Skip to Content
Streetsblog Chicago home
Log In
Streetsblog Chicago

What are Chicago’s Best Places to Get Away From Car Traffic?

4:46 PM CDT on August 6, 2018

When you hang out on Northerly Island, the park created after the downtown Meigs Field airport was bulldozed, it’s easy to forget you live in a car-choked city. Photo: Jeff Zoline

Last month occasional Streetsblog writer Shaun Jacobsen noted on Twitter that widening North Lake Shore Drive, a possible scenario for its impending reconstruction, would be a huge step in the wrong direction, and it's a shame that the drive currently detracts from most of the lakefront parks and beaches. "Why can’t we have one part of the city where you can’t hear cars?" Jacobsen wrote. A Bronzeville resident named Jamahl replied:

This is why most of my favorite lakefront parks are on the far South Side. I hear nothing at Calumet Park. https://t.co/QTXBCg2ZRF

— Jamahl. (@TheFreeXone) July 20, 2018

I chimed in that I like Montrose Beach for the same reason -- it's so far away from Lake Shore Drive that there's virtually no highway noise. Then, via the Streetsblog Chicago account, I asked our readers for their favorite places in Chicago to take a break from the noise, sight, smell, and stress of motor vehicle traffic. Here are some of the responses:

Read the full Twitter thread here.

What are your favorite car-free hideaways? Let us know in the comment section.

Banner for our fundraising campaign that says Donate and help us win a $50,000 grant from The Chicago Community Trust to hire a new reporter

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Chicago

Taste of 79th Community Walk uses a stroll with a New Orleans-style brass band to highlight the corridor

Saturday's event was a reminder that there's no better way to get to know a neighborhood than taking a walk with others, enjoying live music, and supporting local businesses.

September 20, 2023

Check it out: Now it’s safer to get on and off the 312 RiverRun from Belmont Avenue

One of the coolest new things on the on-street route is the treatment of Belmont near and over the Chicago River, by the southern trailhead of the north-south path.

September 19, 2023

Who’s to blame for the killing of a man on the sidewalk after two drivers crashed in West Ridge?

The police statement and crash report provide different accounts of which driver should have yielded, but a 6-lane street layout may have also played a role in the tragedy.

September 19, 2023
See all posts