You get off the Red Line at Cermak-Chinatown and walk south past the bubble tea shops and the roast duck windows, then turn left toward the river. It takes maybe eight minutes on foot, and then the park opens up in front of you — the Chicago River running wide and brown, a timber pavilion with a red-tiled roof catching the afternoon light, and almost none of the noise from the L.
Ping Tom Memorial Park sits along the South Branch of the Chicago River in Chinatown, and it’s the kind of place that rewards a slow visit. Named after a prominent community businessman who died in 1992, the park stretches across about 17 acres of former rail yard. The Chicago Park District didn’t open it until 1999, and it still feels a little undiscovered compared to the lakefront parks that hog all the attention. On a Tuesday afternoon in early September, you might share it with maybe a dozen people: a grandmother pushing a stroller, a few anglers working the riverbank, somebody doing slow tai chi near the boathouse.
Head straight for the fieldhouse when you arrive. It’s a striking building — modeled loosely on a Chinese pavilion, with heavy timber columns and a green roof — and on hot days the covered terrace facing the river is genuinely one of the better places to sit in the city. There are red Adirondack chairs out there most of the season. Sit down. Watch the water taxis go by. Notice how the river actually smells fine here, which isn’t always a given in Chicago.
The northern end of the park connects to the Chicago Riverwalk via water taxi — one of the seasonal stops drops here from May through October. A round trip from downtown costs around $6, which is not a bad way to arrive if you want to make an afternoon of it. Coming by water, the park’s position in the cityscape becomes clearer: the skyline visible to the north, the old industrial infrastructure giving way to green banks, the Chinatown water tower up on the hill behind you.
There’s a decent playground in the southern section and a small sledding hill that gets some use in winter. The real draw in warmer months is the river access — you can launch a kayak here through the Chicago Park District’s kayak rental program when it’s operating, and paddling north toward downtown from this launch is a genuinely different angle on the city. Permit fees are modest, usually under $20 for a couple hours.
In late spring the park hosts the Chinatown Summer Fair overflow crowds and occasional evening events, but most days it functions as a neighborhood park without pretension. The adjacent Chinatown Square mall and the restaurants on Wentworth Avenue are a short walk back, which means you can pair the park with lunch at MingHin — though that one’s already been written up — or hit Lao Sze Chuan on West Cermak for the dry-fried green beans and twice-cooked pork before you wander down.
Entry to Ping Tom is free, parking exists but is limited along 19th Street, and the whole afternoon — park, water taxi, a bowl of noodles somewhere — will run you maybe $25 if you’re keeping count. It’s a good park in a neighborhood that doesn’t always get credit for its good parks. Come on a weekday and you’ll probably have the red chairs to yourself.
