Overview
Park Ridge is a city in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicagoland, just outside of Chicago. It has a lively uptown area that has plenty of local businesses and restaurants. You can watch a film at the historic Pickwick Theatre or have a pool day at Centennial Park. Park Ridge is a great and accessible small town to escape to for a day trip, with lots of fun and exciting activities to fill your schedule.
1 sights · 3 things to do · 5 places to eat · 1 bars & cafés
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Park Ridge
Pickwick Theatre
One of the true grand movie palaces remaining in the Chicagoland area. Famous film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert filmed the intro for their "At the Movies" show there. Make sure you have a ticket for the show on th…
Rodham Corner
Rodham Corner is one of two public commemorations of former Secretary of State, First Lady and presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton in her hometown. It's hardly a monument at all, just a very simple sign on a pole…
Concerts in the Park
Several free Friday night concerts held during the summer in front of City Hall in Hodges Park. A great way to meet locals and have fun.
Centennial Park
A large park complete with a sled hill, a playground, a soccer field, a community center, a fitness center (including an indoor 2-pool aquatic complex), and a 3-pool outdoor aquatic complex. To access the pool and the fi…
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Oct. Summer highs reach about 85°F; winter lows dip to about 20°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: May and Jun. (climate data from nearby Chicago)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- ORD Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago — 4 mi away (major hub). Directions
- MDW Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago — 16 mi away (major hub). Directions
Park Ridge is accessible by Pace Suburban buses and CTA buses. Buses are often late due to traffic and CTA buses tend to have more frequent stops than Pace buses.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 1-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Rodham Corner, Pickwick Theatre
- Lunch The Harp and Fiddle
- Afternoon Concerts in the Park, Centennial Park
- Dinner Hay Caramba
- Evening Beer on the Wall
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Get in
By train
- Metra serves Park Ridge with service on the Union Pacific Northwest Line. The Park Ridge Metra station is at 100 South Summit Avenue, between Touhy Avenue and Prospect Avenue in Uptown Park Ridge (the suburb's central business district), and has a waiting room that is open 5AM-9PM daily, and also has a ticket agent available weekdays 5:25AM-12:55PM. The less used Dee Road Metra station is at 950 Busse Highway, west of Dee Road and south of Oakton Street in northwest Park Ridge; this station has a shelter but no ticket agent.
- Park Ridge is accessible by the CTA or "El"/"L" trains that serve Chicago. The CTA Blue Line's Cumberland station is just south of Park Ridge's city limits.
By car
- Park Ridge is adjacent to two major highways, I-294 and I-90, though the city is more accessible to travelers heading away from downtown Chicago. Travelers on I-294 North, the Tri-State Tollway, can exit at Touhy Avenue (East) and US-14/Dempster Street (East) to get to Park Ridge. I-294 South does not offer easy access to Park Ridge. Travelers on I-90 West, the Kennedy Expressway, can get to Park Ridge by exiting at Cumberland Avenue (North) or Canfield Road (North). I-90 East offers close access to Park Ridge at the Cumberland Avenue (North) exit only.
- US-14, which is Dempster Street in Park Ridge, runs near Park Ridge's northern border. US-14 connects Park Ridge to the northwest suburbs (where US-14 follows Miner Street in Des Plaines and Northwest Highway in further northwest suburbs), as well as Niles and the north side of Chicago (where US-14 follows various streets including Caldwell Avenue and Peterson Avenue).
- IL-72, Higgins Road, runs along Park Ridge's southern border. It connects Park Ridge to northwest suburbs including Schaumburg, as well as to Harlem Avenue on Chicago's Far Northwest Side.
By bus
Park Ridge is accessible by Pace Suburban buses and CTA buses. Buses are often late due to traffic and CTA buses tend to have more frequent stops than Pace buses.
== Pace Suburban buses ==
290 - Touhy Ave - This route starts at Rodgers Park at the Howard St CTA Station(on the Red, Yellow and Purple Line) and follows Touhy Ave until Uptown Park Ridge, where it will stop at the Park Ridge Metra Station and turn south until it reaches the Cumberland CTA Station(on the Blue Line).
