Getting outside in Chicago: the lakefront, the big parks and the trails between them

Chicago's front yard is Lake Michigan, and the city has kept most of its shoreline open to the public. Behind the beaches sit the great parks of the 1800s, newer nature areas carved from old industrial land, and trails that let you cross whole neighborhoods without dodging traffic. Here is a guide to the places residents use most, with the Chicago Park District's own rules for staying safe.

The lakefront

The Lakefront Trail runs from Ardmore Avenue on the North Side to 71st Street on the South Side, about 18 miles for bikes and 18.5 miles for walkers and runners. Since a 2018 project, cyclists and pedestrians have had separate paths along most of it, which makes a morning run far calmer than it used to be. The Park District posts section-by-section maps and an interactive access map on its trail page.

Along the way, the shoreline changes character. Montrose Beach, on the North Side, has a rare dune and panne habitat with endangered plants, a natural area south of the swimming beach where migrating birds rest in spring and fall, and a dog-friendly beach at its north end. Downtown, Northerly Island is a 119.7-acre peninsula with paved strolling paths, a five-acre pond and skyline views, planted with roughly 20,000 trees and shrubs that draw migrating and resident birds. Its visitor center closes on Bears home game days and for permitted events.

The Park District counts 27 beaches along 26 miles of free, open lakefront.

The great parks

Jackson Park, on the South Side, covers about 550 acres. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux laid it out after the South Park Commission hired them in 1869, and it hosted the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Wooded Island holds the Garden of the Phoenix, a Japanese garden that marks the friendship between the United States and Japan dating to the fair, and Yoko Ono's lotus sculpture SKYLANDING, dedicated in 2016. Bobolink Meadow, the cherry trees around the Columbian Basin and the 63rd Street Beach are close by. The park now also holds the Obama Presidential Center, whose 19-acre campus is free and open daily. After a walk, Medici on 57th, a Hyde Park restaurant and bakery since 1962, is a few blocks west on 57th Street.

On the North Side, Lincoln Park runs along the lakefront from Ohio Street Beach in Streeterville north to Ardmore Avenue in Edgewater. It began as a small public cemetery at the city's northern edge; in 1860 the city set aside part of that land as Lake Park, renamed for Abraham Lincoln shortly after his death. Today it holds Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lincoln Park Conservatory, the North Pond Nature Sanctuary, North Avenue and Oak Street beaches and the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary.

On the West Side, Humboldt Park covers about 197 acres. Jens Jensen, a Danish immigrant who rose from laborer to park superintendent, used it to try out his Prairie style and stretched its lagoon into a long, winding prairie river; the park also has a historic boathouse, a fieldhouse and an inland beach. Its old stables near Paseo Boricua now house a museum of Puerto Rican arts and culture, and the park hosts the Puerto Rican Festival.

On the Far Southeast Side, Big Marsh Park in South Deering covers about 300 acres, about 45 of them developed for recreation. It has asphalt and gravel paths, a bike park with BMX jump lines, a pump track and single-track courses, nature play areas, and good birding. The Ford Calumet Environmental Center runs school trips and volunteer days there.

On the Northwest Side, North Park Village Nature Center at 5801 N. Pulaski Rd. calls itself the first nature center within the city. More than 58 acres of woodland, wetland, prairie and savanna are threaded with paths, and it is open daily except holidays.

Trails across the neighborhoods

The Bloomingdale Trail is the centerpiece of The 606, an elevated path on the Northwest Side that connects at ground level to four neighborhood parks, with an observatory and art along the way. It is open every day from early morning until late evening, and it is popular with walkers, runners and cyclists. Margie's Candies, the family-run ice cream parlor that has stood at Western and Armitage in Bucktown since 1921, is a short walk from where the trail crosses Western Avenue.

Staying safe, season by season

In summer, the Park District asks swimmers to use only its beaches, and only while lifeguards are on duty during the season, which runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day. Learn the flags: green means no restrictions, yellow means a swim advisory, and red means swimming is banned. Red flags go up for lightning, high winds, high surf or poor water quality, and conditions can change during the day. The Park District tests the water every morning in season and posts the results the same day.

From fall through spring, swimming anywhere along the lakefront is prohibited, and the Park District calls swimming outside its designated beaches dangerous.

This fall and winter, expect work zones on the Lakefront Trail. In September the Park District announced repairs that will move section by section from the south end northward over several months, with signs placed ahead of each work area. The Park District has also been holding town halls on new rules for e-bikes, e-scooters and other motorized vehicles on its paths, so check for updates before riding.

Maps and conditions

The Park District's Lakefront Trail page has the interactive access map, section maps and its trail symbols guide, and it posts alerts there and on its beach page, including daily swim status in summer. Park pages for Northerly Island, Jackson Park, Big Marsh and North Park Village list hours and closures. Check them before you go, and dress for the lake: the wind off the water can feel very different from the forecast a mile inland.