Illinois Has No State Park Entrance Fee: Free and Cheap Ways to Work Out, From the Lakefront Trail to Park District Gyms

In Illinois, you can walk into any state park without paying to get in. Add Chicago’s lakefront, hundreds of miles of forest preserve trails, and Park District gyms, and you can stay in shape here for very little. The hard part is January, so this guide covers the cold, too.

Illinois state parks: free to enter

Most Illinois state-owned or operated land has no entrance fee. Wildlife Prairie Park is an exception, and sites with beaches charge a separate day-use fee [1]. There’s no parking pass to buy and no annual sticker. The only day-use charge IDNR lists is $2 a day per person for beach use, and only at sites that have beaches [1]. Camping has its own fees.

That makes state parks the cheapest place in Illinois for a long hike or trail run. Pick one within an hour of home and make it your weekend workout.

Chicago’s Lakefront Trail

The Chicago Park District runs the Lakefront Trail from Ardmore Avenue on the north to 71st Street on the south [2]. In 2018, the old shared path was split in two: an 18-mile bike trail and an 18.5-mile pedestrian trail [2]. Runners and walkers no longer have to share a lane with cyclists along most of the lake.

The Park District says the trail is used for everything from commuting to marathon training [2]. It’s open during normal park hours.

Forest preserves and rail-trails

Outside the lakefront, the Forest Preserves of Cook County have more than 400 miles of paved and unpaved trails for use all year [4]. That’s enough for a different route every weekend.

West of Chicago, the Illinois Prairie Path in DuPage and nearby counties calls itself North America’s first successful rails-to-trails conversion, founded in 1963 [5]. Like other rail-trails, it’s flat, which makes it good for walking, running and easy bike rides.

Chicago Park District fitness centers

Many Chicago park fieldhouses have fitness centers with treadmills, bikes, free weights and weight machines [3]. You need a membership to use one. Your choices [3]:

• Park-specific memberships for 1 month, 3 months or a year, good only at the park where you buy them.
• Gold memberships for 3 months or a year, good at every Park District fitness center in the city.

The Park District says rates vary by park, based on the equipment each one has, and it doesn’t post one citywide price [3]. Ask at the fieldhouse front desk. Two things to know before you pay:

• Free for three months with a referral. Chicagoans with a prescription or referral from a healthcare professional, for exercise to reduce or manage a lifestyle-related chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure or heart disease, can get a free three-month, single-site membership [3]. Bring the referral to a park with a fitness center.
• City employees save 30%. City of Chicago employees, including sister agencies, get 30% off when they register in person with an employee photo ID, or a recent pay stub and a photo ID [3].

All registrations are final, with no refunds [3], so try the location before you buy an annual pass.

Outside Chicago, check your local park district or city recreation department for fitness rooms and classes near you.

YMCA of Metro Chicago

The YMCA of Metro Chicago offers financial assistance to qualifying applicants [6]. Visit your local Y, or contact its Customer Care team at 773-905-5115, to apply [6]. Other Ys elsewhere in Illinois are run separately and set their own rules.

Working out through an Illinois winter

Cold, wind and ice are the main reasons people stop exercising here between December and March. You have two options: dress for it, or move indoors.

If you go outside, the CDC recommends [7]:

• Several layers of loose-fitting clothing, plus a water-resistant coat and boots.
• Covering your nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers and toes, where frostbite starts.
• Staying dry. Hypothermia can happen even in cool weather if you get wet from rain or sweat and then get chilled.
• Knowing the signs. Redness or pain in the skin can be the first sign of frostbite. Shivering, confusion, fumbling hands and slurred speech are signs of hypothermia, and they need medical help.

On the lakefront, wind off the water can make it feel much colder than inland. Plan a route where you can turn back early.

If you move indoors, a Park District fitness center or the Y keeps your routine going until spring.

How much to aim for

The federal Physical Activity Guidelines say adults need 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening activity, like lifting weights or push-ups, on at least 2 days [8]. In Illinois, that could be brisk walks on the lakefront or a forest preserve trail most days, and two sessions in a park district weight room.