Cary · McHenry County · IL
Homes for sale in
Silver Lake.
- Active listings
- 1
- Median list
- $365K
- Avg time on market
- 7 days
- Sold · last year
- 3
Active listings
1 home on the market
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About the community
A lake-centered neighborhood on the Cary and Oakwood Hills border.
Silver Lake is a wooded residential neighborhood built around a spring-fed lake of roughly 47 acres in southeastern McHenry County. The lake and most of the homes sit inside the Village of Oakwood Hills, but the area carries a Cary mailing address and shares Cary postal, fire, library, and Metra services, which is why listings usually label it Cary. It began as a Chicago-era resort of summer cottages in the 1920s and 1930s, converted to year-round living through the 1950s, and filled in with homes into the late 1980s. The character today is mature and lake-oriented: rolling wooded lots, winding streets, and a small-village feel, with everything from modest interior homes to larger lakefront houses.
At a glance
Spring-fed lake, about 47 acres
A village-owned lake with two beaches, a fishing pier, and a stocked fishery.
No-motor lake
Motorized boats are not permitted; rowboats, paddle boats, canoes, and small sailboats are allowed.
Two municipal beaches
North and South Beach are owned and managed by the Village of Oakwood Hills.
Access via village tags, not HOA dues
Lake and beach access works through modest annual village tags rather than a private HOA assessment. Confirm any covenants by address.
Wooded, mature setting
Rolling oak-shaded lots and winding streets, plus the nearby Oakwood Hills Fen nature preserve.
Cary-Grove High School (D155)
High school through Community High School District 155; elementary and middle split between Prairie Grove D46 and Cary CCSD 26 by address.
Cary Metra minutes away
The UP-NW Cary station in downtown Cary reaches Ogilvie in downtown Chicago on the weekday schedule.
Golf and parks nearby
Chalet Hills Golf Club in Oakwood Hills, plus Cary Park District facilities and trails.
What’s close
Silver Lake sits north of downtown Cary and east of Crystal Lake, straddling the Cary and Oakwood Hills boundary, with US-14 (Northwest Highway) and IL-31 the main routes.
- The lake
- Swimming at two village beaches, a fishing pier, and non-motorized boating on a spring-fed lake.
- Parks and nature
- Oakwood Hills Main Park, the Oakwood Hills Fen Illinois Nature Preserve, and Cary Park District facilities and trails.
- Shopping
- Everyday shopping, dining, and big-box retail in Cary and neighboring Crystal Lake.
- Hospital
- Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, both a short drive.
- Highway
- US-14 (Northwest Highway) through downtown Cary, with IL-31 and IL-176 nearby.
- Train
- Metra UP-NW service to Chicago from the Cary station in downtown Cary.
What it’s actually like to live here
Silver Lake offers a genuinely lake-centered, small-village lifestyle that is unusual this close to the Metra line. Life here orbits the water: summer days at the two village beaches, quiet paddling and rowing on a lake that bans gas motors, fishing from the pier, and a winter that turns the frozen lake into an informal spot for skating and ice fishing. The surrounding Oakwood Hills parks, the protected Fen nature preserve, and the Cary Park District's aquatic center and trails round out an outdoorsy, family-oriented setting.
Access is part of the appeal. Because the lake and beaches are village-owned rather than run by a private association, lake and beach use comes through modest annual village tags instead of steep HOA dues, which many buyers see as a plus. Downtown Cary, the UP-NW train, US-14, and Crystal Lake shopping and hospitals are all within a short drive of a wooded lake neighborhood, so the setting feels tucked away without being remote.
The tradeoffs are real and worth stating plainly. This is a small, quiet lake, not a large power-boating lake, so anyone wanting waterskiing or big motorized recreation will be disappointed by the no-motor rule, and water conditions and levels can vary seasonally, so look closely at any specific lakefront parcel. The housing stock skews older and varied, from modest converted-cottage-era homes to updated lakefront properties, so condition and finish differ a lot house to house. And because elementary and middle school assignment splits between Prairie Grove District 46 and Cary District 26 by address, confirm schools early.
The questions buyers actually ask
Silver Lake FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Silver Lake. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What are property taxes like?
- Roughly $5,000 – $12,000 per year, depending on home size and value. McHenry County assessor records are the source of truth. Happy to pull a specific bill on any home you're considering.
- What's the typical closing timeline?
- 30 to 60 days from accepted offer to keys. Cash deals can close in two weeks. Conventional financing is usually closer to 60.
- Is Silver Lake in Cary or Oakwood Hills?
- Both names apply. The lake and most homes are within the Village of Oakwood Hills, but the area uses a Cary mailing address and shares Cary postal, fire, library, and Metra services. Some southern-edge parcels are in the Village of Cary. Confirm the governing village by address.
- Can I use a motorboat on the lake?
- No. Silver Lake does not permit motorized boats. Allowed craft include rowboats, paddle boats, canoes, and small sailboats. Whether small electric trolling motors are allowed is not spelled out on the village's public overview, so verify with the Village of Oakwood Hills before you count on it.
- Is there an HOA, and how does lake access work?
- There is no traditional private HOA governing the lake. The lake and its two beaches are owned and managed by the Village of Oakwood Hills, and residents and property owners get access through modest annual village beach and lake tags plus a boat tie-up permit rather than an HOA assessment. Confirm whether any specific section carries private covenants.
- What schools will my kids attend?
- High school is Cary-Grove High School (Community High School District 155). Elementary and middle school is either Prairie Grove District 46 or Cary CCSD 26 depending on your exact address, so confirm assignment with the districts before you buy.
- How is the commute to Chicago?
- The Metra UP-NW Cary station in downtown Cary runs a full weekday schedule to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, with park-and-ride parking. US-14 (Northwest Highway) also runs through Cary for drivers.
- What do homes cost and how is the market?
- Prices span a wide range, from modest interior homes to premium lakefront properties, and market conditions change constantly. For current, accurate figures on pricing and activity, check the live Market snapshot tiles on this page rather than relying on any single quoted number.
- Who is the real estate agent for Silver Lake?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Silver Lake in Cary, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Silver Lake specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Your local agent
Joe knows Silver Lake
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Cary specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Market snapshot
Silver Lake, by the numbers
Live MRED data, refreshed daily. The numbers below tell you what this market is doing today, not what Zillow's algorithm thinks it might be doing six weeks from now.
Typical list price
$365,000
Homes for sale right now
1
Avg time on market
7 days
Sold in the last year
3
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC for the period August 5, 2025 through August 5, 2026. Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
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