5 coolest playground slides in Lake County

My kids and I try to hit up a new park every week. We love seeing how different each park is and my older two are on a quest to find every old fashioned merry-go-round in Lake County – if you’ve got tips on one, tell me! – as well as any other way to make themselves so dizzy they fall over. On our adventures, my younger two have found an affinity for slides, especially my 2-year-old. He goes up and down again, and again, and again! These are the five coolest, craziest, most fun slides we have found in Lake County (so far).

Old school cool at Caboose Park

The actual name of the park is Lake Villa Township Park {37908 N Fairfield Rd., Lake Villa} but everyone calls it Caboose Park because, well, there is a caboose in it! A real one! But believe it or not, that is not the coolest feature of this large playground. There is a huge sandbox, a climbing structure that looks like a stegosaurus and an old fashioned merry-go-round. It also features an enormous, super tall, old school metal slide. My kids love it! They thinks it’s fast and “as tall as a roller coaster!” It just makes me nostalgic. Note that it’s best for school age kids. My toddler freaked out and leaned too far over the top and fell. I caught her, but I wouldn’t leave little ones farther than arms reach near this slide.

Roll with it in Lindenhurst

When I was growing up, I remember roller slides being in almost every park we went to. I don’t know if it was a fad back then, but this is the only one my kids have ever seen since moving to Lake County. They think it’s the best thing ever. My 2- and 4-year-old spent 35 straight minutes going down this slide together and doing nothing else. No joke.

The slide is located in Millennium Park {201 Country Place Lane, Lindenhurst} which is a huge park complex that is also attached to the Bonner Heritage Farm. There is something for everyone at this facility … if you can convince your kids to stop rolling.

Climb the walls in Libertyville

Independence Grove {16400 Buckley Rd., Libertyville} is one of the gems of the Lake County Forest Preserve District and the Children’s Grove Playground is one of the reasons. This huge playground is multiple levels of fun with both a tot area and big kid area, separated by a bridge of little houses. If you have a kid who is prone to hiding, I would stay close as there are lots of nooks, crannies and tunnels to hide in in this park. On the plus side, it’s gated and there is only one exit.

Aside from all the regular park slides and features, this playground features a tube slide that is only accessible if you climb a wall to get it. This is definitely for big kids only, but it is So. Much Fun. There are countless ways to climb up the walls and there are actual flat rocks stacked on each other forming ledges and steps. Daredevil boys (and some girls) will skip the slide and opt to just jump down. It’s not that far to the bottom and the shredded tire mulch make it a soft landing.

Go to great heights

When it comes to slides, the taller the better, right? Two of our favorite playgrounds house multi-level structures with impressive slides at the top of them.

Bowen Park {Sheridan Rd. and Greenwood in Waukegan} is favorite park of ours. It features a three-story structure that is built into the side of a hill. Kids start at the upper playground and end on the lower playground. The slides also twist and cross over each other so it’s also a fun game to see which one your kid comes out first!

Jewett Park {836 Jewett Park Dr., Deerfield} has two playgrounds and the one near the pavilion is brand new, having just been renovated. This park features a two-story structure with a wicked awesome twisting tube slide. In addition to the new park, the tot lot that is down the path (outside the Jewett Park Community Center) is perfect for toddlers as it’s well shaded and has a great toddler-sized train.

Any other super awesome slides in Lake County we need to check out?

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