20 of the Best Playgrounds in North and Northwest Chicago and Suburbs
Your guide to the best playgrounds to bring your kids to.
Thanks to @upon.the.wildflowers and based on her own experiences, I’ve put together this amazing list of playgrounds in the near North & Northwest part of the city and suburbs, as well as the farther North & Northwest suburbs!
@upon.the.wildflowers started her social media presence in September of 2023, as a way to start compiling a list of - not only playgrounds - but all the wonderful indoor and outdoor places she visits with her young son; these include playgrounds, nature centers, libraries, indoor play places and so much more!
Be sure to follow her both on Facebook and Instagram.
All photos used in this blog post are credited to @upon.the.wildflowers. Descriptions on each playground is copied directly from @upon.the.wildflowers Instagram page.
Playgrounds featured in this post are located in:
Chicago
Morton Grove
Skokie
Norridge
Niles
Park Ridge
Wheeling
Mount Prospect
Rolling Meadows
Glenview
Palatine
Schaumburg
“We discovered a “Floor is Lava” themed park today in Skokie, and it was so awesome! This park is huge! It has soft turf, an obstacle course, tons of climbing structures, huge slides, and interactive games within the playground. There is also a pretty big splash pad, so we are going to check that out this summer. This playground is an absolute MUST for your summer playground wishlist.”
- Parking: Street parking
- Restrooms on site
- “Floor is Lava” theme
- Multiple huge slides
- Climbing structures
- Obstacle course
- Interactive games
- Soft turf
- Splash pad
02. Indian Boundary Park
2500 W Lunt Ave
Chicago IL 60645
“This playground is obviously super unique because of its rustic wood layout, and it is massive! There are so many awesome nooks and hidden areas to explore. There are a few slides, huge tires for the kids to climb, a tire swing, and a nature playground that opens in the Spring.”
- Parking: Free street parking
- Restrooms on site
- All wooden structures
- Large tires for climbing
- Nature playground
- Benches in shade
- Walking path
- Wooden train
- Tire swing
03. Oakton Park
Oakton Community Center
4701 Oakton St
Skokie IL 60076
“It has two levels, an amazing music dance game, and a sand pit with excavator diggers. It seemed like there was endless things to do, and we could have stayed there for hours. There is also a water park which we want to come check out this summer! Such a great find!”
- Parking: Parking lot
- Restrooms inside Exploritorium
- Tons of trees & shade
- Lots of seating
- Dance music game
- Sand pit with excavators
- Multiple slides of all sizes
- Toddler friendly structures
- Some challenging structures
04. Prospect Park
733 N Prospect Ave
Park Ridge IL 60068
“This playground is close by, and has a fun pirate theme. It has an awesome splash pad directly next to it, which is also pirate themed. This park is filled with toddler friendly structures, a rope climbing wall, and tons of slides. It has soft turf and a huge shaded gazebo. There’s a small path that wraps around the park as well, which is perfect for a stroll.”
- Parking: Large parking lot
- Restrooms on site
- Large shaded gazebo
- Soft turf throughout
- Rope climbing structures
- Pirate themed
- Splash pad
05. Peccia Park
5425 Brummel St
Skokie IL 60076
“So much space, bright colors, & tons of challenging structures. This playground had some neat features like a race car and see me swing. It had two huge tube slides, and interactive games within the jungle gym as well.”
- Parking: Street parking
- No restrooms on site
- Interactive games
- See Me Swing
- Tube slides
- Race car
06. Austin Foster Park
6020 W Foster Ave
Chicago IL 60630
“Super cute playground, with tons of slides and climbing structures. We loved how much space this spot had, and that it was mostly fenced in, and surrounded by tons of trees.”
- Parking: Street parking
- No restrooms on site
- Multiple slides
- Climbing ropes
- Various swings
- Toddler friendly
- Partially fenced in
- Lots of seating
07. Hiawatha Park
8029 W Forest Preserve Ave
Chicago IL 60634
“This park is newly renovated, has water fountains, a huge shaded gazebo, mounds and hills, a tire swing, and some other awesome features built in! The structures were mainly toddler friendly, but there were a few pretty advanced climbing structures as well.”
- Parking: Street parking
- Restrooms in Fieldhouse
- Elevated turf with mounds
- Toddler friendly feature
- Challenging features
- Large shaded gazebo
- Water fountains
- Partially gated in
- Along busy street
08. Merrimac Park
6343 W Irving Pk Rd
Chicago IL 60634
“I absolutely love the hills and terrain on this turf playground. There were so many unique features for toddlers. There’s a pretty cool splash pad too that we need to check out next summer. This park was a 10/10 in our book!”
- Parking: Street parking
- Restrooms inside park district
- Seating area with shade
- Unique turf with hills
- Toddler friendly
- Splash pad
09. Earl J Field Memorial Playground
4631 N Overhill Ave
Norridge IL 60706
“This park had its iconic spaceship playground, along with a smaller, less challenging park right next to it.
Side Note: Due to its tall layout, once your child has gotten to the top of the spaceship, the only way back down is climbing all the ladders backwards or going down a very long tunnel slide. If your kid is not comfortable with either of these on their own, I would avoid this part of the playground.”
- Parking: Street parking
- Restroom inside park district
- Both easy & challenging structures
- Limited shade
- Scattered benches for seating
10. Oak Park
8452 N Overhill Ave
Niles IL 60714
“This park was pretty big, and looked newly updated. The features were the perfect challenge level for Cam, and there was plenty of seating and shade.”
