A Rosemont By Any Other Name

It's the first issue of my newsletter! Read about a sweet park in Rosemont!

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For starters, a little about me: I’m a dad living in the Chicago suburbs with three kids under five…but don’t let that scare you away! I intend for this newsletter to have a lot of good activities/locations/restaurants/etc. geared toward families with young children, but there will also be plenty of non-kid-related recommendations that will be useful to anyone. I’m a busy guy, but I hope to be able to publish a newsletter once per week and for it not to be overly long so that I can actually accomplish that goal.

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Where To Go

Dunne Park | Rosemont

Since the arrival of spring weather when the playgrounds were still closed, my wife and I have made it our business to find the best parks, forest preserves and green spaces for us to take the kids on an outing beyond our backyard.

Nestled between the 90/294 junction and River Road, Dunne Park is a diamond in the Rosemont rough that is well worth a visit for entertaining your kids, going for a nice walk/run, or even taking photos for a special occasion. It’s almost guaranteed that you will run into someone taking photos here. Today we saw both a one-year-old birthday photoshoot and a christening photoshoot. Last time I saw what was definitely an album cover photoshoot, and there are always plenty of people just snapping some selfies to beautify their Instagram feed. [sheepishly raises hand]

But let’s talk about the stunning beauty of this place. Dang. Who knew something this close to the Kennedy could feel so tranquil, despite the traffic noise pollution. The park features a paved walking trail that wraps around a lovely man-made lake complete with ducks, geese, swans (yes, swans!) and a picturesque mini-waterfall. It’s not overly long, so even with small kids—and frequent detours to look at the swans—we were able to complete a lap in about 10 minutes.

The lake is adjacent to the Dunne Park Recreation Center, which has a graduated step-style fountain that is the perfect height for my kids to reach in and splash around. two nearby picnic tables that are perfect for an outdoor meal. You could also easily find some grassy space around the lake to spread out a blanket and you might even find a spot with some shade.

Off the main trail, there is another path that leads to a wooden bridge crossing over Willow Creek toward another small landscaped park area with trees and flowers. My kids thoroughly enjoyed picking pebbles out of the landscaping to take back to the bridge to throw into the water. We’re in a major “throwing rocks in water stage” at our house, so that becomes a frequent requirement of any successful park outing.

Overall, this park is a nice brief getaway for us, even if we just need to kill an hour and not make a whole process out of it.

Tips from Dad

• Bring a snack or meal and eat it at the picnic tables.

• Consider bringing extra clothes if you choose to let your kids play in the fountain.

• On a sunny day, there is little shade around the actual trail itself, so bring sunscreen.

• Much of the parking surrounding the park seems to be resident only, but there is a lot for park district guests (that means you) tucked away behind the park district building off Glenlake Street when you enter off River Road.

• Check out the gazebo with benches on one side of the lake.

If you decide to check out Dunne Park, be sure to reply and let me know what you thought! Do you know about something that I should share in this newsletter? Drop me a line at dadhasablog@gmail.com and let me know! Thanks for reading and use the button below to share this newsletter with others who might like to read it!