Eugene Field Park

Other reviewers have already pointed out some of this park’s many highlights – dogs are welcome everywhere but the playground equipment, a splash area that’s being renovated as of this writing, baseball diamond, basketball court, tennis courts, ADA-​ok playground equipment for various age levels, lovely paths along the river, and a pre-​war field house with a WPA mural inside.
What you may not know about this park is that the park district offers many programs here, both in the field house (like an upcoming dia de Los Muertos crafts event) and in the park (tennis lessons). Even more overlooked are the excellent bird watching opportunities! I’ve seen two species of duck, a redstart, nighthawks, a hummingbird, a hawk, a woodpecker, and of course the usual robins and sparrows. This is all just what I’ve noticed while my daughter played on the playground!
This park also gets amazing ice cream cart traffic in warm weather. The michoacan-​style one is my favorite so far.
Unfortunately, litter is a real problem here. A few locals who do not respect the environment or their neighbors leave all sorts of items here, from discarded food wrappers to broken electronics. Most of us who love and regularly enjoy this park use the provided trash cans, but the people who don’t are pretty egregious offenders.
Also an issue is one small section of the trail near the basketball court that turns into a mud pit if it so much as drizzles. Runners beware! I’ve seen a couple of people slip here.
Overall, though, this is a great park, and yes – I do run here after dark, as do many others.

Not a huge park, but it’s a great little diversion when walking to NEIU from my apartment — love the little pond and native grasses!

Beagle field by the army corps of engineers.
Oh, I’m sorry, let me explain: this field was decimated into swampland by dramatic flooding in 2008 and 2014. Now it is wild, tall prairie grasses and wildflowers.
Beagles enjoy walking here for sniffs and bunny foraging. We can run along the paved walkway and enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, smell of flowers in the air and at times, baseball in the connecting field.
It’s very pretty and a soothing stroll if you happen to be in the area, which the beagles and I frequently are.
Not as exciting as tall grasses to beagles: There is also across the bridge a big child’s playground with basketball courts and a sprinkler– beagles do not venture there as they do not appreciate either sprinklers, swings or slam dunking– but the kids have never been anything but charming and kind to petting the beagles.

My little dude is taking T-​ball here this spring and LOVES Coach Kevin. My stepdaughter did a soccer camp here as well a couple years ago and loved it. The staff is amazing! The playground is also pretty nice and the kids love it.

Great park with loads of activities year round. The rec offers great classes for both kids and adults. The playground is great with protective padding which makes me relax with kids playing and falling as they always do.

now that my 1.5 year old is more comfortable with playgrounds, we have a blast at this park even though she rarely climbs the set that’s more suited for her.
there are ample benches and several tables set up– some even under some shade.
this is a really great park.

With so much green space on the NW side (at least compared to the rest of Chicago), it’s easy to overlook Eugene Field Park, but a closer inspection at this park divided by the Chicago river reveals that it offers much to fulfill a variety of needs in the diverse community surrounding it:
Active life — a well-​paved two-​lane path runs along the south side of the river — it’s basically an extension of the north-​shore channel path to the East. I typically start my bike rides here, and others use it for jogging, walking, or even skateboarding on occasion. Luckily, the crowds are light (which can’t be said of many Chicago parks), so it’s easy to navigate. And for those who enjoy tennis, the park has a few courts in decent shape that are usually available.
Leisure — on nice days, benches located throughout the park, particularly those near the river, provide a nice resting place for those just enjoying the scenery and sunshine. And a casual stroll along the river is enjoyable Spring, Summer, and Fall (and probably even Winter for those more hardy than I).
Kid-​friendly — On the south side of the river, toddlers and young school children frequently converge on the new playground that has a variety of equipment (jungle gym, swing set, etc). Immediately next to the playground, you will almost always find a group of teenagers playing basketball on a small ourdoor court. Meanwhile, the baseball field on the north side of the river is decently maintained, but seems rarely used. And of course, pre-​teens/​teens love just «hanging out» which they often do by the beautiful fieldhouse, where they can take part in activities such as theater.
Dog-​friendly — our dog loves walking all over the park. He particularly likes sniffing around the river, where darting squirrels give him a frequent thrill. And because the large field on the north side of the river is often empty, it is a great place to let him run around off-​leash. Just note that dogs are not suppose to go in the playground or on the tennis courts — understandably.

