Vernon Hills offers a variety of ways to explore: parks with trails and playgrounds, golf, summer music events, and a historic house with a garden. When planning, it helps to distinguish between the highlights: Grosse Pointe Park combines several outdoor activities, while Deerpath Park features a specific playground. Golf, culture, and garden architecture provide additional ways to spend your time here.

Parks, Trails, and Playgrounds

Grosse Pointe Park has a 1.5-mile trail for walking and biking; fishing is permitted there from 8:00 a.m. until dusk. The park also has three playgrounds, including areas for children ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12. The play areas are thus divided by age group, while the trail explicitly accommodates two activities. If you’re weighing exercise, fishing, and playground time during your stay, you’ll find several clearly identified options in one place.

Deerpath Park has a playground called Kids’ Castle. This distinguishes the park by a single named playground from the broader range of activities described at Grosse Pointe Park. If age-specific play areas or a particular playground name matter when choosing where to go, the two parks offer different points of reference.

Golf in Vernon Hills

The Back Nine at The Muni is a 9-hole putting course at Vernon Hills Golf Course, designed for family fun. Vernon Hills Golf Course also features narrow fairways and small greens. This brings together a specifically named putting course and features of the course design: The Back Nine is identified by its format and number of holes, while the golf course is noted for its narrow fairways and small greens. If you’d like to include golf in your stay, these specific differences can help guide your choice.

Music and Remembrance

The Vernon Hills Memorial Arbortheater is a public facility that hosts musical entertainment events during the summer months. It is also dedicated to remembering war veterans. Here, a performance venue and a memorial site come together, setting the Arbortheater apart from the park and golf offerings. Individual concert dates may vary, so it’s worth checking the schedule before visiting.

Cuneo Mansion and Gardens

Cuneo Mansion and Gardens adds architecture and landscaped gardens to the mix. The well-preserved Italian villa-style house was built between 1914 and 1916. The garden retains remnants of the original design by Jens Jensen, including a cobblestone bridge, a waterfall, artificial lakes, and a Council Circle. These features bring the garden design to life, while the construction dates and architectural style place the house in its historical and architectural context. Along with the Arbortheater, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens offers a different cultural focus: a historic house with preserved garden features on the one hand, and summer music and a memorial to war veterans on the other.

Discover more destinations: Zion, Deer Park, Antioch, Grayslake, North Chicago, Tower Lakes, Bannockburn, Round Lake

For the broader travel overview: Lake.