BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF THE NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND BLOG
UPDATED JUNE 2025
Spending outdoors is great unless the weather is life-threatingly cold or hot or other conditions (e.g., wildfire smoke) exist that make it unsafe. But on some days, we just need to stay safe. The good news: there are many nature centers, museums, and other destinations that you can visit today and on any challenging outdoor day to soak up some nature, experience some art or history, or otherwise expand your mind. Here are more than 20 great destinations (many of which can be accessed by public transportation). Contact these places for the most current information regarding their hours and events. Many of these places also offer hiking trails and outdoor activities, but the focus of this article is on indoor activities. Before visiting, be sure to check with each facility for current visiting hours and closures.
1. Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center (9800 Willow Springs Road, Willow Springs, IL 60480, 708/839-6897): One of the crown jewels of the many great nature centers in Chicagoland. The center offers a large and fun kids’ indoor play area with live animals, a reading section, games, and much more; an outdoor play area for kids; a two-story museum that traces the geological history of the area and features live snakes, turtles, frogs, fish, and other fauna; and the actual 1886 Schoolhouse. Closed Fridays. Click here for my article about the nature center.
2. The Field Museum (1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, 312/922-9410): Permanent exhibits and features include Inside Ancient Egypt; Evolving Planet; The Crown Family PlayLab; Fossil Preparation Laboratory; Meteorites; and Pawnee Earth Lodge. My article: The Field Museum.
3. Volo Museum (27582 Volo Village Road, Volo, IL 60073, 815/385-3644). The museum features more than 30 distinct exhibits in 12 buildings on 35 acres. It also features a restaurant and a large antique mall. There’s literally something for everybody at the museum. It’s a family-owned and -run museum and collectibles auto market. There are hundreds of vintage and famous cars, but the museum also features everything under the sun—from 1950s jukeboxes and arcade games, to military aircraft and 100-year-old trains, to antique bikes, scooters, tractors, and snowmobiles. Unless you’re a chronic grump, you’ll find something that will make you smile, laugh, or simply say wow (like I did when I saw the 28-foot-long guitar car and the 14-foot-tall roller skate car). The museum also has a Titanic exhibit and a 15,000 square foot animatronic dinosaur park. Click here for my article about the museum.
4. Big Marsh Park (11555 S. Stony Island Ave. Chicago, IL 60617, 312/590-5993; enter only at 103rd Street and Doty Road, or at 122nd Street and Torrence Avenue) on Chicago’s far Southeast Side features the Ford Calumet Environmental Center, a beautiful education facility that has a wealth of exhibits about the region’s natural and cultural history and live animal exhibits that feature fish, toads, snakes, and turtles. Click here for my article about this Southeast Side Chicago destination.
5. Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center (3609 Spring Road. Oakbrook, IL 60523, 630/850-8110): This nature education center is top notch. When you walk inside, you’ll be greeted by friendly staff, tons of exhibits (including one that shows birds that have been recently spotted in Fullersburg Woods), books, informational maps and flyers, and other resources. The kids can view live animals (e.g., snakes, toads), learn about the prints made by different types of animals in the woods via a hands-on exhibit (this was one of my eight-year-old son’s favorites), check out the skeleton of a 13,000-year-old woolly mammoth, and use microscopes and spotting scopes to study various animals and organisms. Kids can play with all types of hands-on exhibits in the kids’ area and climb into a “bird’s nest” (another favorite of my son). Also: river views and much more. Closed on Sundays and select holidays. Click here for my article on the nature center.
6. Graue Mill and Museum (3800 York Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523-2738, 630/451-3430). Step back in history during a visit to this underappreciated local gem, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and is the only operating waterwheel gristmill in the Chicago area. The museum features a variety of rooms that depict life in the mid-to-late 1800s; an exhibit on the Underground Railroad (Frederick Graue sheltered African slaves who had escaped from southern plantations as they made their way north to freedom); milling, spinning, weaving, and living history presentations by docents; and special events such as the museum’s annual Fine Arts Festival, Craft Beer Tasting Event, Civil War Encampment, and Christmas at the Mill Holiday Boutique. The mill and museum are kid-friendly, and picnic tables are available with a nice view of the mill and Salt Creek. The mill and museum are closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and select holidays. Click here for my article on Graue Mill.
