Chicagoland is currently playing the lead actor in a bomb of a play called "Polar Vortex." While you may not be able to take a long hike or go camping (unless you like risking frostbite after spending 30 minutes outdoors), there are many natured-oriented places, museums, and even an auto museum you can visit to … Continue reading 15+ Museums, Nature Centers, and Other Destinations to Visit in Chicagoland on a Teeth-Chattering Winter Day
Model Trains and Chicago Scenes at an Arboretum, Indoor Oases for Weather-Challenged Winter Weekends, A Book About an Illinois Environmental Legend, Trolls, The Wildest Place in Cook County, A Walk With My Son Amidst Political Chaos. These were the topics of the most-popular posts at Nature in Chicagoland in November 2018 based on page views … Continue reading The 7 Most-Popular Posts at Nature in Chicagoland in November 2018
For thousands of years, Native Americans lived where our (meaning everyone who arrived after the Native Americans) homes, stores, and parks now stand. They hunted for game in the hills, ravines, and forests of Chicagoland; collected mussels and clams and fished in what we now call Lake Michigan; and fell in love, cherished their families, … Continue reading The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian: A Great Place to Learn About the First Americans
Trolls (the fun kind), The Wildest Spot in Cook County, Ghost Stories, Indian Burial Mounds on Towering Bluffs Above the Mighty Mississippi River. A Beautiful Suburban Grassland. The Keepataw Preserve. These were the topics of the most-popular posts at Nature in Chicagoland in September 2018 based on page views by my readers. If you missed … Continue reading The 6 Most-Popular Posts at Nature in Chicagoland in September 2018
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND UPDATED AUGUST 2023 If you view many people’s Facebook, X, and Instagram posts (including mine sometimes), nature is pretty, awe-inspiring, often cuddly, and almost perfect in its beauty. In photos and stories, the spring flowers are a multi-colored blanket of … Continue reading Why I Love the Outdoors Despite Once Being Impaled by a Cactus, Nearly Run Over by a Bison, and Having a Scratched Cornea Ruin My First Date With My Future Wife
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND UPDATED AUGUST 2023 Thousands and thousands of years ago, a spring-fed stream began to carve a ravine into a bluff that overlooked a river. As time passed, the ravine grew deeper. Native Americans (including the Potawatomi chief Black Partridge) lived in and/or travelled through the … Continue reading Black Partridge Woods: Cool Ravines, Great Hiking, and Six Other Reasons to Visit
Chicago is known for its stunning architecture, talented writers, cutting-edge food scene, winning sports teams, and its world-class museums. But if you’ve lived in Chicago your entire life, it’s easy to take our museums for granted. Many people visit these vast repositories of ideas, science, art, history, and nature when they are kids, and never … Continue reading The Field Museum: Dinosaurs, Mummies, a Bug’s-Eye View of the World, and Much More
Today is the one-year anniversary of my blog, Nature in Chicagoland. In the last year, I’ve published more than 40 articles (45,000+ words, I can’t believe it myself) about the great outdoors. I’ve covered everything from eagle watching and views of the mighty Mississippi River at Mississippi Palisades State Park, to remnants of the Manhattan … Continue reading Celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of Nature in Chicagoland
I want to thank all of my Nature in Chicagoland readers for visiting my blog in 2017. I launched the blog last March not sure how many people would want to read about nature, but the number of visitors grew almost every month, with visitor and page views peaking last month. Not a bad way … Continue reading Goodbye 2017…Hello, 2018!
BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG UPDATED 5/21/26 Have you ever visited a national park, monument, or other National Park Service (NPS) property? If not, now is a great time to start. According to the NPS, “the National Park System covers more than 85 million acres and is comprised of … Continue reading 6 National Park Service Destinations Within 0 to 220 Miles of Chicago