(This is where you’ll find the famous bean!) If you get creative, you can enjoy a solid 5 miles of running at Grant Park and Millennium Park. Affectionately referred to as “Chicago’s front yard,” Grant Park features several winding trails that make it easy for runners to explore all the scenic sights and sounds of the area, including Millennium Park, in the northwest corner of the park. Running through Grant Park and Millennium Park is an excellent way to see many of Chicago’s iconic landmarks while clocking those miles. Tips: If you run through Hyde Park, make sure you check out nearby attractions, like the DuSable Museum of African American History, Promontory Point (a manmade peninsula that extends out into the lake), or the Museum of Science and Industry. You can also access several top Chicago parks, including Washington Park, Jackson Park, and Burnham Park from this neighborhood. It’s home to the University of Chicago and many historic townhomes and buildings that feature Gothic architecture.

You’ll get an excellent 5 to 7-mile run (or more) if you traverse this area of the Windy City. If you want a change from the skyscrapers that line the downtown area of Chicago, a run through the city’s historic and culturally rich Hyde Park neighborhood might be just what you need. It’s always bustling with other runners, walkers, and cyclists.

Tips: If you’re running alone or you prefer to run in a highly-populated area, you’ll love the Lakefront Trail. With 18 miles of paved path, you can divide the Chicago Lakefront Trail into smaller sections, or you can run the whole thing for a more challenging workout. And understandably so because it has everything you could possibly want! From incredible views of the lake and Chicago skyline to nearby iconic landmarks like Navy Pier, the museum district, and Soldier Field, this is arguably one of the best urban runs in the country. The Chicago Lakefront Trail is the city’s crown jewel of the running scene. Tired of hypercompetitive fitness apps?Ĭhicago is well-known for its jaw-dropping architecture, mouthwatering food, and must-see museums and art, but it’s also a top-running city! While the 18-mile-long Lakefront Trail is by far the front-runner (pun intended), we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 places to run in the Windy City.Waterfall Glen is an excellent place for a run anytime of year but it’s particularly lovely in the fall when the trees are turning bright orange, yellow and red and marathon training is at it’s peak.

In the winter when the Preserve is snow covered, rangers groom the trail for cross-country skiing so locals can continue exercising here year-round. The trails are also open to cyclists and horseback riders but you will not typically find the path to be congested. Along the trail you will pass wooded areas, marshes, and a man-made waterfall. If it’s a hot day you’ll want to carry water, as there is a seven-mile section of trail between the park’s two water pumps. This route starts at the Northgate parking lot where there are pit toilets and a hand pump for drinking water. Mile markers along the trail make this a great place for a tempo run. The rolling hilly course with short steep climbs sprinkled in provides a challenging loop for runners. A 9.5-mile trail encircles the Argonne National Laboratory that is located at the center of the preserve. Luxuriously wide-open, crushed limestone trails await runners at Waterfall Glen in the southwestern Chicago suburbs.

Waterfall glen running trail