Northerly Island Park

Northerly Island’s newest attraction is a 40-acre park opened on the southern part of the island in 2015. The majority of the space is dedicated to nature, featuring a concrete trail for walking and bicycle riding, a 5-acre lagoon, casual play areas, landscaped wildlife habitats and a spectacular view of the Chicago skyline. Northerly Island’s nature preserve is meant to revitalize the environment that was originally there. The new park is now home to migratory birds and natural wildlife and to protect its new inhabitants, dogs are not allowed on the park. The park is home to many of Illinois’ natural wildlife, including Monarch butterflies and Herons. The parks 5-acre lagoon welcomes many different kinds of animals and to make the park as inviting to these animals as possible, over 11,000 shrubs and 400 trees were planted. The mile of paved paths has no lighting to create as natural of an environment as possible. The park is opened until 11:00 PM, and it is advised by park security to bring a flashlight if you plan to explore at night.