20 of the Best Playgrounds in Lake County IL
Your guide to the best playgrounds to bring your kids to.
Thanks to @lcparkmom, I’ve put together this amazing list of playgrounds in Lake County, based on her experiences! I’ve personally been to quite a few on the list, but @lcparkmom is definitely the expert on these.
@lcparkmom started her social media presence in February of 2023, as a way to start compiling a list of all the playgrounds she visits with her two young kids. She highlights the parks with a short description about the playground and with lots of photos!
Be sure to follow her both on Facebook and Instagram.
All photos used in this blog post are credited to @lcparkmom. Descriptions on each playground is copied directly from @lcparkmom’s Facebook page, with some additional excerpts from myself.
01. Jackman Park
1011 Lehigh Ave
Glenview IL 60025
“It’s in the 40’s here so we were off to a new to us park! We parked at the Glenview library and looked around a little bit inside (they don’t have much inside for the kiddos.) The playground was super fun, and we got to see 4 trains within the hour that we were there (the train station is right across the street from the park.)”
02. Sunset Woods Park
1801 Sunset Rd
Highland Park IL 60035
“One of our favorite parks! There is so much to do here. One big spaceship themed play structure, a gated in structure for the littles that also has a little sand area, one more big play structure, and also a separate small sand area. There is also a trail you can walk around the park. Tennis courts, skate park, baseball fields, and a basketball court. They’ve got everything. Watch out for the squirrels! They were harassing all the kids for their snacks and even stole some.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches
Restroom: Yes in the building
Floor material: Soft fall rubber and wood chips
Rating: 9.5/10”
Sunset Woods Park is such a fun playground to bring your kids! Like @lcparkmom noted, there is so much to do here and there is something for all ages. With that said though, it is hard to keep track of your kids if they start running off into a different area of the playground. If you have little ones, you will probably want to stay in the gated section.
03. Cynthia T. Peterson Park
200 W Hawthorn Pkwy
Vernon Hills IL 60061
“Cute spot. Two playground structures steps from each other. They were lacking in slides in my opinion. Path to walk around plus tennis and basketball courts. I don’t know that I’d make it a point to come back here again but glad we got to experience it. My son LOVED the train. That part was super cute.”
“Parking: Street parking or there’s a school across the street we parked at.
Seating: picnic tables and benches.
Restroom: None (that I could see)
Floor material: Wood Chips
Rating: 7/10”
04. Century Park
1002 Lakeview Pkwy
Vernon Hills IL 60061
My favorite thing about Century Park is that is alongside 2.7 miles of walking / biking trails that loop around Big Bear Lake and Little Bear Lake. It is also near the sledding hill, boat launch, basketball and volleyball courts, and so much more.
05. Grosse Pointe Park
900 Grosse Pointe Blvd
Vernon Hills IL 60061
I used to live walking distance to this park and I really miss it! Even more so now, because they’ve redone it since we lived in the neighborhood. There are actually 3 playgrounds spread out through the entire park, with walking paths going around them. One of the playgrounds includes a newly installed Tot playground that is designed specifically for 2-5yo.
06. Children’s Grove Playground
Independence Grove
16400 W Buckley Rd
Libertyville IL 60048
“This one is a fairly large park with gorgeous trails to walk! If you have multiple kids, it’s a little hard to keep track of them since it’s so big.
Lots of climbing options, a fun cave you can crawl through, lots of picnic tables to pack a lunch or they have a cafe as well.
In the summer they do charge if you are out of Lake County, they’ll check your ID. Worth it though, it’s a great spot with beautiful views.”
If you’ve never been to Independence Grove you need to put it at the top of your list. This preserve surrounds a 129-acre lake, where you can rent fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, stand up paddle boards and pedal boats. You can have a picnic and walk or bike along all the different paths; there is also a cafe and a beer garden with lakeside seating, and summer concerts in the plaza.
The Children’s Grove Playground is somewhat tucked away, but it opens up to an extremely large play area. These photos do NOT do justice to how incredibly large it is. As @lcparkmom noted, the entire playground is quite big and it is VERY easy to lose track of your kids; there are many nooks and crannies that are covered and with different entrances. I would not recommend coming here if you’re solo parenting, or at least not on a weekend when it’ll inevitably be crowded. But besides that, this playground is so much fun and it’s so unique that it is a must if you’re able to have multiple eyes on your kids! We will come here with friends and will have each parent standing watch at certain “watch points” around the playground.
