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Apr 10, 2024 · 1. Milwaukee, WI. Photograph: John Karpinsky. Driving time from Chicago: One and a half hours. Getting to the Cream City requires a painless drive, but if you plan to fully indulge, ditch the car ...
- 29 Unique Day Trips from Chicago You Need to Take - Time Out
Walk in the footsteps of the Rockford Peaches. Driving time...
- 29 Unique Day Trips from Chicago You Need to Take - Time Out
- Get Into Nature at Indiana Dunes National Park
- Admire Harleys and Artwork in Milwaukee
- Tour The Lakeside Hamlets of Harbor Country
- Visit The Thought-Provoking Illinois Holocaust Museum
- Walk A Section of The 21-Mile Geneva Lake Shore Path
- See The Home of Modernist Architecture in Oak Park
- Explore Evanston, One of The Top College Towns in The Us
Travel time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Rustling grasses, bird-filled marshes and white-pine forests fill a whopping stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline at Indiana Dunes National Park, which feels a world away from the big city. Rugged beaches beckon, and sweet hiking trails meander up the sand and through the woodlands. Try the 3 Dune Challenge, a view-tas...
Travel time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Milwaukee is Wisconsin's largest city, and it's a rollicking day trip from Chicago. Stop by the Harley-Davidson Museum to gawk at hundreds of motorcycles, including Elvis’s custom-built hog. Harleys were invented in Milwaukee, hence the big bike love. The Milwaukee Art Museumdrops jaws with its kinetic “wing” that so...
Travel time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Harbor Country comprises several lakeside hamlets just over the Michigan border, where Chicagoans retreat for a taste of small-town life. New Buffalo is the most resort-y of the bunch, where you can catch a wave at the public beach and follow it up with suds at the Beer Church. Three Oaks is a bohemian farm-and-arts ...
Travel time: 25 minutes The Illinois Holocaust Museumis the third-largest Holocaust museum in the world, after those in Jerusalem and Washington, DC. Besides its haunting Nazi-era rail car and videos of survivors' stories from WWII, the venue contains thought-provoking art about genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Cambodia and other countries. The specia...
Travel time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Old-money Chicagoans fled to Geneva Lake in the late 1800s to escape the urban heat and chill in the true-blue, spring-fed water. It’s still high on the getaway list, and while the mansion-strewn shoreline is sometimes called “the Hamptons of the Midwest,” visitors of more modest means are just as welcome. Nowhere is...
Travel time: 45 minutes Architect Frank Lloyd Wright lived in the leafy suburb of Oak Park, next door to Chicago, for 20 years. Fans come from all over the world to tour his home and studio where he developed the famous Prairie style, and to gawp at his Unity Temple– named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019 – that’s considered to be the first mod...
Travel time: 40 minutes Evanston is Chicago’s neighbor to the north, a lakefront town of sprawling old houses, artisan shops and bookish cafes where college students caffeinate. Check out the quirky American Toby Jug Museum, with the world’s largest collection of character-shaped jugs (think Barack Obama, Mick Jagger and R2-D2 as ceramic pitchers),...
- Milwaukee. Location: Wisconsin. Distance from Chicago: 92.4 miles. Driving Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes. Milwaukee is the most populous and culturally diverse city in Wisconsin.
- Kankakee River State Park. Location: Illinois. Distance from Chicago: 62.5 miles. Driving Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes. This Illinois state park covers 4,000 acres.
- Cedarburg. Location: Wisconsin. Distance from Chicago: 112.5 miles. Driving Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes. In case you’re not looking to waste a lot of time traveling from Chicago, Cedarburg could be your absolute go-to for a day trip!
- Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area. Location: Illinois. Distance from Chicago: 55.7 miles. Driving Time: 57 minutes. Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area, with an area of more than 5,000 acres, is another charming natural landscape.
- Explore the country’s largest magic museum. Driving time from Chicago: About three hours. You'll find everything from obscure conjuring tomes to equipment used in Harry Houdini's most famous escape acts at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, home to the biggest collection of magic ephemera in the United States.
- Spot bison at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Driving time from Chicago: About one hour. Want to get a firsthand look at why Illinois is nicknamed the Prairie State?
- Go spelunking inside Cave of the Mounds. Driving time from Chicago: About three hours. Wander among soda straws, flowstones, helictites and other stunning geological formations inside of Cave of the Mounds, a natural limestone cave near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.
- See the Batmobile (and tons of other famous cars) at the Volo Auto Museum. Driving time from Chicago: About an hour and a half. Don't think that you're a car person?
- Starved Rock State Park. Distance from Chicago: 91 miles/146 km. How Long it Takes: 1½ Hours. Settled along the Illinois River, Starved Rock State Park is an oasis teeming with seasonal waterfalls, towering sandstone canyons, thriving wildlife, and scenic hiking trails.
- Lake Geneva. Distance from Chicago: 83 miles/134 km. How Long it Takes: 1 Hour 45 Minutes. A resort city, Lake Geneva, was named “Newport of the West” after the American Civil War.
- Indiana Dunes National Park. Distance from Chicago: 39 miles/62 km. How Long it Takes: 1 Hour. One of the best day trips from Chicago, Indiana Dunes National Park is thriving with natural wonders with over 50 miles of scenic trails to observe these eye-catching features.
- Silver Beach County Park. Distance from Chicago: 98 miles/157 km. How Long it Takes: 1 Hour 45 Minutes. Bordering four states, Lake Michigan seeps into Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Jun 11, 2024 · Madison is your best choice if you fancy a political sightseeing day trip from Chicago. Madison is also beautifully located next to two huge lakes – Lake Mendota and Lake Waubesa. Summer leaves plenty of opportunities for water sports and sunny waterfront hiking trails.
Sep 11, 2024 · Visiting Rockford is another great day trip from Chicago. Sometimes called “the city of gardens,” this day trip destination is known for its plethora of gardens, conservatories, and arboretums. Among their most popular is Anderson Japanese Gardens. Here, you can explore 12 acres of beautifully landscaped paths, water features, and Japanese ...
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