Outdoors
in Chicago, IL
(showing 1 - 11 out of 11)
Brookfield Zoo
8400 31st St
Brookfield, IL 60546 Directions
Monkey around at the Brookfield Zoo! Walk through exhibits like The Australia House, The Seven Seas, and Feathers & Scales that house over 450 species of animals that roam both land and sea.
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Rd
Glencoe, IL 60022 Directions
Stroll through all 385 acres and 24 gardens of the Chicago Botanic Garden. You'll stroll through the Landscape Gardens, Fruit and Vegetable Garden, Heritage Garden, Waterfall Garden, Japanese Garden and the English Walled Garden. These specialty displays are just a few of the sights throughout the outdoor botanical oasis.
Chicago's Beaches
541 N Fairbanks Ct
Chicago, IL 60611 Directions
Chicago's Beaches offer 6 miles of public beaches with the perfect settings for playing, relaxing and soaking it all in. 28 miles of Chicago Lake Michigan shoreline are full of history and overflowing with skyline views.
Garfield Park Conservatory
300 N Central Park Ave
Chicago, IL 60624 Directions
Enjoy the Garfield Park Conservatory Outdoor Gardens year round in spring, autumn, or winter. Learn environmental responsibility and conservationism with one of their events, programs, tours or plant care advice.
Lambs Farm
14245 W Rockland Rd
Libertyville, IL 60048 Directions
Get some insight on how a farmer runs the show at Lambs Farm. The farm is a working facility that explains to guests just exactly how things operate on a farm. Take some time away from farm duties to play outdoors, enjoying mini-golf, riding the mini-train or carousel, and petting some furry friends at the petting zoo.
Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614 Directions
Take a stroll through a zoo that knows its animals. The Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the oldest in the country and houses more than 1,250 animals inside its unique exhibits and attractions. As you explore the zoo, you'll see zebras, big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys and more.
The Lincoln Park Zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the United States. The zoo spans across 35-acres of Chicago's Lincoln Park. A unique feature of the Lincoln Park Zoo that really shows its age is a burr oak tree that dates back to 1830, three years before the city was founded.
The zoo houses nearly 1,250 animals, including big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys and many others featured in these exhibits:
Antelope & Zebra Area
Blum-Kovler Penguin & Seabird House
Helen V. Brach Primate House
Farm-in-the-Zoo, presented by John Deere
Kovler Lion House
Kovler Sea Lion Pool
McCormick Bird House
Hope B. McCormick Swan Pond
Robert R. McCormick Bear Habitat
Nature Boardwalk
Pritzker Family Children's Zoo
Regenstein African Journey
Regenstein Birds of Prey Exhibit
Regenstein Center for African Apes
Regenstein Small Mammal & Reptile House
The Children's Zoo and the Farm-in-the-Zoo exhibits offer hands on experiences for younger visitors. There's also an indoor play structure for kids to enjoy, and the Farm exhibit allows guests to pet animals like goats and feed the cows.
Millennium Park
201 E Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60602 Directions
Millennium Park is one of the premier destinations for fun in Chicago. Stroll through the 24-acre lake-front park for a gorgeous glimpse of public art or stop by one of the attractions residing in the park like the McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink, McDonald's Cycle Center and the Boeing Galleries.
Millennium Park occupies about 24-acres of Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago's Grant Park. The park is the second most popular tourist destination in the city following only Navy Pier, attracting between three and four million visitors annually. Millennium Park serves as a prominent civic center and is known as the "front yard" of downtown Chicago. The neighborhood surrounding the park is one of the city's most, if not the most, coveted residential areas.
The area showcases public art and is where places like the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the Laurie Garden, the McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink, the BP Pedestrian Bridge, Wrigley Square, the McDonald's Cycle Center, the Exelon Pavilions, the AT&T Plaza, the Boeing Galleries, the Chase Promenade, and the Nichols Bridgeway are located.
Montrose Avenue Beach
4400 N Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, IL 60640 Directions
Soak up the sun on the shores of Lake Michigan. Montrose Avenue Beach is just one of the city-owned beaches where you can relax, kayak, fish, swim, enjoy water sports and more. Don't forget your puppy, because the Montrose Beach has two dog beaches.
Morton Arboretum
4100 Illinois 53
Lisle, IL 60532 Directions
Visit the classroom with no walls, the Morton Arboretum, and enjoy the exhibits, activities, events, programs to learn about their collection of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world.
Night Out in the Parks
Chicago, IL
Night Out in the Parks provides family-fun throughout the summer. With 1000+ free events like Movies in the Parks, live concerts, festivals, theatrical shows, and more throughout Chicago’s neighborhood parks.
Shedd Aquarium
1200 S Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, IL 60605 Directions
Journey through the ocean without ever having to leave land at the Shedd Aquarium. The aquarium houses over 25,000 fish and animals within award-winning exhibits and attractions. Sea otters, beluga whales, sea turtles, penguins, sharks, octopi, and jellyfish are just a few of the inhabitants at the Shedd Aquarium.
The John G. Shedd Aquarium debuted in Chicago in 1930. At the time of its opening, the aquarium was the largest in the world and was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. The Shedd Aquarium was the most visited aquarium in the nation in 2005 and 2007, and is an essential part of Museum Campus along with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.
The aquarium welcomes over 2 million guests annually to view their extensive collection of over 1,500 species of fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians and insects. In all, the Shedd Aquarium houses about 25,000 fish. The five permanent exhibits at the Shedd are Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World, the Oceanarium, and Wild Reef. The aquarium garnered the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' award for best exhibit in 1999 for Seahorse Symphony, in 2001 for Amazon Rising and in 2004 for Wild Reef.
Some of the animals and sea life that can be seen at the Shedd Aquarium are Alaska sea otters, beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, green sea turtles, Australian lungfish, Grand Caymon blue iguanas, sea lions, penguins, blacktip reef sharks, cownose rays, dragon moray eel, giant Pacific octopus, moon jellies, red-bellied piranhas, sea cucumbers, zebra sharks and sea stars.
