Winnemac Park

I love going to this park, there is so much to do in one place. From the trails, to the tennis courts, and not to mention the vast open fields perfect for playing frisbee, barbecue, or throwing an outside party. Not to mention the baseball fields, the beautiful flowers and trees, and the track which is available to run in and workout in. There is a children’s playground, so that it is a place for every member of your family to enjoy themselves and always meet great new people as well.

Wide open spaces, multiple baseball diamonds, running track, and parks. There is plenty of space for every walk of life, adults and kids alike.
Our kickball league has played here for the past 8 seasons, the only issue we have is that the tball and grade school baseball teams oftwn cut in to our field time as well as won’t leave. But the fields are in great shape and even have storage for our weekly equipment.

Great park and never too crowded. The water fountain doesn’t work so you should pack water to bring.

This used to be a nice quiet park, with lovely willow trees but in the past 3 years It has become a huge dog toilet. The neighborhood is full of irresponsible dog owners. The tennis courts and nature areas have prominent signs that say «no dogs» yet there are the cretins disobeying the signs with their dogs defecating and tearing up the grounds. In particular there is an arrogant yup male beagle owner who is destroying the important native plants on a regular basis. He has been told by several people to cease but uses foul language as a reply. His mommy never taught him manners and that society has rules.
I have been also stopped in my tracks by off the leash pit bulls blocking my path.
If you want to walk a timid or unfriendly dog, you will be harassed by packs of dog surrounding you both. These people are selfish, lawbreaking jerks who have turned a people park into an overcrowded dog park.

It a Relative Large for a City Park, but the amount of Usable Area is somewhat limited by the «Nature Trail,» and the Local School’s Grounds are Merged In, so it is hard to tell what is open to the Public. There are usually Team Sports being Played in the Designated Areas. The Kids Playground is Pretty Nice (Semi-​Enclosed with Swings, Slides, and Other Activities) and I take my 2 Year-​Old Twins there as often as I can. The Crowd is Friendly. Big Downside is that there is no Enclosed Dog Area. However, there are always a bunch of Dogs walking on Leashes, so you can still «Socialize.» Always felt safe here during the Day. Never been at Night.

Love this park! They have a lot of open space (great for picnics) and I love the nature walk that they grow in the summer. Feels like you’re not even in the city!

A nice park, maybe half a walking area and the other half a field with a baseball area the outfield of which has a setup for goals or uprights. There’s also another baseball field wit a pretty small outfield. Decent grass, even only shortly after the snow has melted. The field isn’t flat, but it’s clean and decently grassy. There’s a parking lot and a bunch of street parking around. The bathroom situation is annoying – you have to go into the school, but to get in you have to go all the way around the building to the far side from the field, and you can’t get out the back, either, so you’re basically doing laps around the building, and that’s not quick.

is very kid friendly. had many good times here is great for church outings and or wedding parties under 20 people. great for 4^th of july events. and for bands as long as they have park and city ok first.

While I gave this park 5 stars it is only because of the actual park.
AS FOR LEASH-​LESS DOGS & THEIR MORONIC OWNERS… I WOULD GIVE IT A ZERO.
People! This is an ON LEASH park.
Recently, my boyfriend just got attacked by an off leash pit. At 9:30pm.
My dogs are both rescues and not keen about having random dogs run up to them and intrude on their space. When we see a huge dog running at us we all get nervous.
There is a huge group of people who let their dogs run over by the tennis courts and I have to avoid walking over there with mine.
I just decided that I am going to report the people who have off leash dogs, please be aware that not all dogs like to be approached especially if it’s at a park where dogs should be on leashes.

I love this park like i love a big fat juicy bone in ham. It’s a delicious park, especially with a bit of pineapple. It also smells great when it’s cooking all day.
Great park.

Winnemac Park has just about everything you could want from a park, and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to walk or run in the evenings. Tennis courts, a track, paved paths, plenty of open space, beautiful landscaping, a playground for the kids… this is a beautiful park with plenty of things to do for the whole family. It is always nice to see so many people enjoying this great park. On my evening jogs, I see other folks walking or running, kids playing, people walking their dogs, and people just enjoying being outside with other people.
My only qualm is the large number of people who allow their dogs off leash here. Winnemac Park is not a leash free park. All dogs are required to be on leash here, but apparently no one feels that this rule applies to them. I love dogs, and I love meeting my neighbors dogs when they are well behaved and on leash, but I don’t love being chased by a stranger’s dog when I have no idea if the dog is friendly or not. Keep bringing your dogs to the park so that they can enjoy this awesome area, but please keep them on a leash for the safety of the everyone, including the dog. If you must have your dog off leash, then find a park that allows that.

I love this park and my dog too! I’m lucky to live a block away. This is where I walk my dog daily, go for a run, and enjoy the nature. There is two tennis courts, a running track, a park, a couple softball fields and nature walks. Great park!

ps its not a leash free zone ppl
i still give wp 5 stars but i am irritated with pet owners who frequently have their dogs off leash and running around
just because ur dog is perfect and über friendly with furry creatures… doesnt mean other ppls are

there ain’t much better than laying underneath a weeping willow on a beautiful day.

This is a lovely and large park! The space is great and its wonderful to see so much green in the city. There are plenty of dogs walking around but they don’t distract from the scenery. This park is a gem.

