La Grange & Western Springs

La Grange and Western Springs are two BNSF commuter towns southwest of Oak Park with walkable downtowns built around their train stations, tree-lined streets of century-old houses and Lyons Township High School, which draws families to both. La Grange’s downtown on La Grange Road has restaurants, a movie theater and a summer craft fair; Western Springs is quieter, with a smaller downtown around the water tower on Hillgrove Avenue and a village that has been dry for most of its history. Both feel like small towns 15 miles from the Loop.

Where it is

On the map, La Grange sits along the BNSF line between Brookfield and Western Springs, from roughly Ogden Avenue south to the Tri-State Tollway at 55th Street; Western Springs continues west to Wolf Road and the Hinsdale line. Metra’s BNSF line stops at La Grange Road, Stone Avenue and Western Springs, about 25 to 30 minutes to Union Station. La Grange Road (US 45) and Ogden Avenue (US 34) are the main roads, and I-294 has an exit at Ogden. The Loop is a 30 to 45-minute drive.

What to know if you’re moving here

These are family towns where the train schedule sets the rhythm.

• Housing is single-family homes, from 1890s Victorians near the stations to 1960s ranches on the edges, with typical prices of roughly $400,000 to $1.5 million as a broad editorial estimate as of September 2026.
• Parking is driveways and garages; the Metra lots are permit-based, with daily fee spaces that fill early.
• Public schools are La Grange Districts 102 and 105, Western Springs District 101 and Lyons Township High School District 204, with campuses in La Grange and Western Springs.
• Cook County property taxes apply and run high, as across the western suburbs.
• Three BNSF stops make the commute simple, and express trains reach Union Station in about 25 minutes.
• The drawback is Western Springs’ limited restaurant and bar options, a legacy of its long dry years, and La Grange Road traffic on weekends.

What to do if you’re visiting

Downtown La Grange is the destination, a block from the La Grange Road Metra stop, with Western Springs’ smaller downtown one stop west.

• The two-block stretch of La Grange Road south of the tracks has Palmer Place, the burger house with 36 beers on tap, and Q-BBQ, the counter-service smokehouse that fired its first pit here in 2009.
• Farther down the same street, Prasino has served farm-sourced breakfast, lunch and dinner for 16 years, and Milk Money Brewing, the village’s first brewery, pairs a coffee-like stout with free arcade games and weekly live music.
• Across from the Stone Avenue station, Antonino’s Ristorante has made its own sauces, dough and pizza since 1988.
• In downtown Western Springs, Kirschbaum’s Bakery has sold sweet rolls, butter knots and smile cookies from the same Burlington Avenue storefront since 1954.
• The La Grange Pet Parade, held every year since 1947, and the June craft fair close the downtown streets.
• The Salt Creek Trail and Bemis Woods forest preserve on Ogden Avenue have paved and dirt trails.