Park Ridge, Illinois is nestled near O'Hare International Airport just 1/2 an hour from Downtown Chicago. Its population is currently 37,775. Park Ridge was originally known as Pennyville, for George Penny. He requested that the city be renamed Brickton, because he managed a brick kiln in the city. Later, the city changed the name from Brickton to Park Ridge for its location "on a ridge, in a park-like setting". The name was thought to be suggested by Park Ridge's first village president, George B. Carpenter. One of the Park Ridge schools are named after him, and the local art center is named Brickton.
Size-0.3 Acres
Amenities-Soccer fields, Playground, Lighted walking path, benches.
Mary Q. Alberding Park- 1502 North Northwest Highway
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Space |
This park is a small triangular plot of land with some trees, and a bench. We would say that this park is okay for a picnic, or playing catch. If you live near this park, it is definitely worth checking out, especially because not many people use it. This park was named after Mary Quaite Alberding who was the former park board president for the Park Ridge Park District.
Size-0.25 Acres
Amenities-Bench.
Northwest Park-1200 North Dee Road
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Field |
This park has a very large open space area which you can run around or play catch. The playground is only 2 years old and has some new equipment which is not at many other parks in the vicinity. At this park they have 4 baseball fields (3 small fields and one major field mainly played by the park district). There is a dense small wooded area at the edge of the playground. This park borders Franklin Elementary School which in turn makes the park seem even larger than it really is.
Size-13 Acres
Amenities-Outdoor Ice Skating (weather permitting), Baseball fields, Grass Fields, Football, Picnic Area, Playground
Francis Park-1140 Good Avenue
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| Park Sign and Space |
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| Park Sign |
Francis Park is similar to Mary Q. Alberding Park, but there is more open space and fewer trees. We like that Francis park has a bench. This park is loud because it is on Busse Highway, but it still can be serene for people who are reading on the bench.
Size-O.25 Acres
Amenities-Bench
Oakton Park-2800 West Oakton Street
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| Park Sign |
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| Park building |
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| Driving Range |
This park has many features. First of all, there is a Driving Range for golfing. Across the parking lot is the main building. That houses the indoor ice skating rink, open to the public year round. The building also has a ice skate shop, bathrooms, and party rooms. In the back of the park property, there are outdoor batting cages, and a member only dog park is tucked around the corner.
Size-16.5 Acres
Amenities-Indoor ice skating, Golf range, Batting cages, Dog Park.
Maine Park-2701 West Sibley Street
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Playground |
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| Park Building |
Maine Park has a large field for playing baseball and soccer. Just beyond that, there are a flurry or walking paths, and a large playground. The playground also has a large sandbox. The building next to the playground used to be an elementary school called James Madison School (1960s), but now it is a preschool and the headquarters of the Park Ridge Park District. This park is frequently used by the Park District for summer camps and other functions.
Size-10.1 Acres
Amenities-Maine Park Leisure Center, Baseball field, Soccer field, Picnic area, Playground, Walking trails, and Recreation Center.
Wildwood Nature Center (
At Maine Park)
-527 Forestview Avenue
The Nature Center is a great place to visit. You can visit from Tuesday to Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and also on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. It is closed on Sunday, Monday, and Friday. At the Nature Center, there is lots to do. Inside the building, there is a playroom (The Nature Nook), an animal room (The Animal Exhibit Room), and a party room. During the summer, there are many registration only day camps. The Nature Center includes a large prairie with lagoons and various types of walking/biking paths. There is a dock on the lake for fishing.
Amenities-Nature Center, Lagoon, Prairie, Fishing, Fishing dock, Walking trails, Butterfly garden, Picnic area, Campfire pit, Prairie garden, Rain garden.
Centennial Park-100 South Western Avenue
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Playground |
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| Park Sled Hill |
Centennial Park is the largest park in Park Ridge. It has unique facilities such as a sledding hill, bocce ball lanes and horseshoes. They have 2 seasonal soccer fields and 2 baseball fields. Around the park they have a walking path and off of the path they have a rather large playground. They have a pool that is smaller and has a diving board and a wading pool for kids. To optimize use for seniors, they have a senior center located at the same address. While there seniors can talk to friends and make new ones. Some amenities include play pool, an art gallery, to large screen TV's, and four ping pong tables.
Size: 17 Acres
Amenities (Park) - Swimming pool, wading pool, baseball fields, grass fields, soccer, picnic areas, playground, walking paths, horseshoes, bocce ball, sled hill
Amenities (Senior Center) - Ceramic room and kiln, two pool tables, four ping pong tables, full service kitchen, stage with microphones, baby grand piano, two digital pianos, art gallery, ceramics and wood carving display cases, large meeting hall, classroms, exercise equipment (classes only), outdoor grills, game tables, two large screen tv's, wii video system, libary
Southwest Park-1600 South Lincoln Avenue
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Playground and Basketball Courts |
This park is medium in size and has a large field that takes up 3/4 of the park. The playground and the basketball court are next to each other, bordering Lincoln Avenue. These baseball that the park has are generally in use by the park district by younger kids.
Size: 6.9 Acres
Amenities: Baseball Fields, Grass fields, soccer, football, basketball court, playground
Brickton Park- 801 West Glenlake Avenue
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Playground |
Brickton Park is the site of a former elementary school in Park Ridge called Merrill School. When you enter from Glenlake you go through a playground on a path leading to the soccer fields and past those you can find a baseball field off of Peterson Avenue. The playground is pretty new also less
than ten years old.
