Chicago may be an urban jungle, but there are still plenty of opportunities to have kid-sized fun outdoors with your wee ones!
1. Chase dragonflies! Stroll through 155-acre nature preserve without leaving the city at the North Park Village Nature Center. Don’t miss the glass enclosed beehive and the lily pad laden pond.
2. Catch a big one! Enjoy spectacular views of the city while you take a hike around the 91-acre Northerly Island. Plus, take advantage of some of Chicago’s best fishing.
3. Soak up the rays! Visit one of the many Chicago beaches. Montrose Beach and Foster Ave. Beach are both very family friendly with stroller mats, food, bathrooms and plenty of parking.
4. Enjoy farm fresh produce. Stroll through one of the city’s 20 plus farmers markets. Many of them offer live music. Green City Market has a kids club and music every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer.
5. Splish Splash, lets get wet! Check out one of the city’s great water playgrounds. Adams, Weisman, River, Pulaski, Portage and Montgomery parks are some of the best places to cool off in the city.
6. Have a picnic on a farm. See what life was like on a farm at the turn of the century. Watch the cows, horses and chickens, and then enjoy a lazy summer picnic at Wagner Farm. Best of all, it’s FREE!
7. Find nature right here in the city. Check out the Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Walk the boardwalk while exploring the different habitats and animals within them.
8. Jump, climb and explore! The Morton Arboretum offers more than 1,700 acres of nature to explore just outside the city. Kids can run, jump, slide, climb and explore to their hearts content in the Children’s Garden.
9. Step back in time. Get a hands-on experience of what life was like on a farm at the turn of the century at Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago. The historically costumed interpreters actually operate this living-history farm using the tools and techniques of the past.
10. Go on a nature inspired scavenger hunt! Have a blast scouring the Chicago Botanic Garden on a scavenger hunt (list can be found at the visitor information desk). Your kids will particularly enjoy the Fruit and Vegetable Garden, Waterfall Garden and, of course, the Model Railroad Garden.