7. Pullman National Monument (11141 South Cottage Grove Chicago, IL 60628, 773/928-7257): One of the National Park Service’s newest monuments is located on the far South Side of Chicago. You won’t find nature in abundance, but rather a wealth of history about the first model, planned industrial community in the United States and the Pullman Company, the founder of the community. Another noteworthy site in the Pullman Historic District is the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, which explores African-American labor history. A. Philip Randolph was a labor and civil rights leader, and the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a union that represented African-American railroad porters during contentious battles with the Pullman Company over worker rights. Closed Monday and Tuesday and select holidays.
8. North Park Village Nature Center (5801 North Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60646): A nature preserve and educational facility that offers a hands-on exploratory room of natural objects (antlers, shells, pine cones, fossils, etc.); a reading room for kids; and public programs for preschoolers, school age children, families, and adults. Click here for my article.
9. The Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History (738 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305, 708/366-6530) features live native animals, beautiful wildflower gardens, a nature play area, and hiking trails. Closed Fridays.
10. Art Institute Chicago (Michigan Avenue Entrance: 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603; Modern Wing Entrance: 159 East Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603) is one of the premier art museums in the world. There are art and activities for people of all ages at this Chicago gem. Closed on Tuesdays and on select holidays.
11. The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (formerly known as the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian) (3001 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201, 847/475-0911) is a great place to visit to see both the past and present of Native Americans—not only in Chicagoland, but throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to the exhibits, the museum hosts many events, including artist demonstrations, a film festival, a speakers series, a Weekend Arts & Stories program, and an annual Native American Fine Arts Market. Closed Sundays and select holidays. Click here to read my article about the museum.
12. Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614, 773/755-5100) features live animals (including a butterfly greenhouse), nature-oriented art exhibits, a short nature trail, and educational exhibits that help visitors learn more about conservation and the natural world. Closed select holidays.
13. Sagawau Environmental Learning Center (12545 West 111th Street, Lemont, IL 60439, 630/257-2045): This environmental education center and lodge also features information on Native American history, a Hummingbird Festival in the summer, and weekly indoor and outdoor education programs. Cross-country skiing in the winter, but let’s not think about winter in Chicagoland right now! Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day. Click here for my article.
14. Sand Ridge Nature Center (15891 Paxton Avenue, South Holland, IL 60473, 708/868-0606): This is a great nature center for kids (with live animals), an 1800s pioneer homestead, a variety of workshops and guided hikes, and annual festivals and events such as the Underground Railroad Interactive Hike, Juneteenth Celebration, Archaeology Day (which celebrates Native American culture), Settlers’ Day, and Christmas Past. Closed Fridays and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Check out my articles about Sand Ridge:
- Sand Ridge Nature Center: Indoor and Outdoor Education and Fun in All Seasons
- Visit Sand Ridge Nature Center for a Wonderful Winter Experience
15. Oak Park Conservatory (615 Garfield Street, Oak Park, IL 60304,708/725-2400) is a wonderful place to visit in any season. There are three main conservatory showrooms. The Mediterranean Room features plants from the coasts of California, the western cape of South Africa, central Chile, and areas in western and southern Australia. In the Tropical Room, you’ll see banana and papaya trees, cycads (which predate the time of dinosaurs), large fig trees, giant anthurium, dracaenas, ferns, spider plants, peperomia, and many other beautiful plant species. In the Desert Room, you’ll see common types of cacti such as cereus, optunia and pereskia; succulents such as crassula, haworthia, kalanchoe, and gasteria; century plants; and bug-eating plants such as venus fly traps, sun dews, and pitcher plants. Closed Mondays and select holidays. Click here for my article. I recommend pairing a visit to Oak Park Conservatory with the much-larger Garfield Park Conservatory, which is about 5 miles east of the conservatory.
16. Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL 60624, 773/638-1766), which was designed by Jens Jensen, is a wonderful place to spend a day. Here’s a brief journal entry I made about the conservatory (a full article forthcoming): “Stunning. There were beautiful koi and turtles, including traveling through stone channels in one of the walkways. Also, beautiful waterfalls and other water features. The Fern Room was awe-inspiring.” Closed Monday and Tuesday and select holidays.
17. Isle a la Cache Museum and Nature Preserve is a well-organized and attractive museum on an island in the Des Plaines River. The museum (501 East Romeo Road, Romeoville, IL 60446, 815/722-9301, Facebook) provides information on the fur trade between the French voyageurs and Potawatomi. Things to do include visiting the museum and participating in its programs (e.g., bird hikes, craft club), taking a short hike and viewing and enjoying the forest, river, and wildlife; fishing; canoeing; kayaking; geocaching; cross-country skiing; and snowshoeing. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays and select holidays. Click here for my article.
