Wicker Park

I could just die here and be perfectly happy. Spent two days in the Wicker Park area, and it was one of life’s happiest experiences for me.
And such helpful people, the Chicagoans.

Park is good for people that lives in the area but definitely didn’t find any appeal to out of towners. Skip.

For me, Wicker Park (the park within the Wicker Park neighborhood) is a valued respite from all of the activity that smacks me in the face every morning simply because I live in this city. While the park is surrounded by traffic and the noise of Chicago, I love being able to lay on the grass under a tree and read a book uninterrupted for several hours (or longer). I appreciate the efforts of the City and everyone in the neighborhood who maintains the park and ensures that it remains a place where people can escape to and forget the craziness of city life.

The only thing not to like about Wicker Park is all of the smelly vagabond hipsters. Otherwise, it’s a great place to relax on a warm day. It’s not too huge but it’s big enough to play catch or throw a frisbee around.

I’m a Boston gal, by way of New York, but I feel right at home here. My boyfriend and I came here for a mini vacay and I just loved it. Going to school in Boston, I have a lot of friends from Chicago, one in particular, who loves to temper nights out in Beantown with ’ this is nice, but wicker park does it better.’ damn is he right. You have the best of both worlds here, an urban landscape but without all the pretention; amazing food (go to Belly Shack for lunch and Mindy’s Hot Chocolate for desert) and kind people with mid– western values (thank you kind hipster for helping me find my way home after some day drinking).

There are a lot of things you can say about Wicker Park the place, the people, and the area.
The park itself is quaint with public street parking. It has a small less than full basketball court. It also has a softball field with leagues during the warmer months. This area also includes a recreational building of some kind but I have never ventured inside. A final note is that this park has a public fountain which is always nice.
There is also an enclosed dog park.

Moved to wicker park 6 months ago and I absolutely love it. Great crowd, great restaurant and awesome bars on Milwaukee Av. One of the best neighborhood in Chicago!

This is a great neighborhood park right in the heart of Chicago. The day I visited there was a farmer’s market and live music and great people watching. The park provided for some great ways to waste time without spending money while visiting Chicago.

Wicker park is… Jurassic Park! Movies in the park was awesome this summer. All you need is a blanket, pizza, and some whiskey and you’re set.

Cool neighborhood. We enjoyed wandering around, lost our car for a while. Lots of interesting shopping in the area. Noteworthy spots include the Wormhole coffee shop, Myopic Books, and Glazed and Infused Doughnuts. Convenient to the highway and public transportation. Neat architecture.

At one point, I was a Josh Hartnett fan, so it’s no surprise that I made it a point to visit Wicker Park (despite the low Rotten Tomato rating and the fact that it wasn’t even shot here…). The park is very small. I sat on a bench in front of the fountain and could see the entire park– rebellious teens who fell into the punk scene and became transients, serious basketball players, and the OG’s talking smack to one another. It was a good spot to people watch and take a break from walking around the hipster neighborhood, but don’t expect much!

Any ok little park with a nice mix of people. It can be pretty busy when it is warm outside but slows down and has some sketchier people when the weather is a bit more chilly. Just don’t expect to find Josh Hartnett hanging around here.

As far as Wicker Park itself: Excellent place, but notoriously packed with bums so keep this in mind especially at night!
Now, on to the neighborhood. Wicker Park is historic, and relevant for so many reasons. It is arguably the birthplace of ‘Hipster’, and inarguably wears that badge with pride even today. A stroll down Division or Milwaukee Ave will fill your mind with various impressions and questions.
Impressions: Innovative, eclectic, energetic, delicious (restaurants)
Questions: Is that guy homeless, or just really, really hip? Is that on purpose? What does this art represent? Is this music, or noise?
The answer is: go to Wicker Park. From 5-​star tacos to 1-​star concert venues, from homey coffeeshops to filthy alleyways, this place deserves a visit and your full attention.

