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Featured and Free Parents · The Loop

Urban Jungle Explorers

Amid the frenzy of the city, downtown Chicago offers prominent green spaces for visitors and locals alike to enjoy. These parks provide a meaningfu...

01 Maggie Daley Park
02 Hot Woks Cool Sushi
Featured and Free Parents · The Loop

Learn Something New Every Day

Chicago’s Riverwalk is a labyrinth of life in the heart of downtown. The 1.25-mile-long path, which was expanded in 2016, offers unique city views...

01 Wendella Tours & Cruises
02 Sweet Home Gelato
Featured and Free Parents · North Center

Up A Lazy River

Few things symbolize summer like ice cream and boating, and Chicago offers myriad options to embrace them both. The Chicago River cuts through the ...

01 Chicago River Canoe & Kayak
02 Margie's Candies
Featured and Free Parents · Roseland

Big Air and Big Eats

We're catching big air and big eats for this guide. We start the day in Chicago's Southeast side at a former industrial site that's been converted ...

01 Big Marsh Park
02 Old Fashioned Donuts
03 Old Fashioned Donuts
City in a Garden · Garfield Park

A Winter Garden and Kitchen

This week's guide takes you to Garfield Park in search of a bit of inspiration. The first stop is to one of the oldest and largest conservatories i...

01 Garfield Park Conservatory
02 Inspiration Kitchens
Featured and Free Parents · Hermosa

A Playdate for Kids and Parents

Young kids in daycare learn to make friends. But my guess is you're learning to do the same with other parents too. With that in mind, we've planne...

01 Hermosa
02 Right Bee Cider
Featured and Free Parents · Uptown

Swinging, Spinning, Climbing the Walls

Are the kids climbing all over the walls at your house? Okay, let's give your home a break. For this guide, you'll take the kids to Uptown and ...

01 First Ascent
02 DaNang Kitchen
Family Day Trips · Wisconsin

Wisconsin Weekend in the Woods

We're hitting the road for a weekend trip to Wisconsin. It starts with a 2.5-hour drive to Madison, Wisconsin, which we're using as our home base f...

01 Madison, WI
02 Devil's Lake State Park
03 Wollersheim Winery
04 Cave of the Mounds
05 Grumpy Troll
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School’s Out · Lemont, Il

Zip on Over to Lemont

This guide has you travelling 30 miles from the city and spending the day jumping off 90 foot climbing walls, ziplining across a lake, and traversi...

01 The Forge
02 Historic Downtown Lemont
Family Day Trips · Ringwood, Il

Hike Ancient Glacial Formations

Imagine Chicago with mountains in the distance. Nobody would ever leave. While we don't have mountains, there are still places to hike to get some ...

01 Trailhead
02 Camelback Kame
Outdoor Adventures · Rogers Park

A North Side Beach Vacation

During the summer, Rogers Park can feel like a mini-beach town if you know the right spots to visit. We've got an afternoon beach trip planned for ...

01 Ropa Cabana
02 Charmers Cafe
School’s Out · Bridgeport

Southside Baseball and Sandwiches

This guide is what summer memories are made of. It starts with catching a ballgame, staying after with your kids to run the bases, and it ends a at...

01 White Sox
02 Ricobene's
Outdoor Adventures · Uptown

Family Fishing Trip on Lake Michigan

We're taking advantage of living next to a giant freshwater lake and have you taking the family on a fishing 101 expedition. You'll get outfitted w...

01 Park Bait
02 Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary
03 Montrose Harbor (Fishing Spot)
Toddler Takeover · Ravenswood

Mid-Week Market and Picnic

It's Wednesday, and you realize you're out of fresh produce. Instead of waiting for the weekend, this guide has you and the family visiting Ravensw...

01 Ravenswood Farmers Market
02 Winnemac Park
City in a Garden · Lake Forest, Il

A Farm and Savanna on the North Shore

Start your day at a sustainable farm, picking up fresh produce and sipping local coffee. Then, step into a neighboring nature preserve for an easy ...

01 Elawa Farm and Market
02 Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve
03 Overlook
04 Lake Bluff Brewing Co.
City in a Garden · West Ridge

Balkan Eats and a Hiking Retreat in West Ridge

This guide has you visiting West Ridge, a quiet residential North Side neighborhood that's home to a vibrant South Asian, Jewish, and Eastern Europ...

01 West Ridge Nature Park
02 Toscano
Family Day Trips · Indiana

Whatcha Dune This Weekend?

Visiting the Indiana Dunes National Park is usually a summertime affair. When there's fresh snow on the ground, however, it's an entirely different...

