The wife and I visited "The Bean" and the surrounding area for a bit…read more The mirrored bean is cool and drew a hefty crowd on this Saturday afternoon. It is pretty massive and iconic for this city. I captured some fun "funhouse" type reflection images of us in it. This area with the river makes for a nice walk and visual architecture splendor on full display. There were some huge mural water fountain art displays nearby. During the summertime water runs vertically down them.

My friend and I were recently traveling to Chicago, and we stayed along Michigan Avenue. We didn't…read morerealize until arriving that it was so close to Millennium Park, which we spent part of one afternoon exploring. Like every other tourist, we took photo after photo at Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean." We wandered through the rest of the Millennium Park Campus and found the entire area to be quite delightful. It was hard to believe that only yards away were busy streets and hotels and buildings. I was impressed with the level of security in place at each of the two park entrances. There are metal detectors in place and bag searches for a variety of prohibited items from weapons, explosives, fireworks, and open flames to noise makers, narcotics, drugs, and animals (other than service animals). The lines moved quite quickly. The officers were friendly but clearly focused on keeping everyone entering the park safe. Millennium Park is a world leader of art and architecture in a public, outdoor, urban setting. The Millennium Park Campus includes the Lurie Garden, the Chicago Cultural Center, Maggie Daley Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Harris Theater. The Lurie Garden is the Millennium Park's 'secret garden'. This naturalistic garden is a place of rest and renewal for humans and wildlife alike. There are also many events from summer workouts, summer music series, and summer film series to a variety of different festivals. The Millennium Park is open daily from 6 AM to 11 PM, and there is no cost for admission. The Welcome Center is open from 9 AM to 5 PM daily. The Lurie Garden will be closed through early July though. There is nearby parking in the Grant Park Garages (North & South) and the Millennium Park and Millennium Lakeside Garage. You can pay in person at each garage or pre-pay online. You can also take the CTA to Millennium Park where $5 will cover your entire trip. You can learn more about the Millennium Park at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park.html. If you're in Chicago, you need to visit the Millennium Park!

Very cute park and perfect for dogs to run and around and play. I loved all the tulips and the big…read moreopen grass field. There's also a fenced in dog park where my boyfriend sat for an hour watching the dogs run around. It's right near restaurants and a grocery store, which is convenient. If we were locals this would be the spot to go to!

Wonderful park for the neighborhood kids. It's well contained so you can see where your children go…read morewithout losing track of them.

Amazing!!!! Wow! I love ice skating and this was my first time on a ribbon and now I'm ruined for…read morelife and can never return to a tiny circular holiday rink again. This is way better! So freeing! So much more room and it's a fun course. I think the course is almost a half mile long. Beautiful downtown views and it's such a nice course in Maggie Daley Park. Friendly and helpful staff. Lockers available to rent. Refreshments available outside. I have my own skates so it's free if I skate during the first session, and only $5 any other time. I came here last week on my birthday and it was the perfect start to my special day. It brought me so much joy and I can't wait to return.

We went during Christmas break. You need to book your visit beforehand. When I book the only time…read moreavailable was from 8-10am. If you bring your own skate it's free. I like this place has railing all around and it is not the traditional round more like a trail. Feel quite iconic to skate here during our Chicago visit. I had been thinking about this since I cam in the summer.

Cool not as crowded of a park just south of Soldier Field. It may be listed as a skate park, but…read moreit's more. Burnham Park is plenty enough big for other activities. Fun in winter because of the hill. There's lots of places for doing tricks skateboarding and whatever. Because it's a ways from most things it can take longer getting to of course. It's located by the marina on Special Olympics Drive. This is also to the south of another park: the Gold Star Family Memorial Park. Located on the east side of the road, and it's kind of hidden. The most popular thing here is the sledding hill, open in winter. It's high up getting to the top, but it's still a gentle slope for a hill. There's also rails and stairs useful for turning skateboarding tricks when there's no snow. Fun place for outdoor activities. It's good for cold or hot weather. There's something here to get either skateboarding or snowboarding action any time of the year.

This skate park isn't really crowded often. Parking is free further down but if you wanna park…read morecloser you have to pay.

A year of movement!…read more Over the years of participating in different events, I have come to realize that I don't have to be as fast as the person next to me. In front of me, or even behind me. I do have to move, and it starts with a single step. The host kept announcing on the microphone; "your race, your pace". Just the motivation I needed. I mean standing in one spot waiting for your corral to start while FREEZING in the Chi made a lot of people not even want to start. When it was finally our turn, they announced that we should be careful due to high winds. Did I already mention it was cold? The wind gave me the boost I needed to improve my pace especially by the water. If the Shamrock Shuffle is something you have been thinking about, all levels are welcome. There was a 1 mile walk the day before and yes, you do earn a medal. The day of there is a 2 mile walk and the 8K. You CAN do it. Please register early as it does sell out.

Grant Park is a large, 319-acre public space in Chicago's Loop community area…read more It is home to Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum Campus & Millennium Park. It is referred to as Chicago's "front yard," it is the large overarching park in the city's central business district. The manicured rose gardens were impressive. There were many trees walking, running, biking & sitting on shady benches taking in the beautiful day. Boats & the lighthouse on Lake Michigan were visible. There were clean stocked public restrooms.