- Parking: Private parking lot
- No restrooms on site
- Toddler friendly structures
- Clean & maintained
- Plenty of shade
- Lots of seating
- Far from busy street
11. Mansfield Park
5830 Church St
Morton Grove IL 60053
“This playground was really neat, I loved the colors and play structures. It had a sandpit with excavators, so we obviously had to put it on our list of playgrounds!”
- Parking: Street parking
- No restrooms on site
- Easy & challenging structures
- Plenty of shade
- Lots of seating
- Sandpit with excavators
- Gorgeous, quiet neighborhood
- Path along the park
- Forest Preserve nearby
“This playground is newly renovated and is just amazing! It’s fully fenced in, has soft grass turf, multiple huge slides, a music garden, hot wheels structure, and a large shaded gazebo. If you walk down towards the lake there is a toddler zip line as well! If you feel like hitting up another park, you can walk across the field to Kimball Hill Park as well.”
- Parking: Parking lot
- No restrooms on site
- Hot wheels structure
- Fully fenced in
- Music garden
- See Me Swing
- Large slides
- Soft grass turf
13. Burning Bush Trails
1313 N Burning Bush Ln
Mount Prospect IL 60056
“The playground has a sandpit, a toddler area with smaller structures, a climbing rope area, and of course the super tall climbing structures that this playground is known for. There's not much safety in place in case a kid does in fact lose their balance and fall. I would say this part of the playground is for kids 6 and up. All in all, we had a great time, and we walked around the path a few times as well, which was nice.”
- Parking: Parking lot
- Restrooms on site
- Challenging features
- Toddler friendly area
- Spinning chairs
- Sandpit
14. Playground at Historic Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Rd
Glenview IL 60026
“This farm is absolutely wonderful. We love everything about it, from the farm animals, to the museum, to the incredible playground they offer within the farm.”
- Parking: Parking lot across street
- Restrooms inside museum
- Toddler friendly structures
- Climbing cornstalks
- Roller slide
- Tire swing
- Sand pit
- Garden
15. Heritage Park
582 US-45
Wheeling IL 60090
“The entire layout was so unique and had soft turf throughout. There was hills and mounds, SO MANY slides, a music garden, climbing ropes, and everything was toddler friendly. Loved the bright colors and design. There is a water park right next to it, which we really want to check out this summer. Five stars in our book!”
- Parking- Huge parking lot
- Restrooms inside park district
- Soft turf throughout
- Toddler friendly structures
- Hills and mounds
- See Me Swing
- Large Roller slide
- Climbing ropes
- Spinning structure
- Walking path
- Tons of seating
- Shaded gazebo
16. Avalon Sienna Park
5 W Willow Rd
Wheeling IL 60090
“This playground has modern, colorful structures, with soft grass turf, and a huge shaded gazebo. I loved the cozy, woodsy feel of this spot. This playground is 5 stars in our book!”
- Parking: Street Parking
- No restrooms on site
- Gazebo with shade
- Music garden
- Grass turf
- See Me Swing
- Hot wheels track structure
- Toddler friendly structures
17. Bluett Park
1408 E Thayer St
Mount Prospect IL 60056
“This park is on a quiet street, surrounded by tall trees and plenty of shade. This playground has colorful prisms just like Maple Park in Palatine, and I absolutely love this feature! This park is great for toddlers, but has some challenging features as well. I love how peaceful this playground is as well. Super fun all around!!”
- Parking: Street Parking
- No restrooms on site
- Toddler friendly features
- Plenty of shade
- Plenty of seating
- Quiet neighborhood
- Far from busy streets
- Color prisms
18. Maple Park
316 N Winston
Palatine IL 60067
“Can we take a moment and talk about how absolutely awesome this playground is? Look at these fun colors and unique structures! This park is newly renovated, and absolutely blew us away. We spent about 2 hours here, and probably would have stayed longer if it wasn't raining! Everything here was toddler friendly, with a few advanced features thrown in. It was surrounded by nature, and so many gorgeous wildflowers. There was even an outdoor workout area next to it. Simply amazing! Five stars in our book!”
- Parking: Parking lot
- Restrooms on site
- Toddler friendly
- Fully fenced in
- Nature path
- Workout area
- Limited shade
19. Jackman Park
1011 Lehigh Ave
Glenview IL 60025
“I love how unique the play structures are. Everything was toddler friendly, and I felt very safe just relaxing on a bench in the shade, and letting him do his thing! This park is right along the Metra station, so he was super excited to watch the train come by every few minutes. Fantastic park. Five stars!”
- Parking: Street parking
- No restrooms on site
- Toddler friendly structures
- Fully fenced in
- Tons of seating
- Tons of shade
- Along the Metra
20. Meineke Ninja Warrior Park
220 E Weathersfield Way
Schaumburg IL 60193
“There were 2 playgrounds here, and they were both awesome. The Ninja Park was a bit advanced for Cam, but he was so brave and tried to do everything on the course. The second playground was huge, covered in grass turf, and had a bunch of unique features and structures. Loves the huge shaded gazebo as well. A fantastic find for sure!”
- Parking: Parking lot
- Restrooms inside park district
- Ninja Warrior Course
- Shaded gazebo with seating
- Toddler friendly structures
- Advanced structures
- Hills and mounds
- Roller slide
Where are your favorite playgrounds? Let me know in the comments!
Are you looking for something truly unique to do with your kids? Take a trip on a Metra train! There are 11 different train lines to choose from, each with multiple stops that are sure to entertain your kids.