5 Chicago Suburbs Next To Downtown To Explore, According To Locals

The bustling city of Chicago has tons of unique places of interest that are sure to fill any visitor's itinerary. From one of Guy Fieri's favorite restaurants to one of America's longest-operating hotels, the Windy City has tons of notable attractions for visitors to enjoy without ever having to leave downtown. However, a peek past downtown Chicago will reveal an abundance of charming suburbs waiting to be explored. Whether you prefer to check out areas that are bursting with natural beauty or those known for festivals and a vibrant community, there is a suburb for you just outside of Chicago.

While Chicago has a population of 2.7 million residents, making it the third most populous city in the nation, these suburbs have all of the privileges of big city amenities without the large crowds. Each area is less than an hour's drive from downtown Chicago, and while there are plenty of interesting suburbs that could have made this list, we focused on areas that the city's residents themselves consider to be some of the best. 

The suburbs selected for this list are presented in no particular order and were drawn from social media platforms and online forums where local residents voiced their love for these charming and underrated areas. 

While perusing the r/ChicagoSuburbs subreddit, there are very few suburbs mentioned as frequently as Elmhurst. Situated in DuPage County, it has a population of about 46,000 and sits just under 20 miles west of Chicago. With its walkable, tree-lined streets, Elmhurst is a great place to begin exploring all that the Chicago suburbs have to offer. "Downtown Elmhurst is a fan fav!" wrote one resident review on Niche. "... even just walking around the suburb, the houses are lovely, the people are friendly, and there are so many shopping areas close by."

Elmhurst boasts a robust arts scene, which can be seen all around town. The Elmhurst Art Museum features local contemporary art and hosts plenty of events year-round, from poetry workshops to holiday parties. If you happen to visit in May, the museum hosts Art in Wilder Park, an annual two-night festival where over 100 artists gather to showcase their handmade work, from jewelry to paintings to ceramics. For theater lovers, visit the historic York Theatre, built in 1924, which has been fully restored to its classic Spanish style and offers a unique movie-going experience.

A visit to Elmhurst would not be complete without exploring some of the unique outdoor activities. For a scenic hike, about 5 miles of the 62-mile Illinois Prairie Path runs through Elmhurst, and there are an additional 28 parks and 500 acres of green space to explore. One Redditor recommends biking your way around the area: "Elmhurst sits at the crossroads of the best trail networks in the region — Prairie Path, Salt Creek, Great Western — plus safe roads, night-ride heaven, and ridiculously welcoming group rides from the Elmhurst Bicycle Club." 

Located just 9 miles west of Chicago is an adorable walkable neighborhood with small-town charm, Oak Park. While the festivals and shopping opportunities perhaps draw some of the town's crowds, this location is best known as a must-visit for history lovers. Oak Park claims to have the world's largest collection of buildings designed by the prolific Frank Lloyd Wright, situated in the Frank Lloyd Wright District. Here, you can visit the 23 buildings he designed on one of the walking or biking tours available throughout the week. 

Oak Park is also the birthplace of author Ernest Hemingway, and his 1890's home, one of the first in town to have electricity, has been restored to its original charm. Between these two historical attractions, Oak Park boasts some incredibly designed buildings, with one Redditor writing that it "might be the best suburb to walk around in all of Chicagoland for architecture and nice trees." 

Oak Park is a great suburb to explore in the summer, as the warmer months bring even more ways to discover this underrated area. Since 1975, Oak Park Festival Theatre has performed Shakespeare in Austin Gardens park each summer, making it the oldest professional classical outdoor theater in the Midwest. Between July and October, there is also the First Fridays street festivals, where different business districts across town transform into open-air markets filled with live music and a positive atmosphere. Regardless of when you visit, residents agree that Oak Park is one of the best suburbs of Chicago: "The community here is something special," wrote one resident on Niche. "People are friendly, and there's always something happening in the downtown area."

