Why Lake Katherine?
Kayaking/Canoeing – near-perfect lake for beginners.
Botanical Gardens – Alluring landscape with Herb, Butterfly gardens.
Hiking – A mile-long woodchip-based trail around the lake would give you an overdose of peace and tranquility.
Biking – The near-by Cal-Sag trail is a highly-rated biking trail.
Of all the parks and lakes I have been to around Chicago, this place has to be among Top 5.
Lake Katherine is in the center and Cal-Sag river is to the right
How to Plan your visit?
• Hop in a car and set your GPS here.
• Run through the emergency checklist.
• Rent the kayaks or the canoes here.
Tip: you would need to create an account at the website to book the boats.
• For Biking, you can use the near-by Cal Sag Trail.
The Cal-Sag trail follows the Cal-Sag river (notice the path on the right)
• Find other details here.
Photologue
Kayaking and Canoeing
We got out swiftly from the launch area.
The lake is calm since there are no speed boats so the young kids in our posse took their own time to learn and navigate through the placid waters.
The lake is full of water lilies
Here’s a bird’s eye view of our Kayaking experience –
Hike around the lake
The trail was flat, woodchip-based and rich in local flora.
The flock of swans at the far end of the lake were in a deep internal conversation.
The trail had several unmarked paths to access near-by Cal-Sag river.
The kids would thoroughly enjoy the connected Storybook Trail (a trail where pages of a storybook are placed along a walking path).
A picture perfect setting for a folklore.
A very warm gesture indeed!
Kids – young and old, will enjoy the many props
We ventured back on the main trail afterwards. It had ample spots on the way to sit and soak in the ambience.
And just like that, the mile-long hike was done.
The Exotic Gardens
The botanical gardens were small-ish but still entertaining.
The cascading waterfalls accented the serene demeanor perfectly.
There were several props reminding us of the good ol days at the Praire.
We enjoyed the picnic and an intense volleyball session at the open grounds afterwards, before heading home for the mundane rigors of life.
That’s it!
Interested in other Hiking options around Naperville? Check it out here.
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Windings to Unwind 
Beautiful park! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, it is truly one of a kind.
Unbelievable sceneries Amit, I loved the peace and the tranquility these pictures brought about. Also, brought back memories of a solo kayaking session I did out in the sea, some of your captures are just hypnotic and I could simply gaze at it for hours and hours.
Here are my memories from last kayaking trip, if you are interested,
https://sachsattic.wordpress.com/2022/09/18/my-first-sea-kayaking-experience-in-colombo-port-city-waters/
Thank you for your kind words, Desilva! Water and soul-searching go along really well. Saw your kayaking trips and the associated thoughts as well, great post indeed.