Urban Hikes
Join us on an up-to-six-hour guided "urban hike"! If you enjoy hiking and are in good enough shape to hack
a multi-mile excursion, one of these fascinating tours might be your cup
of tea. Fee: $100 per person, 5-person minimum; 10- person maximum.
| NORTH LAKEFRONT, WILSON TO FULLERTON |
| "Lincoln Park" actually refers to the stretch of beach and parklands that extends for about 8 miles along the lakefront from Oak Street north to Hollywood Boulevard. We knock off a good chunk of that on this hike through the most interesting section of the park. Starting at Wilson Avenue and the lakefront next to one the city's growing number of "skate parks," we trek along beautiful Lake Michigan through beach and woodland, yacht harbors, a bird sanctuary, even a restored "dune" ecosystem. The tour ends at the Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the nation's finest (and still with free admission). |
| DOWNTOWN LAKEFRONT (NAVY PIER TO ADLER PLANETARIUM, VIA MILLENNIUM AND GRANT PARKS) |
| This jaunt through the most picturesque and famous stretch of Chicago's coastline could be a long one or an extremely long one; depending on how many side trips and detours you want to take. No matter how you slice it, this is a lovely and inspiring hike. |
| NORTH BRANCH RIVER WALK (LAWRENCE AVENUE/CHICAGO RIVER TO PETERSON AVENUE/CHICAGO RIVER) |
| This hike would probably be of most interest to native or resident Chicagoans looking for something new and obscure to enjoy. The city has been working assiduously for the last several years to create continuous walkways along the branches of the Chicago River (eventually hoping to link up the whole darn thing). This 4-mile stretch from Lawrence Avenue to Peterson Avenue features some lovely parks, majestic groves of trees, and Chicagoland's only waterfall. |
| COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION WALK (MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY THROUGH JACKSON PARK, THEN TO WASHINGTON PARK/FOUNTAIN OF TIME VIA THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE) |
| It's been said that to visit every exhibit for 1/2 hour during the World's Columbian Exposition would have taken 32 years—but we'll only spend one day! The grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 (featured in the best-selling novel Devil In The White City) were absolutely freakin' huge, so we could literally walk till our legs fall off. Tell us what you want to see or how long you can stand to walk, and we'll plan accordingly (we can always wimp out and call a cab whenever we want). |
Page last updated: 19 August 2009