07. Adler Memorial Park
1500 N Milwaukee Ave
Libertyville IL 60048
“We spent a lot of time here! First we took a trail into a neighborhood and it was a mile loop. Gorgeous neighborhood. There is also a path that is gravel that goes around the park grounds. There’s a pool right by the playground- it gets busy in the summer. There is also a disc golf path nearby. Independence grove forest preserve is only 5 mins away! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It’s an awesome park with a lot to do.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches, I saw one picnic table
Rating: 8/10”
This might be a strange reason to love a playground, but the reason we like coming here with the kids is because there is an unbelievable amount of shade! And in the hot Chicago summers, the shade makes a huge difference!
08. Charles Brown Park
1015 Dawes St
Libertyville IL 60048
“We loved this one!! There was lots to do for both bigs and littles. Basketball court, cute little neighborhood, I think I saw baseball fields in the way corner of a big grass field.”
“Parking: Parking lot and a big one!
Seating: Benches & Picnic tables
Restrooms: None (I did see a little empty area that could possibly have a port a potty in the summer)
Rating: 8/10”
09. Bowen Park
1800 N Sheridan Rd
Waukegan IL 60085
10. Warren Township Park
17801 W Washington St
Gurnee IL 60031
“This park is HUUUUGE. These pictures don’t do it justice. Two giant playground structures plus a few smaller ones, a very big sand area, lots of swings, things to climb, a cute little maze. It was a very windy day today or we would’ve been here a lot longer!”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: A lot Benches, Picnic tables
Restroom: A building that has bathrooms in them.
Floor material: Wood chips, Sand
Rating: 9/10”
11. Ravinia Park
925 Ravinia Dr
Gurnee IL 60031
“The sun came out for a little bit while we were there! We’ve been here a few times and we like it a lot. There is a playground structure for littles and a separate one for the bigs. Baby and Big kid swings. Short little path right next to the park. A little nature hunt that you find animals around the playground which was cute. Basketball court. Highly recommend but it does get busy in the summer!”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Gazebo covered with picnic tables
Rating: 8/10”
12. Sports Center Park
2004 Municipal Way
Round Lake Beach IL 60073
“This park is cute, looks like there was a splash pad added recently.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches & Picnic table
Restroom: None (could be one in the building?)
Floor material: Wood chips
Rating: 5/10”
13. Amarias Park
1621 S Amarias Dr
Round Lake IL 60073
“We LOVE this park and found it over the summer after a walk at Nippersink Forest Preserve. It has so much for both ages. A separate playground for littles and big kids. Tennis court, Basketball court, and opportunities to take a walk as well. There is a pool there but I am pretty certain it is just for residents. Baby swings and big kid swings. It has one where you can sit across from your baby and swing.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Restrooms: None
Seating: Lots of benches!
Rating: 9/10”
14. Arrowhead Park
1716 N Pontiac Ct
Round Lake Heights IL 60073
“This was the cutest accidental park that we found when we were out with Nonnie! Just a heads up, some of these structures were a little wonky and they needed some work so I didn’t let my kids on everything that was here. Other than that, a very unique park to play at! There’s a nice shelter that looked newer and has a bunch of picnic tables underneath.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Shade: Not much.
Restroom: No
Floor material: Mulch/Grass
Sand Area: No
Rating: 6/10”
15. Lake Villa Township Park, aka: “Caboose Park”
37908 N Fairfield Rd
Lake Villa IL 60046
“Cute spot! We’ve been here a few times. Multiple play areas, we spent 1.5 hours here. In the winter they have a skating rink, plenty of shelters to picnic under, plenty of swings. Huge open field and I saw a basketball hoop there. Everything is a bit run down but we still love it.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches
Restroom: Yes
Floor material: Mulch
Rating: 8/10”
16. John Janega Memorial Park
205 Hickory Dr
Lindenhurst IL 60046
“Cute little spot. There’s a barber shop structure which my son loved, farmers market structure, lion to climb on, one slide (which I wish they had another one!) There was also a half mile path around the pond that they had there.”
