Austin Park Trails

The neighborhood of Austin is a bustling place to be in the central west side of Chicago, where busy streets and active retail centers make up the area. In such a lively area, Austin Park is not only popular for its greenery, but also for its long and superb trail that follows the length of the park for slightly over a mile. The trail is made from concrete, with a 6-foot width throughout the entire path.

Parking is available on the street, and allows hikers to start on the east or west side of the trail. If you and Fido start on the east side of the park, you'll notice a small green space on both sides of the path, with flowers and shrubs on the left side of the trail. Although you will find benches on the Austin Park Trail, you won't find water of clean-up stations, so be sure to bring some for you and your pooch.

The path continues west, crossing over a road before entering a section of the shaded park, where the cool space offers an easy-going place to walk in the park. The shade follows almost the rest of the trail, with benches and picnic tables resting in the shade. The center park is marked by two road crossings and another large area of dense trees, which offers a quiet space to play or sit along the trail or just continue along with your walk. After the final crossing over a road, you'll enter the most active part of the park, where you will see a playground, more benches, trash bins, and a water playground for kids. Dogs are not allowed in the playground areas, but the trail follows close by them before endingion the northwest portion of the park, where it connects to another street parking area.

This narrow park still makes a great place to walk Fido, thanks to its quiet space, and abundance of shade and sitting areas.