Chicago area hiking lists often include familiar names -- stunning preserves that everyone visits. However, the Chicago region offers hundreds of hiking opportunities highlighting an incredible array of habitats that introduce a range of flora and fauna while offering unique adventures weekend after weekend. Enjoy these 6 Chicago area hiking locations that may not be on your radar:
Hiking in Whitewater, Wisconsin, offers an intriguing range of experiences, including an adventure traversing a portion of Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail. During our hike on the trail, we admired the rustic landscape as we navigated the up and down hilly terrain discovering magnificent views.
.png "Summer Woodlands and a Meandering Creek Dazzled at Lyon Forest Preserve in Yorkville, Illinois")
Lyon Forest Preserve in Yorkville offered a perfect summer afternoon of exploring rolling woodlands, ravines, open prairie, and creeks. Pulling into the small, unassuming parking lot, we had no idea what truly beautiful natural treasures would unfold before us. After our first hike, we have become enamored with Lyon Forest Preserve and its trails full of gentle slopes through the forest.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin promotes the appreciation and exploration of the work of self-taught and contempory artists. Exhibits at John Michael Kohler Arts Center and the nearby Art Preserve truly invite guests to be part of the art and even inviting guests to amble inside of installations. Founded in 1967, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center has inspired and ignited creativity for decades.
7 Top Chicago Area Events for February 2026
Chicago winters can be TOUGH, so events worth looking forward to provide an extra lift to make it through the season. Fortunately, we have some great events to look forward to in the Chicago suburbs this February:
13 Ways to Celebrate an Old Fashioned Christmas in the Chicago Suburbs
Old fashioned Christmas celebrations thoughout the Chicago suburbs offer charming peeks into yesteryear. Period holiday events add special experiences to the holiday season and bring back our own warm memories while learning a bit of history. Over the years, I have explored quite a few nostalgic Christmas events throughout the suburbs and have been totally delighted with the amazing experiences we have available to us:
.png "14 Old Fashioned Christmas in Events in the Chicago Suburbs and Nearby 2024")
Celebrating an old fashioned Christmas brings back all those warm fuzzies and the nostalgia of Christmases gone by. Fortunately, we have many opportunities here in the Chicago suburbs to recapture that magic. Here are 14 of my favorite Chicago suburban old fashioned Christmas experiences for 2024:
Disclosure: Thank you to Chicago Botanic Garden for accommodating my visit to Lightscape. All opinions are my own.
Lightscape sparkles once again at Chicago Botanic Garden. In its 6th year, Lightscape crafts spectacular holiday magic with dazzling and imaginative light, music, and motion displays interwoven within the gardens. I was delighted to explore Lightscape this week and was entirely amazed by this year's show finding it to be my favorite of the six shows so far.