I call this my nature park. In contrast Welles Park four blocks south is the social park.
If you want a nice walk through nature, this is your park. There are several willow trees that are nice to climb too.
I also leave little artworks around the park. Wire people handing from strings. See if you can try to find them. Currently there are three spread throughout the park! I posted images of them in the photos section.

Winnemac Park is a particularly fine neighborhood park that comes as close as is possible for a green space on that scale, to breaking up the Chicago urban matrix.
The park is anchored on Foster and Damen, stretching South and West for a total area of two blocks square. The high school and grade school both fall within these four square blocks. So do the associated athletic facilities, such as the soccer/​football/​baseball field.
The rest of the park area is gently rolling lawns, wildflowers, a toddler playground, and a small wetland, all partitioned by paved, meandering paths bordered lightly with trees and sparsely populated with benches. The overall landscaping is somewhat like an English Garden although without dramatic features, as such. (There is a small wetland exhibit.)
The park feels quiet and private despite being right in an urban Chicago residential neighborhood. This is partially attributable to its size. Winnemac is substantially larger than most neighborhood parks. Nearby Chase Park is much smaller. Winnemac is also set along stretches of Damen and Foster that are not busy. Again, comparing that with Chase Park’s location between Clark, Ashland and Lawrence, Chase Park will tend to feel more frantic than Winnemac. Finally, the landscape design of Winnemac promotes peace, calm and privacy. The paved paths are used mostly for walking and other low speed recreation. Benches are placed sparingly along the paths, to say the least. Finding a bench means finding a personal spot to read or chat, for the entire evening, if you like. Finally, the park’s space itself is slightly rolling with the paths curving through it. Your eye is drawn to follow this topography, and the concrete, flat and rectangular Chicago urban landscape seems to be somewhere else, out of sight and out of mind.
The park rarely seems to be full. Perhaps that is due to its size. Anyway, the lack of crowding, or over-​crowding, contributes to one’s enjoyment of the park. Finally, the park is bordered by a wrought iron fence with periodic openings to allow ingress and egress. The bordering fences filter traffic through the park and provide the green space’s interior with an insulated, protected feeling, somewhat as though the park were a large private fenced-​in yard.
Another result of the park’s thoughtful design is the excellent balance between open space and shading trees. There is always a nice balance of shaded and sunny areas of the park, but the shading trees and bushes never look or feel like barriers.
Over the past year and a half, I have spent several summer evenings sitting on a bench, smoking my cigar, visiting with a friend, reading, or watching a family play frisbee. On the Fourth of July 2011, the city provided a one hour fireworks display at the park for our neighborhood, as it did for many neighborhoods that year. (We all could see the shells bursting over Warren Park to the north.) However, there have not been any other events, such as festivals or performances at Winnemac. This is not a criticism, simply an observation. The Fourth of July was it for 2011. Nor do groups other than softball leagues seem to use Winnemac for group events. If you want to see an outdoor movie with the Ravenswood Outdoor Film Group, it is held elsewhere.
The park has one small feature, which would be its wetland exhibit. On the Southwest corner of the park is a toddler’s playground. The playground is enclosed by its own fence and has numerous benches for parents and other caretakers to sit while the kids play. A weeping willow, some wildflowers and some native grasses are also park features.
I have seen no negative effects from the high schoolers and grade schoolers. There is no noticeable vandalism and the park is not a gang hangout.
Winnemac Park is a very fine, large neighborhood park that is truly enjoyed by our neighborhood, but is open to anybody. If you are in the area, possibly after running numerous trips driving along Lawrence Avenue, stop by Winnemac for a bit to unwind.

Winnemac Park is an excellent neighborhood park. The play ground is in good shape, large, and with sections for different age groups. It is packed on a nice day.
The natural land parts of the park are great for a picnic, a ball game, or to just sit and read a book. There are weeping willow trees and country-​like fences that add a bit of charm to the area.
On the fourth of July, they had a great firework display, it was neat to see the locals all out to enjoy the celebration together.
I feel lucky to live in walking distance to this north side gem!

I’ve added this park to my walk/​jog itinerary a few times but I think I’ll actually take advantage of the tennis courts and grassy spots too, when it gets warmer (though I think every man, woman, child, and dog in the area has the same idea).
But even in mid-​April, when the weather is good but not yet great, I’ve seen people out flying radio-​controlled airplanes and kites, playing softball, sleeping on blankets with their lovebugs, playing with dogs and just being outside after another Chicago winter. It warms the cockles of my little heart — both that people are using this area and that it’s there to begin with.
It’s just nice to know there’s a wide open space (cue the Dixie Chicks) in the middle of the best neighborhood in the best city.
Ahh, spring.

Is this really in the city? SCORE.
It backs up to a high school, which means after school hours there is a massive parking lot for park users.
Great if you need a place to park and ride your bike, walk your dog, run, jog, slow walk, get the kids out of your house, etc etc without braving the death trap otherwise know as «the lakefront path.» Trust me, much more relaxing to jaunt a bit west and stay away from that whole mess…
Playing fields, picnic areas, well maintained, great neighborhood… really, couldn’t ask for a whole lot more. Oh yeah, and its free… so really, it might be the perfect place this summer :)