240 - Dee Rd - This route is a part-time route that provides weekday rush-hour service that connects Golf Mill Shopping Center to the Cumberland CTA Station with a stop at the Dee Rd Metra station.
241 - Greenwood-Talcott - This route is a part-time route that provides weekday rush-hour servuce that connects Golf Mill Shopping Center to the Cumberland CTA Station with a stop at the Park Ridge Metra station in Uptown Park Ridge.
== CTA buses ==
68 - Northwest Hwy - This route connects the Jefferson Park CTA Station and the Jefferson Park Metra station to the Park Ridge Metra station in Uptown Park Ridge. It is a great way to get to Uptown Park Ridge by either the "L" trains or the Metra.
See
See Rodham Corner
Rodham Corner is one of two public commemorations of former Secretary of State, First Lady and presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton in her hometown. It's hardly a monument at all, just a very simple sign on a pole at the corner of Wisner and Elm, near the home where the Rodhams lived when Hillary was growing up. You can't go into HRC's former home, as someone lives there, but you can get a sense of the neighborhood she grew up in: it's directly north of the Pickwick and Uptown Park Ridge. Clinton is also commemorated in a plaque on a historic fountain across from Park Ridge's city hall.
Do
Do Pickwick Theatre
One of the true grand movie palaces remaining in the Chicagoland area. Famous film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert filmed the intro for their "At the Movies" show there. Make sure you have a ticket for the show on the main screen, though, not the shoebox mini-plex around the corner.
Do Concerts in the Park
Several free Friday night concerts held during the summer in front of City Hall in Hodges Park. A great way to meet locals and have fun.
Do Centennial Park
A large park complete with a sled hill, a playground, a soccer field, a community center, a fitness center (including an indoor 2-pool aquatic complex), and a 3-pool outdoor aquatic complex. To access the pool and the fitness center, a membership is needed or you can pay for a one-time visit. There is also a small food stall that is accessible from either inside the outdoor aquatic complex or from the playground.
Buy
Eat
Eat Cream of the Crepe
A noteworthy crepe restaurant in Park Ridge. Cream of the Crepe has decor in a French cafe style.
Eat Hay Caramba
Popular sitdown spot for Mexican food.
Eat The Harp and Fiddle
Irish pub offering Irish food, beer, and atmosphere.
Eat Holt's
One of the oldest surviving restaurants in Park Ridge. A popular American restaurant serving pizza, burgers, cocktails, and beer.
Eat Triple Scoop'd
A local ice cream shop that sells delicious treats and is a great place for the family to grab dessert.
Drink
Drink Beer on the Wall
An eclectic selection of beers. Not a bar, but you can sample beers up to a certain amount. Has several board games and an old NES system for patrons to play.
Go next
If you liked Uptown Park Ridge, the suburbs along the US-14 corridor, including Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, and more all the way through Barrington have similar business district layouts. Beware: US-14 in the northwest suburbs is confusingly also called Northwest Highway, though it's not contiguous with Park Ridge's Northwest Highway. If traveling by car, you'll have to turn left at the intersection of Park Ridge's Northwest Highway (which becomes Rand Road) and US-14 (which changes from Dempster Street to Miner Street, then becomes Northwest Highway.)
The nearby Far Northwest Side neighborhoods of Chicago, especially Edison Park, which borders Uptown Park Ridge, offer more shops, restaurants, and nightlife opportunities.
If you're looking for other historic movie theaters in the area, the Logan Theatre in Logan Square is another well-known one.
Nearby
Niles
City / town · 7 listings · 2 mi away
Rosemont
City / town · 26 listings · 2 mi away
Des Plaines
City / town · 20 listings · 3 mi away
Morton Grove
City / town · 1 listings · 3 mi away
Schiller Park
City / town · 4 listings · 4 mi away
Glenview
City / town · 14 listings · 5 mi away
Skokie
City / town · 16 listings · 5 mi away
Franklin Park
City / town · 15 listings · 6 mi away
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