Carpentersville is one of the Chicagoland area’s most affordable communities while offering its residents all the perks of a Chicago suburb. There are plenty of community-oriented activities to be found in Carpentersville, such as the Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center and Randall Oaks Park & Barnyard Zoo. With places like the Raceway Woods County Forest Preserve, the Fox River Preserve & Marina and the Jelke Creek Bird Sanctuary, those that live in the Village of Carpentersville are never short on outdoor recreation or the natural beauty of northern Illinois. It’s all just steps outside their door. Click here for more Carpentersville is located in Kane County, five miles north of Elgin, IL and about 37 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. The closest expressway to Carpentersville is I-90, which allows drivers to get to downtown Chicago in about 50 minutes. For those who prefer to commute via train, the closest Metra stop is the Big Timber stop in Elgin, about a 9-mile drive from Carpentersville. In the nearby Raceway Woods County Forest Preserve, residents of Carpentersville are treated to beautiful open spaces and wooded trails. What used to be an actual raceway from 1958 to 1969 is now a place where people come from all over to hike, bike, horseback ride, and picnic. Randall Oaks Park & Barnyard Zoo, in neighboring West Dundee, allows residents to explore 41 acres of space that include playgrounds, volleyball nets, a disc golf course and the Banyard Zoo, where kids can feed and pet animals.