Hyde Park: Jackson Park, Washington Park, Univ. of Chicago, Promontory Point

There is some fabulous running in the Hyde Park area, which is located about 5 miles south of the Loop. Highlights of the area include the Lakefront trail out to Promontory Point, the University of Chicago campus, and the ‘Midway Pleasance’, a 1-mile European-style allée connecting Jackson Park and Washington Park. We’ve mapped out two routes, although there are a lot of options here to mix and match. Here’s a nice piece on Olmsted’s design for Washington Park.

Our 7.2 mile route showcases Jackson Park and Washington Park. Start at the 59th St./Univ. of Chicago transit stop and do a ~2 mile loop of Jackson Park, which has lovely paths winding around the Garden of the Phoenix and two lagoons on the Olmsted-designed Wooded Island, out to the Museum of Science and Industry. Then run 1 mile along ‘Midway Pleasance’, skirting the south side of the University campus, to connect to Washington Park, where you can do a perimeter loop of up to 3 miles. To save 1.5 miles, do the closer Washington Park loop, to the Museum of African American History.

The other route option, 7.3 miles, adds a loop along the lakeshore out to Promontory Point (great views!) and Harold Washington Park, but does not do the Washington Park loop.

University of Chicago Campus. A nice add-on or a standalone run.  The 215-acre campus is a botanical garden that blends traditional English Gothic architecture with the modern designs of Eero Saarinen and Mies van der Roh.