Mckinley Park

If you find yourself in the Southwest side of Chicago, come visit McKinley Park. You can't even tell you're in the city anymore because it's so calm and serene. Add to it all the lush greenery complete with a nearby lagoon and it's the ideal place for fun and relaxation.

A friend of mine introduced me to this nice little oasis. It's the perfect stomping grounds for leisure and exercise. There are plenty of trails to partake in a walk, run, bike or rollerblade. This park is huge and there is plenty of space for outdoor picnic and sport.

While walking with my friend, we came across folks taking part in tennis, soccer, basketball, baseball, football and fishing. There is something for everyone here and you can make an entire day out of it.

They also have a large public outdoor pool with splash pad for the kids. Another plus is the plentiful street parking within the park's perimeter with a dedicated parking lot near the pool grounds.

In the wintertime, I think they have an outdoor ice rink too.

Check out McKinley park. It's a gem of a park in the city's southwest side.

I have had McKinley Park bookmarked for sometime after seeing pictures and reading a review of it shared by Yelper (Christine B). I vowed to make it an option once warmer temperatures started to roll in, and because COVID-19 limited my options of trails to run at. Lacing up my run shoes, then heading outside of my door, I did not expect to run at the park until I got inside of my vehicle and all of a sudden considered running in a different area instead of on the west-side of Chicago.

I dedicated my initial run at this park to Ahmaud Arbery, an African American male who was shot and killed while on a run in Brunswick Georgia. The gunmen, father and son followed Ahmaud in their vehicle and shot him, claiming they thought he was a burglar. For me as an African American male myself, it is heartbreaking because Ahmaud was another victim of racial profiling which seems to be never-ending in our society. And if not for the video going viral online, his death would have been concealed.

Now as for the park, not only is there parking surrounding the perimeter, but there is a small parking area near its gymnastics center as well. The park is gorgeous! It is also well-maintained, and there was no uneven or broken surface whatsoever, at least on the path I ran on. There was Chicago Police presence, but even without their presence, I would not have had any worries of my safety even with the history at this park let alone surrounding area.

The park has a unique design in comparison to a park I frequently run at on the west-side known as Humboldt Park. I loved how its soccer field was in the very center which gives off an energetic vibe to coincide with the sense of peace that nature brings. Along with enjoying its inner beauty, there are an ample amount of activities available at this park such as basketball, baseball, softball, football, soccer, tennis, swimming, fishing, and even ice skating.

During my run, the lagoon became my significant landmark to build a route that I will eventually run from time to time when I get the urge to visit the park. Running along it near the bird & butterfly sanctuary, I encountered a cute red-winged blackbird coming very close to me chirping away. The symbolism of seeing a red-winged blackbird means that you need to draw out from inner self that beautiful you. I have to say that encountering the red-winged blackbird was one of the main two highlights of my run along with dedicating it to Ahmaud. It is always such a heartwarming experience encountering wildlife let alone interacting with.

I enjoyed my whole experience at McKinley Park; the park and area was a breath of fresh air: different infrastructure, culture, and of course that sense of Chicago White Sox pride being that it is located on the south-side of Chicago, and Guaranteed Rate Field is only 3 miles away. Now that I have gotten a feel of this side of town, I imagine that I will yearn to be in it once again from time to time.

~Blessings~

Thomas G

Yelp finally merged the two business pages that were open for this park, so disregard my last update. The very first review is the one I wrote about the park.

BTW - this page is for the Chicago Park District 's - McKinley Park.

There is a separate business page titled "McKinley Park Neighborhood"--for information about the neighborhood named after the park.

McKinley Park had some controversy many years ago due to horrifying discoveries in the lagoon. People were naturally put off and I, for one, started thinking of McKinley as more of a crime scene than a park.

They drained the lagoon and did some landscaping to effectuate a stunning turnaround. Refilled the lagoon and stocked it with fish.

There are protected nature areas and a bird and butterfly sanctuary.

I didn't see any, and wouldn't know what I was looking at if I did. But it's a nice place to get some low-impact, old man-exercise. Get some of that vitamin D!

The place is huge and has some really beautiful features.

I wouldn't go at night, nor would I go alone at any time, just because that's prudent in this day and age. You hear too many stories of solo joggers.

