Lincoln Park is the Chicago Park District’s largest park, about 1,189 acres of lakefront parkland that runs north along Lake Michigan from North Avenue. The stretch between North Avenue and Diversey Parkway borders the Lincoln Park neighborhood and holds many of the area’s best-known attractions.
What it’s known for
The park began as a public cemetery on the city’s northern edge, where victims of cholera and smallpox were buried. Residents pushed for parkland in the 1850s, the city set aside 60 acres as Lake Park in 1860, and the park was renamed for Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. Burials were relocated and the park grew through landfill and acquisitions.
The neighborhood section includes Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lincoln Park Conservatory, the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, North Pond, the Nature Boardwalk at South Pond, the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Theater on the Lake, North Avenue Beach, Diversey Harbor and a long stretch of the Lakefront Trail. Across the whole park, the Park District lists 145 facilities, from a golf course and archery range to beaches, harbors and statues of Lincoln and Grant.
Good to know
- Hours: Open daily 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., per the official site, October 2026.
- Admission: The park itself is free, as are the zoo and the Conservatory.
- Contact: Chicago Park District, (312) 742-7726.
- Dog tip: The Park District’s dog-friendly areas in Lincoln Park are farther north (Belmont Harbor, Montrose Beach, Bryn Mawr); there is no official dog area between North Avenue and Diversey.
Plan a day with the parks and lakefront guide, or see Lincoln Park parks by size.
Sources: chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/lincoln-abraham-park