It was a random 60-degree day in late March here in Chicago. I personally have been wanting to…read morecheck out "Maggie Daley Park" in downtown. With that thought, let the exploration begin! Of course we took our kids along because they would be the ones who could take full advantage of the facilities. The park itself was quite large, but we went for the kids playground. Signs were clearly marked for direction so we got to our destination with no difficulties. Our boys definitely enjoyed the suspension bridge, though my younger one was hesitant to go on first. I did see some older kids who were climbing "outside of the bridge infrastructure. There was a note to remind anyone not to do so. Oh well, it is what it is. Even if some accidentally fell when doing risky tricks, the soft padded ground would reduce the impact. On the other hand, there was one section of playground exclusively for children older than 5 years old. The slide seemed to be more advanced for young toddlers for sure. Therefore, we performed our sightseeing duty and walked away since our munchkins were 2.5 and 4.5 years old. Our older one enjoyed the straight slides. I liked that fact there were multiple slides with various speeds so that kids would not get bored on staying on the same one. Normally I wouldn't recommend anyone to drive to downtown but we did this time. My partner was able to secure a spot via SpotHero at the Harris Theater for a reasonable price. I got there much later than our scheduled arrival time yet he was able to extend for another 30 minutes in the app. Overall, we highly recommend parents to visit "Maggie Daley Park" and let the kids release some energy. We probably will be back again to poke around other areas when spring and summer in Chicago are in full bloom.

We met friends with their kids at the Maggie Daley Park area of Chicago's Millennium Park before a…read moreday of shopping (Feb 2026). It's a bit of a walk in, and the path from the southwest corner of the park at Columbus & Monroe is longer but less-steep than the winding path uphill from the southeast corner at Lakeshore & Monroe. You get some lovely views of downtown Chicago. We continued past the (seasonal, of course) ice-skating ribbon, because we were not prepared to skate. There are several play areas of swings, slides, and climbing structures, some intended for (and with signs to indicate) specific age ranges. The giant slides and towers, and the ship-shaped climber, were very popular. Busy, but not over-crowded. It was quite entertaining, and we played there over 1.5 hours!

Came here on a Saturday morning and there was a variety of big and lil dogs playing around. There…read moreare 2 double gated entrances on either side of park. It is cement and dirt. A few benches and picnic tables present for seating but some owners allow their dogs to jump up on them. I didn't see any available poop bags but there are trash cans. It's a decent park, a little walk from Michigan ave and any close parking.

This place is great. It's a big enough place for my dog to run around and is really close to my…read moreapartment. My dog loves coming here and mingling with all of the other dogs. There are a ton of regulars that come here and for the most part are very friendly. My dog begs me every day to come to the park and already has the route memorized. We have been going there for a month.

I can't ice skate anymore since I have a bad ankle, but I love that Chicago has this free outdoor…read moreice rink every winter. Not sure why no one was being allowed to skate for quite a while when we visited, but there were lots of people waiting around to skate. I know people have a lotta fun here skating.

We took my son ice skating for the first time at the Millennium Park Ice Rink. It was pretty…read morestrange to skate in the rain, but what can you do? So you need to book a time slot ahead of time and you get to skate during your window. Definitely give yourself plenty of extra time to park and get your skates and change to make the most of your time. If you have your own skates bring them- then it's free (you still need a reservation though) but most importantly, their rental skates have been ridden HARD and are pretty rough. That said, it was a fun time and the decorations at the park are beautiful, even in the rain.

I love The 606. It's a living ribbon of city history, stitched into the neighborhood and still…read moreevolving with every step. On warm days it hums with life -- walkers, runners, bikes, conversations floating by with the breeze. On cold days, it offers something rarer: quiet, space, and a kind of urban solitude that feels like a deep breath. Lovely views, constant motion, and just enough stillness when you need it. A true gift to the city.

This is a public park, not business. A very nicely maintained trail for runners and walkers as well…read moreas bikers. E-bikes and E-scooters are not allowed but some are still riding them which is very annoying. No one there to enforce the rule. Other than that, it is a perfect trail.

Best arena I've ever skates in, and I grew up in Canada. I absolutely love this place. Stick&puck…read moreare filled with decent knowledgeable people. Picnic skate is so often empty, or next to. You can watch the Blackhawks practice here, for free! It is amazing. I feel lucky to live close to a place as awesome as this.

We've been here a few times now, with my son's travel hockey club. The facilities are great, the…read moreseating and walkways are ample, and the sound from the audio in between face-offs is energizing. I haven't skated on the surface, but my son says it's well maintained and much better than his home rink. The bar and food offerings are decent and the bathrooms and locker rooms are clean. The only reason for the 4 stars is that the adjacent parking lot is hit or miss, depending on what events are concurrently happening at the arena. One of the games happened to be on Blackhawk's Season Ticket holder appreciation night, so it was a challenge to find parking. Also, I appreciate it when security is consistent. Our last time there, there was no one at the door so everyone was walking around the metal detector. The staff in general has been helpful, but one other warning... the vending machines overcharge you (I think it's a $6 hold) for each transaction and it doesn't get released for a few days, but it's not very clear on the vending machine itself. We thought we got charged $12 for two bags of chips. We did get credited properly a few days later, however the arena manager was rude and unsympathetic to the situation, responding, "That's just how it is. We don't own those machines." We'll be back.