But get a friend or two, bring your dogs, and enjoy a long walk in the park.

Summer seems to end quickly so don't procrastinate and get out there with your crew.

I deducted one star because it's so vast, parts of it seem... not desolate, but too empty. Healthy paranoia.

I have been coming to this park since I was young and not until this past year have they changed the playground..or shall I say renovated it haha... Based on the size of this park I have to say its the best one in Chicago... Or at least the south side. There is a place to play baseball, soccer, anything!!!! Then the pond!! Omg goldfish, catfish, turtles, ducks, goose, crayfish.... Lol my sons favorite for fishing. Tennis court and bike paths... Pools...omg if i forgot something let me know...love this place...

Yes! The McKinley Park ice rink is open, despite the unseasonably warm weather! I just got back from ice skating a few hours ago and it was pretty fun!

Sure, my boyfriend and I could have gone to the McCormick Tribune Rink downtown, but it's most likely very crowded on weekends and it's $10 to rent skates. No, thanks. If you have a car, McKinley Park is actually very convenient to the Loop; It's right off I-55 and there's plenty of parking. You can also take the Orange Line to 35th/Archer Station and walk a block south.

The ice rink is located on the west side of the park. To rent skates, you have to go up into the trailer and trade in your shoes for skates. The lady there is super sweet. Skate rentals are only $6. Once you're laced up, you're good to go.

The ice rink is a good size. It got a little crowded with kids in the afternoon, but they were unobtrusive. In fact, everyone was having a good time. I know this sounds cheesy, but I haven't seen so many smiles in a long time. Anyway, the rink was well-maintained; he surface was mostly smooth, except for the area near the entrance to the rink. They had rock music playing on the radio, which was nice to skate to. (I sang along to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".)

After an hour, my boyfriend and I had enough skating. Surprisingly, I did not fall, despite a number of close calls! If you and your SO (or family) need something to do during the winter, definitely go ice skating. It's inexpensive and it's seasonal.

Tips:

- Bring cash for your skate rental.
- Wear thick socks.
- Leave your purse and other belongings in your car. There are NO lockers.
- Skate counter-clockwise (follow the crowd).
- Holding onto someone else will NOT help you balance. In fact, you (and the other person) are most likely to fall.
- For goodness sake, you're never going to learn how to skate if you cling onto the rink's border the entire time. Sure, you may fall, but a lot people fall. Who cares The only way to swim is to get wet. Besides, it's NO FUN at all.
- Take longer strides. Move as fluidly as possible.
- Wear a hat and gloves!

Have a blast!

I love taking my daughters here to play and have a picnic. We especially like the pond. They have nice paths for riding bikes, walking, or jogging. I haven't used much of the park, but the outside structures look well kept. During warm weather, there are always people at the park.

On a (weird) side note: I went there on 2 separate occasions about 2 weeks ago and notice a small black duck on the pond. If you happen to spot it, watch it because it actually swims under water. (No, I'm not hallucinating. I pointed it out to other people and they saw the same thing) It will go under water and then resurface 10 feet away. I've seen ducks go under water, but never swim that far under water.

This park has come a long way since I was a kid. The formerly disgusting lagoon is now an attractive bird sanctuary with a walking path. It's also stocked with fish. The large outdoor pool has an adjacent water play area for small children. On summer weekends, the park is filled with BBQs, soccer games, etc. Vendors with carts roam the park. They have an outdoor ice rink in the winter.

This is a surprisingly lovely and versatile neighborhood park. There is a sweet lagoon with a pleasant walking path around it, ducks, geese, fish, etc. Whenever I've been there, I've seen couples, families, people walking their dogs, teams playing sports, and everyone generally having a good time. It is a spacious park with a paved biking/walking/running/rollerblading path, a pool, baseball diamond, and space for other sports--soccer and football, I guess (I'm not too sure what sports exactly 'cuz I'm not all that into team sports...). In the wintertime there is an ice rink (which I swear I will try next winter!). It's also easy to get to by public transportation, I would imagine, because it is not too far from the Orange Line or the Archer Ave. bus (one corner of the park is where Archer meets Western). I just wish I lived a little closer to it because I would defintely use it more often. It is one of those lesser-known, under-appreciated Chicago resources because it is on the southside.