01 West Beach Trails
02 Calumet Fisheries
Toddler Takeover · West Town

The Apple of My Pie

Getting a slice of pie is the answer to a lot of situations. Kids being exceptionally well-behaved? Reward the family with pie. Kids running roughs...

01 Hoosier Mama Pie
02 West Town Branch Library
Outdoor Adventures · Downtown

Snow Much Fun

As kids, do you remember those mornings after a big snowstorm when you'd peer out the window and your ten-year-old brain would analyze road conditi...

01 Sledding Hill
02 Hanabusa Cafe
Night Crawler · Evanston

Night Sky Watching

We visit the past and peer into the future all in one guide. You'll make your way to Evanston to visit Northwestern University. It starts with a to...

01 The Block Museum
02 10q Chicken
03 Dearborn Observatory
Family Day Trips · Lisle, Il

A Laser Light Show in a Forest

This guide has you taking the family on a trip out to the suburbs for an annual holiday tradition. You'll head to Lisle, Illinois to visit the Mort...

01 Getting Started
02 Exhibits
Outdoor Adventures · Hyde Park

Breakfast Eats and Campfire Treats

Do you know what's better than roasting s'mores around an open campfire? Watching your kid's eyes light up when they experience that for the first ...

01 Valois Restaurant
02 Promontory Point
Toddler Takeover · West Loop

Theater Kids

Do you recall your first live theater show? Maybe it was on a school field trip to watch The Nutcracker, or perhaps it was a big Broadway productio...

01 Green City Market
02 Chicago Children's Theatre
Day Tripping · Sawyer, Michigan

Pick Apples and Hike Monstrous Dunes

Pack the car because you're going on a day trip to Southwest Michigan. It's close to a 2-hour drive, and if you're going during the right time of y...

01 The Shafer Farm
02 Warren Dunes State Park
03 Greenbush Brewing
School’s Out · Lakeview

Cuddles and Crepes

When the week has been long, and the family is in need of quality time to recharge, the answer to your woes are cute animals and crepes. This guide...

01 The Crepe Shop
02 Cuddle Bunny
Outdoor Adventures · North Park

French Toast and Family Hikes

We're getting the kids out of the house for an early morning hiking on the Northwest Side of Chicago. You'll walk through a beautiful nature pr...

01 Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club
02 North Park Village Nature Center
Toddler Takeover · Bridgeport

Pizza, Paczkis, and a Picnic

For this guide, take the family to Bridgeport to fly kites and have a picnic at a giant rock quarry turned park. But first, you'll have everyone st...

01 Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream
02 Bridgeport Bakery
03 Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park
School’s Out · Lakeview

Relax on the River

There's been a big flurry of development along the Chicago River, and we're taking the family to visit a few outdoor spots taking advantage of thei...

01 Hexe Coffee
02 Riverwalk @ Lathrop Homes
03 Rockwell on the River
Toddler Takeover · Woodlawn

Sunday Market and Science Experiments

There is no shortage of outdoor markets when summer rolls around. For today's guide, we'll visit a wonderful farmer's market in Woodlawn, just sout...

01 61st Street Farmer's Market
02 Museum of Science and Industry
School’s Out · Avondale

An Avondale Adventure

We've got some quality family time in store with burgers and elevated bar food at a family-friendly, residential corner bar. Afterward, you'll visi...

01 Small Bar
02 Avondale Bowl
Toddler Takeover · Hyde Park

A Hyde Park Hike

This guide has the family walking through fields of wildflowers and exploring an island nature preserve on the South Side. But before that, you'll ...

01 Plein Air Cafe
02 57th Street Books
03 Bobolink Meadow
Family Day Trips

Cobblestone streets, a pizza feast, and donut treats

This guide has us venturing out of the city and into the suburbs. You'll make your way to Long Grove, IL, about a 40-minute drive northwest of Chic...

01 Long Grove Coffee Co.
02 Joanie's Pizzeria
03 Covered Bridge Creamery
04 Buffalo Creek Brewing
05 Long Grove Confectionary Co.
Toddler Takeover · Andersonville

A Swede Sunday

This guide takes you on a mini-Swedish adventure in Andersonville that works as a leisurely Sunday morning outing. This is a historically Swedish n...

01 Svea
02 Swedish American Museum
Outdoor Adventures · Willow Springs, Il

Camping, Fishing, and Hiking

This guide has you going deep inside a forest preserve where you'll camp along the shores of a small lake, do a bit of hiking, and hang by a campfi...

01 Camp Bullfrog Lake
02 Palos Trail System
03 Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center
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