North Park Village Nature Center — Attraction in Jefferson Township

Compared to its peers (e.g. Emily Oaks in Skokie and Walking Stick Woods), North Park Village is 4.5 stars. ... Most of the trails are WELL-MAINTAINED, 6-feet wide, and wheelchair/walker accessible. However, the trails on the far east and northeast sides of the wetland get very narrow. ... I really enjoy and appreciate the DIVERSITY of the plants and layout. If I want sun and hills: I walk the wetland and prairie in the eastern portion. If I want shade and flat trails: I walk the woodland and savanna to the west and southwest ... There are plenty of BENCHES throughout. But most of them are in the sun. ... The designated PARKING lot is very SMALL and therefore, I sometimes have to park 1/4 mile away on the weekends: — There is an “Extra Parking” lot near the Pulaski entrance, south of the Gymnastics Center. — There is also a parking lot to the east, south of the Peterson Park Field House and northwest of the under-appreciated/used Walking Stick Woods. ... It is sometimes a hassle that the trails CLOSE PROMPTLY at 4 pm.  When that happens, I go to Walking...

this is a neat little gem in far north chicago metro and let me just say, the staff are awesome. i've never seen a bad trail there and they're all well kept and marked. kids and adults programs are wonderful and i would recommend junior counseling in the summer, or doing the camps themselves for younger kids.

now for the park: it is an awesome park although pretty small, you might need to walk trails a few times to notice/encounter lots of wildlife. good for families although avoid the board walk as it is easy to fall in if pushed. relatively accessible for wheelchairs as there is a ramp and banisters. if you are a person stopping by that appreciates nature then you will not be disappointed. generally most people are actually surprised with how good it is. thanks for reading my essay and i'm doctor phil, and you're watching disney...

Lovely circular walking paths which I enjoyed but the season makes it hard to realize what will be here after all the growing starts. Looks like a lot of restorative work is going on. Lots of chopped up limbs and bushes in piles. I was able to get a couple of new hits for my Seek app because it was easy to see even a little things just starting to grow. A blue heron flew in as I left. Otherwise I saw no animals or birds. It was delightful sitting on a little bench beside the wetlands with the sun baking my face even though it was only in the 40s. Barely got back to front gate by 4pm closing time.

Recent visit… Saw quite a few monarch butterflies. Both flora and fauna were much richer later...