Great park right next to the blue line. Always a ton of tykes kickin’ it. Also not a bad place to look at the ladies errrr hot moms…

As a Wicker Park resident, I absolutely love this park. They have a dog park, ball field, fountain, kids area, and plenty of grassy areas to hang out. I always take my dogs here to play around in the grass. The park offers movies during the summer, open mic night, and Sunday farmers market.
One of the things I love most about this park is the people watching. It’s so phenomenal. There are plenty of hipsters, which is nothing out of the ordinary, but its the free spirits that make this park interesting and unique. There is never a shortage of entertainment here. Maybe it sounds weird that this is a pro for this park, but I never have felt unsafe and most people keep to themselves. This isn’t Lincoln Park so you can’t expect everyone here to be pushing their baby around in $ 2,000 strollers while drinking $ 6 coffee. Sure there is some of that but its the mix of all walks of life that make this park what it is.

If you are a degenerate, you’ll fit right in sitting around the fountain or near the chess tables, especially if you have nothing to do for weeks on end.
I frequently avoid these areas and take my dog here to play in the grass or just have an afternoon picnic with my wife. It’s a great place to watch some competitive 16in softball and don’t miss the farmers market on Sundays. They also periodically have free movie nights in the park playing movies from my youth. I can’t speak to the children’s area, but always looks crowded and the kids seems happy.
Come spend an hour or two with the locals of Wicker Park and soak up the sights.

Stopped in to this park today with my little one after lunch @ Birchwood. Upon walking towards the playground, there were some tables of shall I say not the soberest of folks. It was a little off putting but onward we went.
We got to the playground and found it gated which was great because that means the little ones won’t run out. It has quite a bit of play area and a small splash area which was great because it was scorching out there. Parking was tough but the little one had a jolly olé time.

This is about the park and neighborhood. Here’s a list of rules you will want to remember.
Rule #1: Don’t go to the park at night. Duh.
Rule #2: The park is pretty during the day, so have at it. I just always have flashbacks of Criminal Minds episodes when I walk by here, so I will not be enjoying the park with you.
Rule #3: Don’t move to this neighborhood. Your car will get broken into for your stereo and cat food (Yes, cat food). You will be concerned when you see people walking down the street checking car door handles. You won’t want to walk home alone at night as you have to pass the occasional hand to hand transaction.
Rule #4: Don’t try to take the blue line from the Damen stop to the loop in the morning, as you will have to wait for a minimum of 3 trains (which don’t come all that often) before you can actually fit on one to get yourself to work or school.
Rule #5: If you don’t like hipsters, this is not the place to visit.
Why 2 stars instead of 1 for this park/​neighborhood? The restaurants in Wicker Park have outdoor seating. I just never walk to them alone. :)

Based on my daughter’s pale skin, the way she shields her eyes from the sun and the occasional nibble on my shoulder I think I may have given birth to a vampire. Fortunately, I read my fair share of Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse when I was pregnant so I know just how to take care of my little vampire. #1 priority– keeping her in lots of shady areas.
We are frequent visitors of Erie Park* and while I“m a fan it gets a bit too sunny for the lil one. We recently met up with friends for a playdate at Wicker Park and I was amazed by all the shady areas. We plopped down on a blanket, pulled out some toys and the little ones were quite happy!
There are so many things for my lil one to climb on as soon as she learns to move, but for now she was quite content with hanging out in the shade. And we spent awhile in the baby swing as well.
There were tons of stylish moms, nannies and babies in attendance… and my friend mentioned she sees a lot of the same faces everyday. If you’re a new mom looking for friends I’m pretty sure you’ll have lots to choose from here. While my little vampire and I probably won’t be one of the regulars since we don’t live in the neighborhood, but we’ll be back soon for more blood. I kid, I kid… fortunately she doesn’t have any teeth quite yet.
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After having countless fond memories of walks through Wicker Park, picnics and jogs, oogling at cute puppies and wondering how to coax them away from their owners, welcoming the first signs of spring as crocuses and daffodils peek above ground, and dodging moms pushing $ 1,000 strollers, it is time. Time for me to write a review of Wicker Park.
It never occurred to me to write a review for a park, until I realized how much I have taken this park for granted. It is clean, well-​maintained, has a lovely fountain in the summertime, and a playground for the little ones to have fun.
And possibly most importantly (and overlooked) of all: the bathrooms are cleaner than many bars and restaurants.
Spending a beautiful day here helps me appreciate the little things and makes me feel grateful for all of the wonderful friends and experiences that I have in the Windy City.