For a quaint area with tons of character, visit the storybook suburb of Glen Ellyn. With a population of almost 29,000 residents, Glen Ellyn maintains a small-town charm despite only being 28 miles west of Chicago. This charming suburb was ranked eighth in Travel + Leisure's "9 Best Places to Live in the U.S. for Families" due to its excellent food scene, nightlife, and safety, making it a great choice for those who want a fun, peaceful experience in a new place. "Glen Ellyn is a great place to be!" wrote a resident on Niche. "I would argue this area is one of the best compared to the surrounding suburbs."

Glen Ellyn has tons of natural beauty. One of the most scenic areas to explore is the Glen Ellyn park district, which features over 300 acres of space for outdoor activity. From rock climbing walls to a splash park, there is something for everyone to enjoy here year-round. A few minutes away is the idyllic Lake Ellyn, an 11-acre lake surrounded by a beautiful park and a source of pride and joy for the local community. Enjoy a stroll around the lake's walking trail, or enjoy some family time inside the park's playground.

A visit to Glen Ellyn is not complete without exploring their robust food scene. Downtown Glen Ellyn is home to some incredible restaurants and bars, such as the often-recommended Fire+Wine, an Italian restaurant with a cozy ambiance. For a unique bar experience, locals on Reddit also recommend Common Good Cocktail House for some exquisite craft cocktails from their seasonal menus.

About 16 miles southwest of Chicago is the charming, picturesque village of La Grange. This is an underrated suburb with a historic, vibrant downtown, with one Redditor calling it "one of the best downtowns in the suburbs." La Grange's historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains more than 1,000 historic buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Here you can find the La Grange Theatre, which originally opened in 1925 and was fully restored and reopened in 2022. For rail buffs, there is Stone Avenue Station, built in 1901 and still an active railway station. La Grange Area Historical Society offers self-guided walking tours that allow visitors to explore the area at their own pace.

La Grange explodes with activity in the summertime. The community comes together for several different events, the most notable being the Pet Parade. Beginning in 1947, this annual parade is a family-friendly event that brings tens of thousands of people to La Grange each May. The community marks the end of summer with the West End Arts Festival, held in the Stone Avenue Station. Enjoy fine art, live music, and good food while celebrating the local art scene during this two-day festival in September.

Only 20 miles north of Chicago is Evanston, a charming city along Lake Michigan's shores. It's home to the renowned Northwestern University (NU), which predates the city by almost a decade. The sprawling campus is famous for its natural beauty, with publications like Travel + Leisure naming it one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. Among its more notable attractions are a stunning library modeled after King's College Chapel in Cambridge, a 1960's chapel with intricate stained-glass windows, and a colorful garden originally planted in 1917.  

Still, despite the strong campus presence in town, Evanston maintains a tranquil atmosphere punctuated by tree-lined streets and cozy townhomes. This storybook suburb provides plenty of options to explore, from its sprawling campus to its vibrant downtown. "Evanston is a great town!" wrote one resident on Niche. "The people are very friendly, and the diversity makes it easy to explore new cultures, traditions, and food!" A good way to do that is to stroll along Central Street, where you'll find a treasure trove of local businesses, from diverse restaurants to art museums to charming boutiques.

Evanston's lakeshore provides even more ways to explore, offering a little over a mile of paved trail for walking, running, or biking. For even more ways to enjoy the lakeshore, the city is also home to six different beaches, including a dog beach that's free for locals. For those who prefer lush greenery over sandy beaches, Evanston has you covered; with over 70 parks and 50 different playgrounds to choose from, this is a nature lover's dream.

To compile the suburbs on this list, we began by looking through the r/ChicagoSuburbs subreddit to see what native Chicagoans had to say about the different suburbs, noting the areas that were mentioned the most. From there, we expanded our search to other discussion forums such as Niche and other social media platforms. We only considered posts and reviews left after 2020 to ensure relevance.

We also narrowed our scope by focusing on suburbs that were close in proximity to Chicago's downtown area, limiting our list to places less than 30 miles away. From here, we selected the suburbs that not only are walkable and easy to explore, but also have plenty of unique attractions that can appeal to a wide array of visitors. Whether it's hiking the Illinois Prairie Path in Elmhurst or visiting the historic homes in Oak Park, the five selected suburbs have no shortage of opportunities to explore.