18. Frederick C. Robie House (5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue Chicago, IL 60637). “The Robie House (1908-1910) is the “consummate expression of Wright’s Prairie style. Robie House sparked a revolution in residential architecture that still reverberates today and is considered one of the most important buildings in architectural history. The house is a masterpiece of the Prairie style and a forerunner of modernism in architecture.” Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
19. The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (which was formerly known as the Oriental Institute) has 350,000 artifacts from Egypt, Nubia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and the Levant. The insititute is located at the University of Chicago (1155 E. 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637). Open Tuesday–Thursday, Saturday–Sunday.
20. River Trail Nature Center (3120 Milwaukee Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062, 847/824-8360) features beautiful views of the meandering Des Plaines River; friendly and helpful staff; a Noah’s Ark–menagerie of other animals for viewing—from flying squirrels, frogs, turtles, snakes galore, and lizards indoors, to bald eagle, owls, and an impressive bee colony outdoors. (Sorry, no elephants or giraffes.); and a large children’s indoor play and exploration area where kids can climb into an “eagle nest,” crawl in a “fox den,” view Native American artifacts, play checkers on a tree stump, read nature books, climb through massive logs (just outside one of the center’s doors), and do much more. Closed Fridays and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Click here for my article about the nature center.
21. The Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022, 847/835-6801) has three amazing greenhouses—two filled with exotic tropical plants (pruned in the summer so that they bloom in the winter to wow us shivering Chicagoans) and another arrayed with an amazing medley of cacti and succulents—some more than 10-feet tall. The Chicago Botanic Garden also has a cozy restaurant and plenty of indoor educational programs that you should check out. Various hours/open dates apply to different Botanic garden facilities. Click here for my article about the garden.
22. Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens (7402 W. Lake Katherine Drive, Palos Heights, IL, 60463, 708/361-1873) is a beautiful nature area with easy trails, a nature center with live animals and a play area for children, and much more. There is something for everyone at this beautiful south suburban destination. A good place to spend an hour or even a day (in warmer weather). Open: Nature Center: Weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The park is open daily from dawn until dusk. Learn more about the nature center.
23. Axe-Tossing. Axe-throwing is a great way to blow off some steam and have some fun with friends. There are several axe-throwing businesses throughout Chicago, in other U.S. cities, and in Canada. I suggest that you give it a try—or a throw. Click here to read my article on my recent axe-throwing experience and for some Chicagoland, U.S., and Canadian places you can go to give axe-throwing a try.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GO OUTSIDE…Head to the Lake
Lake Michigan. Take a long walk on the sandy beaches of our vast inland sea (it’s the fifth-largest lake in the world). Skip some stones. Listen to the sounds of gulls and other birds. Dip your feet in the water and feel the energy of the waves–or just dive in to escape the heat. Have a picnic or lounge at one of Chicago’s 26 free beaches.
Indiana Dunes State Park (50 miles from downtown Chicago): A wild and beautiful place that features nearly 200-foot sand dunes rising above 3 miles of beautiful Lake Michigan beach, as well as black oak forests, bogs, creeks, marshes, and other natural wonders filled with more than 1,000 plant and animal species. Indiana Dunes State Park (1600 N. 25 E. Chesterton, IN 46304, 219/926-1952) offers seven hiking trails (16 miles in all), and the 9.2-mile Calumet Trail travels along its southern edge. Also: wildflower viewing, fishing (smelt only), birding, camping, and the J.D. Marshall Preserve, which is based around the J.D. Marshall shipwreck site (the ship sank on June 11, 1911). The park also has a nature center.
Indiana Dunes National Park (50 miles from downtown Chicago): Yes, there are towering dunes, sandy beaches, and crashing surf at this National Park Service (NPS) treasure, but also wetlands, rivers, prairies, swamps, bogs, marshes, and quiet forests. The national lakeshore’s 15,000 acres feature 50 miles of trails, as well as more than 1,100 native plants, which places it fourth in plant diversity among all NPS sites. More than 350 bird species have been sighted at the lakeshore. The park also has a nature center. Looking for itinerary advice? Click here for tips on what to do if you have 1–2 hours, a half day, or an entire weekend to spend at the lakeshore.
If you’re a glutton for punishment and enjoy the scorching weather, check out the What to Do This Weekend section of this website for more nature, hiking, history, camping, and/or activities for kids or for yourself in the Chicagoland area.
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Looking for some other great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.
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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES
I have been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 70 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).
Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:
- Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
- Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
- Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Environment (Getting Started series)
- Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)