Parks & Natural Areas

Urbs in Horto – City in a Garden – is Chicago’s motto. The Chicago Park District is one of the jewels of the city. In addition to more than 17 miles of parks along the lakefront, there are major parks throughout the city. Three in particular provide countless hours of enjoyment to University community members looking for recreation or a beautiful place to relax – Jackson Park, Washington Park, and the Midway Plaisance. For information on parks and programs, see:

• Chicago Park District
• Friends of the Parks
• Friends of the Chicago River

Other Natural Areas

• Forest Preserves – Cook County has extensive forest preserves to explore; the Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo are both on Forest Preserve land.
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore – If you go to the Indiana Dunes you can visit the Cowles Bog, named for a University of Chicago professor who was a pioneer of ecological science in the early twentieth century. The studies of Henry C. Cowles played a major role in the decision to establish the National Lakeshore. Photos of Cowles’s classes at work are available at the Ecology and the American Landscape Digital Archive