Size: 5 Acres
Amenities: Baseball field, grass field, soccer, playground, bench, drinking fountain
Jaycee Park-1515 South Washington Street
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| Park Playground |
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| Park Sign |
Jaycee Park is the farthest West Park in Park Ridge. This is one of the four parks in Park Ridge that have tennis courts. There is also a Playground, drinking fountain, among many others.
Size-5.2 Acres
Amenities-Tennis courts, Baseball fields, Grass fields, Soccer, Basketball courts, Playground, Drinking fountain
South Park-833 West Talcott Road
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| Park Playground |
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Baseball Field |
South Park is a special park. It is one of the few parks that have seasonal ice skating on the grass field. There is also a small wading pool with a slide. There is a fee to enter the wading pool. The playground is right next to the wading pool. Tennis courts are also at this park, and they are lighted. Also, Kalina field is a great baseball field. It has bleachers, flood lights, and a scoreboard. At Park Ridge organized baseball games, there are announcers that call out the names of the players. The South Park Recreation center houses a dance and gymnastics studio. They also have a large meeting room and full kitchen at the rec center.
Size-5.8 Acres
Amenities-Recreation center, Lighted walkways, Outdoor ice skating (weather permitting), Wading pool (for small children), Grass fields, Tennis courts, Baseball fields, Playground, Drinking fountain.
Ridge Park- 501 West Belleplaine Avenue
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| Park Space |
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| Park Sign |
This park is a small plot of land with many bushes in it. It cannot be used for many sports or any at all. There is a bench where people can read or just rest. This park is like Mary Q Alberding or Francis Park.
Size-0.25 Acres
Amenities-Bench
Rotary Park- 400 South Washington Street
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| Park Playground |
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| Park Sign |
Rotary Park is nestled at the end of a street, overlooking the railroad tracks. The centerpiece of this park is definitely the playground. It is of normal size, and has benches around the park. There is also a basketball court and grass area surrounding
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Size-0.5 Acres
Amenities-Basketball courts, Playground, Benches.
Hodges Park-101 South Courtland Avenue
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| Park Sign |
Hodges Park is a different kind of park. First of all, it is directly on front of the Park Ridge City Hall. It also has a War Memorial and a Campfire Girls Decorative Fountain. There are also benches and a drinking fountain.
Size-0.75 Acres
Amenities-Picnic area, War Memorial, Campfire Girls Decorative Fountain, Drinking fountain.
Cumberland Park-101 South Cumberland
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Place to Sit |
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| Park Space |
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| Park Walking Path |
Cumberland Park is in the shape of a large triangle, and it is also close to Uptown Park Ridge. It is mostly a large field, but it also has a couple trees in the enter with a walking path, benches, and a drinking fountain.
Size-2.2 Acres
Amenities-Outdoor Seating Area, Drinking Fountain.
Hinkley Park-25 Busse Highway
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Playground |
This park has a very large grass area. They have many baseball fields, and they are the biggest size in all the park fields. There are no soccer fields but a very large grass field that takes up a 1/3 of the area of the park. They also have 6 tennis courts that are right next to the beach volleyball court next to a church. This park is also a very popular park with the playground. Lastly this park has a long pool with 1 diving board and it can be very crowded
Size-12.5 Acres
Amenities-Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts, Baseball Fields, Grass Fields, Football, Basketball Courts, Playground, Sand Volleyball, Drinking Fountain, Bathroom
Hinkley Skate Park- 283 Busse Highway
This is the one and only skate park in Park Ridge, it is the same size of the Hinkley Pool and right next to it. It a half pipe and a bank to bank ramp plus a few grind boxes.
Amenities-12' wide by 5' high half pipe, approximately 40' of 4' high quarter pipe, 24' of 5' high quarter pipe, 12' wide by 4' high spine ramp, one bank to bank ramp, two 4' launch boxes, one 5' launch box, three pyramids; one with a grind rail, two grind boxes, two stand alone grind rails, several launch ramps, skate table, Washroom, Benches.
Morgan Park-302 North Ashland Avenue
Morgan Park is a very long park. It stretches two blocks long, with Cherry Street dividing it in half. It is a wonderful wooded park with dotted trees.
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| Northern Side Park Picture |
Size-2.5 Acres
Amenities-Open space
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| Park Sign |
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| Southern Side Park Picture |
Northeast Park-801 North Washington Avenue
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| Park Sign |
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| Park Picture |
Northeast Park is right next to Field school. The park has five tennis courts, an open field for soccer, and a fenced in playground.
Size-9.1 Acres
Amenities-Tennis courts, Grass fields, Soccer, Basketball courts, Playground, Drinking fountain.
Ni-Ridge Park-1101 North Chester Avenue
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| Park Picture 2 |
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| Park Picture |
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| Park Sign |
Ni-Ridge Park is mainly a over sized soccer field. It has a one soccer field some interesting playground equipment plus a basketball court on the end of a dead end street ending at the park.
Size-4 Acres
Amenities-Grass Fields, Soccer, Basketball Court, Playground.
Thank you for reading our post about the Park Ridge Parks! We hope that you you enjoyed it, and come back often to read about more cities, parks, and trails. If you have any questions or comments, including directions just shoot us an e-mail at biketheparks@gmail.com.
-The Bike The Parks Team
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