On the western side of Wonder Lake, Sunrise Ridge sits between the town’s parks. With the lake to the east and the baseball fields to the west, Sunrise Ridge residents can walk recreational amenities. Still, as part of the Wonder Lake community, life is quiet and relaxed, its waters less frequented by tourists than other lakes in the region. Sunrise Ridge earns a CAP Index Score of 1, compared to the national average of 4.
Sunrise Ridge Park and Boat Launch offers private access to Wonder Lake, with a boat launch and a small beach where people can swim. The small playground includes a slide and a swingset. On the water, people can fish from their boats or join the town’s waterski team. “Wonder Lake has an excellent ski team,” says Sue O’Brien, a Wonder Lake resident who serves on her homeowners association. “They’ve got 160 team members, and they’ve won multiple national championships.” O’Brien also mentions that when the lake freezes over in the winter, people go out with tents and ice fish. Just off the cul-de-sac on Lake Shore Drive, Sunrise Ridge Creek Park offers swingsets and a basketball court, also only open to community residents. Just outside the neighborhood, Jacobson Park hosts the local baseball leagues on its fields, but it also offers tennis and basketball courts and soccer fields.
Sunrise Ridge’s narrow streets are lined with a mix of split-levels, A-frame chalets and ranch-style homes with boats parked in the driveways. These properties typically sell between $125,000 and $350,000. Along the lakefront, custom build homes have private docks where people can better access the water. These properties go on the market less frequently, with only two recent homes sold on the market, selling for $680,000 and $907,000.
On the eastern side of the lake, the Wonder Lake Farmers and Makers Market meets on Wednesday evenings from May to October. The community also gets together on the water. Throughout the summer, the waterskiing team puts on free shows every Friday evening, showcasing their skills and tricks. “I belong to the yacht club, which is all pontoons, and they have a progressive dinner and an annual meeting-slash-party. They have flotillas on the lake,” O’Brien says. “There might be 10 to 15 boats linked together and everyone brings hors d’oeuvres and has a party.”
A bit north of Sunrise Ridge, Napoli Pizza’s brightly painted façade and deck bring a coastal feel to the area. People can stop in for pizza, pastas and sandwiches. Busy Bee offers breakfast favorites like omelets and pancakes. Right next door in the Highland Shores subdivision, Village Market is a gas station and convenience store for quick grocery trips. Johnsburg offers additional supermarket options, with a Walmart, Meijer and Aldi all about 10 miles away.
Kindergarten through fifth grade students can attend Greenwood Elementary School, before continuing on to Northwood Middle School for sixth through eighth grade. Niche grants both schools B-plus rankings. Woodstock North High School earns an A-minus ranking. It partners with McHenry County College to offer the Dual Degree Program, where students can earn their high school diploma and an Associates of Arts degree at the same time.
Because there isn’t any public transportation that serves Sunrise Ridge, residents will have to rely on their cars to get around. Thompson Road runs north to south through the neighborhood, connecting it with the rest of Wonder Lake. The community sits about halfway between two hospitals, with Northwestern Medicine Woodstock Hospital about 11 miles away and Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital about 10 miles away. Downtown Chicago is about 61 miles from Sunrise Ridge, while Chicago O’Hare International Airport is 53 miles away.
Louise Berger
RE/MAX Plaza
(815) 923-3645
65 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$170,000 Price
Pradeep Singh
Coldwell Banker Realty
(224) 205-3620
151 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$10,000 Price
Jennifer Beltrame
HomeSmart Connect LLC
(855) 797-0258
168 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$311,000 Price
Laurie Caputo
Baird & Warner
(224) 219-0915
46 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$170,000 Price
Cheryl Black
Keller Williams North Shore West
(815) 887-8478
85 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$284,000 Price
Tanya Callaway
Baird & Warner
(815) 923-5408
71 Total Sales
1 in Sunrise Ridge
$300,000 Price
On average, homes in Sunrise Ridge, Wonder Lake sell after 39 days on the market compared to the national average of 52 days. The median sale price for homes in Sunrise Ridge, Wonder Lake over the last 12 months is $250,000, down 4% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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Private, quiet waterfront community on Wonder Lake’s east side
Exclusive lake access is one of the draws of this northwest Chicago suburb
Suburban charms meet lakeside life in northern Illinois
Private amenities on Wonder Lake's eastern shores
A small subdivision just east of Wonder Lake's shores
Waterfront and inland homes on private Wonder Lake near the yacht club
