In the northern part of the park (Columbia Basin and Wooded Island, including Japanese Garden) your best option is the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry South Lot (1800 Columbia Dr.; marked P1 on the map) — exit southbound Dusable Lake Shore Drive at Science Dr. (just south of 57th Drive). Turn left at the stop sign and park wherever you prefer. This is a metered lot with kiosks to pay for parking at several locations. Park in the north half of the lot if you’d like to visit Columbia Basin or the north part of Wooded Island (including the Japanese Garden). The quick way to Wooded Island, via the Darrow Bridge, is presently closed due to severe deterioration of the bridge; you’ll have to walk around Columbia Basin, past the south facade of the Museum, then south along Cornell Dr. The Nancy Hays Bridge connects Wooded Island to the northern parts of the park.

(Note: along the way, you’ll pass a parking lot southwest of the museum. Do NOT be tempted to park here — this lot is reserved for museum staff and for buses and you’ll be ticketed if you try to park in this location.)

Accessible parking: if someone in your party requires a wheelchair, the path around Columbia Basin is not wheelchair-friendly; lot P1 would not be a good option. You’d be better advised to choose the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry underground parking (marked P0 on the map) — exit east off Cornell Dr. at the stoplight at 57th St. This lot is convenient for the museum, but a bit of a hike from the natural areas of Jackson Park and a tad pricey ($22 as of 2024). Alternatively street parking in Hyde Park along Stony Island Ave. is usually available. The sidewalks are decent and the walk to the northern parts of Jackson Park is, at most, a block longer than the P0 lot. When the Obama Presidential Center opens (scheduled for 2026) there will be an associated parking garage; details and fees are not known at the present time.

If you plan to visit Bobolink Meadow, park on the south side of South Lot (1800 Columbia Dr.; marked P1 on the map) — exit southbound Dusable Lake Shore Drive at Science Dr. (just south of 57th Drive). Walk due south across the lots and along the eastern edge of East Lagoon, over the bridge at 59th St. Harbor. (Enjoy the view of the Harbor and of Japanese Garden on the other side of  East Lagoon!) You’ll see a sign on the right directing you to a path to Bobolink Meadow. (BTW, this bridge has a famous cameo in the Blues Brothers movie.)

The 63rd and Hayes Lot (1971 E Hayes Dr., north of Hayes and west of Lake Shore Drive; marked P4 on the map) is an alternative for access to Bobolink Meadow (from the south) and to the northwest natural area at 63rd St. Beach (via an underpass north of Hayes Dr. that goes beneath Lake Shore Dr.). Again, this is a metered lot with kiosks to pay for parking.

The 63rd St. Beach House Lot (6323 S Lake Shore Dr., at Hayes Dr. (= 63rd St), east of Lake Shore Dr., at the stoplight; marked P3 on the map) — Lots of parking convenient to the northwest and southeast natural areas at 63rd St. Beach, with a groomed swimming beach in between. This is a metered lot with kiosks to pay for parking. Please respect the natural areas and stay on the marked paths; these are fragile ecosystems that are easily damaged.

The 63rd and Hayes Lot (1971 E Hayes Dr., north of Hayes and west of Lake Shore Drive; marked P4 on the map) is an alternative for access to Bobolink Meadow (from the south) and to the northwest natural area at 63rd St. Beach (via an underpass north of Hayes Dr. that goes beneath Lake Shore Dr.). This is a metered lot with kiosks to pay for parking.

For Wooded Island in general and the south shores of East and West Lagoons, you may find the Hayes and Cornell Lot (1686 E Hayes Dr., north of Hayes Dr. and east of Cornell Dr.; marked P2 on the map) more convenient, especially if you’re transporting folks who use a walker or a wheelchair. There are paved sidewalks that run the entire length of Wooded Island from this lot, it is about the same distance from Japanese Garden as is the GMSI South Lot, and you don’t have to do any cross-country walking. The Hayes and Cornell Lot is also a metered lot; two kiosks to purchase parking are available.

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry underground parking (marked P0 on the map) — exit east off Cornell Dr. at the stoplight at 57th St. This lot is convenient for the museum, but a bit of a hike from the natural areas of Jackson Park and a tad pricey ($22 as of 2024).

Other parking options — you’re free to use on-street parking along the surface streets west of Jackson Park; few streets are restricted and those are clearly marked. When the Obama Presidential Center opens (scheduled for spring of 2026) there will be an associated parking garage; details and fees are not known at the present time.

ENJOY THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE LAKESHORE

There is parking available in the La Rabida Hospital Parking Lot (6501 S Promontory Dr.; turn north off Marquette Dr/S Dusable Lake Shore Dr.; marked P5 on the map) — There’s not much here in terms of wildflowers, but there are nice views of Jackson Park Inner Harbor and an example of what a “natural” beach in this part of Chicago looks like. Instead of sand, the beach here is a long outcrop of Ordovician age dolomite (limestone that has recrystallized and some of the calcium has been replaced with magnesium). The “stony island” in Stony Island Ave. was dolomite. (The island was quarried away in the second half of the 19th century.) Superficially, the beach looks like concrete, but it’s much more interesting than that; the dolomite weathers quickly and, in the southern parts of the beach, the beach is covered with dolomite pebbles — the only pebble beach in the area.