Best Buildings for Runners: Trail and Park Access

TL;DR For runners, the perfect building opens onto a great route. The Lakeshore East and Streeterville towers put you on the 18-mile Lakefront Trail, the Wicker Park and Bucktown buildings on the car-free 606, and the Loop's park-dense addresses near Grant and Millennium Parks. Here is where to lace up and go.

A runner does not need a treadmill in the building nearly as much as a great route outside it. The best running address is the one where you step out the door and you are already on the path. We looked at which buildings open onto Chicago's best routes. Here is where to live to run.

For lakefront miles: the trail buildings

The Lakefront Trail is the dream route, 18.5 mostly car-free miles along Lake Michigan. Lakeshore East's Aqua and the Streeterville high-rises like The Saint Grand and North Water put you right on it, so a long lakeside run is a step out the lobby. The trail connects four major parks and a string of beaches, so your distance options are essentially unlimited.

For a car-free path: the 606 buildings

If you want a flat, fully separated path with no traffic to cross, the 606 is unbeatable, and buildings like Trailhead 606 in Logan Square and Triangle Square in Bucktown sit right on it. It is 2.7 elevated, green miles, perfect for an everyday run, with the neighborhood's cafes waiting at the end.

For downtown loops: the park-dense towers

Downtown runners are spoiled too. The Loop's most park-dense buildings, MILA and The Alfred, sit beside Grant Park, Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, and the Riverwalk, giving you a network of car-free loops right in the city center.

The runner's route map

Route	What you get	Live here
Lakefront Trail	18.5 miles along the lake	Aqua, The Saint Grand, North Water
The 606	2.7 car-free elevated miles	Trailhead 606, Triangle Square
Downtown parks	Loops in Grant and Millennium Parks	MILA, The Alfred

How to use this

Pick the kind of running you actually do. Long, scenic distance? Get on the Lakefront Trail. A quick, traffic-free daily loop? The 606. City-center loops with the skyline around you? The downtown parks. Then confirm the door-to-route walk when you tour, because for a runner, that first hundred meters is everything.

For the lakefront detail, see our buildings on the Lakefront Trail ranking, for the 606 our buildings near the 606 guide, and for parks our outdoor lovers ranking. Then browse current openings and book a tour.

Hero image: Photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels