and on your cell phone.

I like the variety of prairie and forest that can be found here. Its a great place for a walk.

Nice park. A lot of parking. Easy access.

Good place to hike. Great hills and scenery. A lot of trails. Nice bike path. Definitely wear bug soray.!

Perfect for a small Intimate wedding

Nice little splash pad and park for the little ones to play on and in. Trails

Couldnt be more grateful for finding this park. Its right by my place. Beautiful place to go jogging/ hiking or even just walking in. The nature there is beautiful. You can meditate, read a book, play music if youre not into doing sports. Thank you Crystal Lake for having this beautiful park :)

Playground with splash pad. Bike trails close by. Connected with nature center. Huge lawn with baseball field

Always crowded. Nice park, but way better options if youre not looking to interact with people

Loved the nature path around the lake!

Beautiful place to enjoy long walks.

Im excited to find this park

Love it! Fun for whole family! Love the trail!

We have had a blast here rain or shine! A lot to do for many ages! The splash pad is so much fun to cool off in on a hot day and the playground and picnic shelter provides a nice break up of activity to spend a lot of time and run the littles energy out for a good nap time with no fights!! We love this park and will be back again and again!!!

This park will always surprise you, clean, well maintained and the most beautiful is its small museum. Museum employees happy to help and explain you about their butterfly and bee farm. a magical place because you can find a source of heat relief at its source. You can walk and enjoy the outdoors.

Ive never been here and Im sorry about that. Veterans need all recognition that they can get. This most likely is an area honoring Americans that made sure the rest of us have our freedom. You shouldnt just thank a veteran, you should ask how theyre doing , if they need anything and shake their hand.

Is very clean and quiet, bathrooms are kept clean

Great trails for a hike. Needs better maps.

Open splash part, court, beautiful wLking trail

Super fun place for the kiddos

Lovely place for a walk, bring bug spray!

A lovely place for everyone. Designated park area for young kids and walking trails. Good place to go if you are autistic and need an outdoor space that has quiet areas. Very Jurassic Park looking in summer. Lots of photo opportunities. The sledding hill is legendary.

I love the peace this place brings me

First time here, and will definitely return! Splash pad is a ton of fun for the kiddos. My son had a blast!

Clean, peaceful park with a few mild-moderate trails.

Nice trails. Fairly clean. Fun park to explore.

Nice place with a playground and open restrooms.

Its a beautiful park!

A really neat park. We played on the playground, walked the trail to the butterfly garden and saw a cool bee hive. The attendant was very helpful. Definitely worth a visit!

To many rock and tree limbs on walking paths

Great place for biking, hiking and relaxing

VA is an absolute local gem. Its owned by the Crystal Lake Park District and very well maintained. A newer splash pad, multiple playgrounds, ball fields, tennis courts, open space, (older somewhat rusted) grills, clean bathrooms, and shelters are all part of the park. You can reserve areas with the District for a fee.

Such a nice park to visit!

A bit small for long hikes but a very nice park. Along with the woods and nature center, the park also has a small pond, picnic areas, plenty of parking and playground. Great sledding hill during the winter. Take precautions against ticks as Ive heard many reports from dog owners.

Wonderful park! Great nature center, staff was knowledgeable and engaging. Beautiful hiking trails and a great play park with splash pad. Definitely recommend for an hour or a day!

Love walking here, but it is ALWAYS flooded. Needs another bridge or boardwalk to make it usable. Great splash pad, butterfly house is fun to visit, and many other paths to walk.

The Luminaria Walk was fun. Never been in the park at night. Was a great experience.

Wonderful park for the kiddos, even better if you enjoy trail running!

Beautiful nature preserve with pristine views

This is a beautiful park. My kids love the playground, splash pad and nature center. They enjoy the butterfly exhibit as well. I have always enjoyed the walking trails.

Well, it is better than some, but not all, so three stars. What else do you want me to say people. That is has public bathrooms and benches, well it probably does. I dont know because I parked and walked down a paved road, which turned out to be the Prairie Trail.So maybe it was nice inside of wherever the actual park was, but I just walked my dog over the hills and through the high tension power lines, so yeah... Have fun, and dont forget your sunscreen, u less you are the bubble boy.Hey bubble boy, by the way, if you see this please respond to my emails, I miss you buddy.

Clean park with a great spalsh pad and a few playground structures. Many benches and picnic tables for seating. There is also a nature trail that leads to a peaceful pond with fish and turtles.

Enjoyed the splash pad when it was hot. The ritious hill with sleds when it snows.

Beautiful place!

Beautiful place for a walk. be aware if you have little kids that there are some areas with a lot of stairs on hills.

Nice park.

Excellent park! Has everything you need.

Other than the hack photographers that sometimes take up the entire paths by the pond, its fairly nice. Stop throwing your Starbucks cups anywhere you feel soccer moms.

Great suburban park. Most people do not realize that it is in the middle of a large trail from the Wisconsin border going south for 60 plus miles.

Has always been a great place to visit! Great for hiking, a ball game, a picnic, and the nature center is a fun place to visit too!

Beautiful area (along with Sternes Woods) for hiking or biking

Large splash pad that is open all summer. Nice pond and you can walk around. Two play areas. Hiking areas. Sledding is set up during the winter.

I had a really nice time. We were thinking about going fishing. We settled on a cookout, and a bon fire! My buddy, his daughter. Me and my son. I think that everyone enjoyed themselves. I havent been myself in a lot of years. I used to go on the nature walks back when I was just a young boy. I wont forget about this place again.

Secluded, quiet park in the middle of a bustling suburban area. A little weird in its layout, but it was still nice.

Great sledding hill after it snows.

Huge place with tons of trails, theres also a splash park thats the main reason I visit with my daughter. Great fun to be had, awesome photo opportunities, and an overall nice place.

A beautiful place to spend a fall weekend with Scouts BSA & Cub Scouting.

Great trails , great play ground snd splash park , great picnic shelters and the grounds are well kept

I love to come here and just think and pray

Sledding never gets old here in the winter. Been going since I was a kid and now I bring my kids!

Veterans acres is a wonderful place to relax, play-great kids area, or take in baseball, cross country running, and other events. I didnt rate it 5 star because its been changed over the years, and I miss the old open walking areas around the pond.

Beautiful, fun splash pad for kids. My 89 year old dad who has Altzheimers just loves to come here.

A lovely place for a walk or a picnic.

Wonderful place

I went there with my sister and her kids it was a great experience. One thing that I would gi e a little caution to is the brick steps that is going down to the main walking area my nephew slipped on them. The park was great there was kids theyre playing around and during the summer time the splash park is on. If you like Outdoors I would recommend going there.