The new playlot at Eugene Field Park is now open and a great place for kids to play. There’s a lot of new classes at the field house, including dance for kids and archery, plus a fantastic youth-​led theatre troupe.

Awesome park now that it has been refitted. It has the newer soft surface that you see at the other revamped parks like Welles. The bonuses about this park are multiple jungle gyms and it is well shaded. I encourage those with children in the 60 625 to check it out!

Cute little family-​friendly park, but this review is really for the fieldhouse. Barbara kindly gave us a tour, and I was impressed with the services provided to the community. She showed us the theater, which is run by the Albany Park Theater Project, which takes local kids and lets them tell their stories, everything is run by and involves the actual community members. She told us some very moving stories that had been put on as plays recently, and I give such kudos to providing people an outlet to express their experiences. I hope to go back and see one of the plays and support the children. Keep up the good work!

Signed up for a conditioning class via the Chicago Park District website. What an excellent value if you want to get a supplemental workout a few days per week. The field house has a small basketball court and a long class room for the conditioning class. The floors look brand new and looks like they remodeled the place. They offer 16″ softball leagues for adults.

Just moved to the hood. They let little gang banger wanna be-​s hang out and cause mayhem. No one wants to grow a pair and call the cops in the field house.
I used to exercises my dog on the dilapidated tennis courts, but they locked them up. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t cleaning up after my dog. Actually, she’s never done anything but play, and cut her foot on broken glass, which I cleaned up later myself with a broom and dustpan.
They are not dog friendly at all, but apparently, teen-​aged boys intimidated little old ladies is all the rage and welcomed at Eugene Field Park.
Bring pepper spray after dark.

The childrens playground is showing signs of wear-​and-​tear, so a group of local activists have taken over trying to raise funds to replace the playground apparatus.
You can get more information at

This is one of my favorite parks in the city. It’s not too crowded, even during the summer. It’s located in a pocket of Albany Park where there are brick single-​family homes and well manicured lawns (well, most of them are) along the Chicago River.
This park has been around for 60 years. I’m pretty sure the field house is haunted… boo! Just kidding. During the summer, you’ll see children there for day camp and various summer activities. The park itself is fairly large, with two baseball fields, tennis courts, a playground, and a spray pool for the kids.
I love the walking paths along the river, on both sides of the river. You’ll see joggers running through and around the park, as well as bicyclists on the bike paths. It’s not as huge as Gompers Park — it’s only 12 acres compared to Gompers’ 39 acres. But it’s a lovely park for those living in the neighborhood.

Though sometimes overshadowed by its neighbor, Gompers Park, Eugene Field Park has more than its share of attractions. Chief among these, for many people, is the beautiful 20s-​era Tudor revival field house which features a WPA mural devoted to the arts, a large mosaic work devoted to the works of Eugene Field and created by local teens in the Eugene Field ceramics studio, and a resident theater group, the Albany Park Theater Project. It’s no wonder that this park has been declared a Chicago Cultural Center.
The 12-​acre park also features fields for baseball, football and soccer, tennis courts, a playground and a spray pool, and is currently being enlarged with the acquisition of the property at the southeast corner of Pulaski and Foster, and the old Pulaski bus terminal just south of Foster Ave. It’s a very popular spot for local sports teams, and it’s common to see that stretch of Foster Ave. crowded with cars belonging to people watching or playing in a baseball or soccer game.
But what I love about the park is a little more solitary. There’s a path along the south side of the park which runs alongside the river. It’s a quiet area, but not deserted. Walkers, runners, cyclists all use it. Just east of the main part of the park is a steel bridge, and ducks seem to congregate around it as if they’re used to being fed from it. The trail continues on up, behind houses and flower-​bedecked yards all the way to Central Park Ave. Along that stretch, the riverbank is accessible by foot.
Eugene Field Park is a surprising place. Unless you’re a local you might never find its gems, and that would be a shame.