“Parking: Small parking lot
Seating: Benches
Restroom: None
Floor material: Soft fall rubber & Wood chips
Rating: 6.5/10”
17. Meadowlark Park & Arboretum
188 Meadowlark Dr
Hawthorn Woods IL 60047
“Our first time there. This was a unique park and we liked it here a lot! You can walk a short path around and there’s a “little library” box. 4 different play areas, one of them bigger than the rest and there’s a fun swing on a track! Lots of nice picnic tables and also corn hole. Will be back!”
“Parking: Street parking
Seating: So many nice picnic tables and a couple of benches
Restroom: None
Floor material: Wood chips
Rating: 8/10”
18. Peg’s Place Adaptive Playground
23153 W Miller Rd
Lake Zurich IL 60047
“This one was a lot of fun! Love all the accessibility options here. They have shades out so during the summer I’m sure is super helpful with the sun! Huge parking lot, it’s right next to the church. We will be back!”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Picnic tables
Restroom: No (there may be one in the church but I don’t know if it’s open)
Floor material: Soft play rubber
Rating: 7/10”
Peg’s Place deserves an extra shoutout. Founded by the Hope Center, this adaptive playground was created for kids of all abilities. It was financed through community donations and a lemonade stand run by children who now regularly play at the playground. When you visit, check out the wheelchair swing and read about Peg’s big-hearted legacy.
19. Paulus Park
200 S Rand Rd
Lake Zurich IL 60047
“This place was huge and had a lot of trails around the park to walk. Looks like there’s a beach there for the summer and also a splash pad! Would definitely be back here again, so many different climbing structures and lots of swings. I imagine it’s busy in the summer! There’s a pretty view over the lake.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches
Restroom: Yes! There was a building with them but also port a potty’s around the path
Floor material: Wood chips
Rating: 8/10”
We love bringing our kids to Paulus Park during the summer. Not only do they have this massive and fun playground, there is also a FREE splash pad and a paid-admission beach. The entire grounds is huge and there’s a lot of grassy area and open space to run around or have a picnic.
20. Langendorf Park
235 Lions Dr
Barrington IL 60010
BONUS: Playgrounds outside of Lake County.
Deicke Park Discovery Zone
11419 IL-47
Huntley IL 60142
“This one was a bit of a drive for us but totally worth it! First photos you see are the discovery center which was the cutest and where we spent most of our time. Love how accessible it is. We took a 5 minute walk to the second park which had an huge metal slide next to it on the hill. They have an aquatic center that is within walking distance which looked pretty awesome! We will definitely be back in the summer!”
“Parking: Parking lot
Seating: Benches & Picnic tables
Restroom: Port a Potties
Floor material: Soft fall rubber and Wood chips at the second playground
Rating: 8/10”
This is probably our favorite playground we’ve been to in all of the Chicago suburbs. It is so fun and there are so many different areas to play in. However, this is another park that I would not recommend if you are flying solo with your kids. You can very easily lose track of even just one child and it can get very busy during the summer, which makes it even more difficult. Otherwise, do visit this place and make sure you carve out a good couple of hours for it!
Petzke Park
2820 14th Ave
Kenosha WI 53140
“Okay, so this isn’t in lake county or even in Illinois, but I just had to share it since it was so awesome here!! Everything is fenced in which was great. Picnic tables under a shelter to eat lunch under, smaller area for the littles and bigger area for the big kids, so many climbing options, swings, loved that it was accessible friendly! "Hawthorn Hollow is also nearby if you feel like going on a hike! It’s such a nice area there.”
“Parking: Parking lot
Restroom: Yes
Floor material: Soft fall rubber
Rating: 10/10”
New All-Inclusive Playground Coming!
Kracklauer Park
116 N Lake St
Mundelein IL 60060
An exciting new park is coming to Mundelein! In January of 2024, the Mundelein Park & Recreation District received a grant to build an all-inclusive playground at Kracklauer Park. This means the project is now fully funded!
An all-inclusive playground is a safe space for children of differing abilities, ages and communities to play on. Specific design structures include accessibility for people in wheelchairs or with other devices to access features.
Construction will begin in 2024!
Where are your favorite playgrounds? Let me know in the comments!
Are you looking for something different to do with your kids? Chicagoland is filled with so many unique and out of the ordinary [and affordable!] attractions…. you just have to know where to find ‘em!