Chicago has the largest park district in the United States and is managed by the Chicago Park District . The city's extensive park system is supplemented by forest preserves located along the original city limits and in suburban areas of Cook county. Sandy beaches, in intermittent patches along Lake Michigan, provide summertime recreation. The Park District manages over 220 facilities throughout the city with 7,300 acres (30 km²) of parkland. Each year the Park District holds thousands of special events for the citizens. The Park District also has the excellent reputation of spending the most per capita on its parks, beating out Boston in terms of park expenses per capita. Some of the more famous parks and facilities include:

• Millennium Park (newly opened in 2004, just north of the Art Institute of Chicago)
• Grant Park (downtown, the site of the Taste of Chicago and Buckingham Fountain)
• Lincoln Park (north of downtown, centrally located in the Lincoln Park community area but follows Lake Michigan past many neighborhoods.)
• The Garfield Park Conservatory - one of the largest conservatories in the United States.