North Park Village Nature Center: An Oasis in the City

Where: 5801 North Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois 60646, www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/North-Park-Village-Nature-Center
Open: 7 days a week (excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Quick Review: A nature preserve and educational facility that offers easy walking trails through woodlands, wetlands, prairie, and savanna; a hands-on exploratory room of natural objects (antlers, shells, pine cones, fossils, etc.); and public programs for preschoolers, school age children, families, and adults. A perfect place to spend a few hours hiking, picnicking, and learning about nature.

BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER & AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND

ARTICLE UPDATED 2023 

DO YOU HAVE young children who are going stir crazy at home? Older kids who want to learn about nature and geology? No kids, but looking for an easy hike amidst nature—all within Chicago’s city limits? Interested in taking a class on yoga, writing about nature, or other self-improvement topics? If so, the North Park Village Nature Center is a good destination. It’s the only nature center in Chicago—46 acres of oak savannah, prairie, pond, and wetland surrounded by busy roads and hidden in the summer and fall by dense stands of trees and foliage.

The Nature Center is a popular destination for our family. It served as an excellent way to introduce our now six-year-old son to wildlife and nature. Wildflowers and wildlife abound in the late spring, summer, and fall. On a visit last summer, we saw fish, water spiders, frogs, turtles, chipmunks, racoons, squirrels, and even a young buck, who came around a bend suddenly by the wetland boardwalk and walked toward us nonchalantly as if we were just three other deer. My son loved exploring the trails (which provide an easy hike except for one optional big hill that’s fun to climb), laying down on the boardwalk to investigate the inhabitants of the wetland, and looking under logs for worms and bugs.

It may not seem like winter is the best time to visit a nature center, but I highly recommend a winter visit—especially after a heavy snowfall. The Nature Center will most likely be your own for a peaceful walk as the wind blows through the barren tree branches, snow coats the ground like a comfy blanket, and all types of wildlife slumber underfoot and deep beneath the ice-covered pond.

The nature center itself is pretty cool (if I may use a sophisticated word)—filled with “you can touch” specimens such as antlers, giant pinecones, bones, and rocks, and a real “beehive” in the window. There’s a kid’s activity room with nature books and animal puppets. The Center offers many programs and special events such as the Maple Syrup Festival, Harvest Festival, Winter Solstice, and City Wilds Fest.

Finally, be sure to pack a picnic lunch. Several picnic tables are available as you enter the woods.

If you don’t live on the north side of Chicago, there are nature centers near you. Here are a few in the Chicago area to check out. I’ll cover some of these in future blog posts.

• Crabtree Nature Center: 3 Stover Road Barrington Hills, IL 60010, 847/381-6592
• River Trail Nature Center: 3120 Milwaukee Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062, 847/824-8360
• Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center: 9800 Willow Springs Road, Willow Springs, IL 60480, 708/839-6897
• Trailside Museum of Natural History: 738 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305, 708/366-6530
• Sand Ridge Nature Center: 15891 Paxton Avenue, South Holland, IL 60473, 708/868-0606
• Sagawau Environmental Learning Center: 12545 West 111th Street, Lemont, IL 60439, 630/257-2045

In addition to the aforementioned nature preserves in Cook County, visit the websites of the following forest preserve districts for information on their nature centers:

• Lake County Forest Preserves
• McHenry County Conservation District
• Forest Preserve District of Kane County
• DeKalb County Forest Preserve District
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
• Forest Preserve District of Kendall County
• Forest Preserve District of Will County

Thanks for reading my blog, Nature in Chicagoland. I’d appreciate it if you could share my blog with anyone who loves nature and is looking for some great destinations in Chicagoland.

Copyright (text/photos) Andrew Morkes

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking for some great nature destinations in Chicagoland–including many near Lincoln Park Zoo? If so, check out by book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT ANDREW MORKES

I have been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.

In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 70 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).

Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:

• Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
• Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
• Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
• Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
• Environment (Getting Started series)
• Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)

My poetry has appeared in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review.