Running through the University campus is the Midway Plaisance, where Chicagoans rode the Great Ferris Wheel during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Today the Midway has open fields for intramural and pick-up games, a permanent rink for ice-skating in winter and in-line skating in summer, a warming house that also serves as an event venue in summer, and landscaped gardens near Harper Library. More new amenities are being planned.

To the east of the Shoreland are the 57th Street beach and Promontory Point (otherwise known as the Point), which is great for joggers, bikers, swimmers, and others just looking to relax, picnic, or barbecue. To the north, at 47th Street, is a smaller swimming spot. A little south of the Point are the South Shore Cultural Center and Jackson Park, with more than two square miles of open land, beaches, a yacht club, a driving range, and a public 18-hole golf course. Washington Park, with playing fields, playgrounds, and an indoor swimming pool, is just to the west of campus.

Of course, there are plenty of flora and fauna beyond Hyde Park; here are some of the most popular destinations:

Brookfield Zoo
Web: www.brookfieldzoo.org
First Avenue and 31st Street
Brookfield
708-485-0263
Admission: $10 plus parking
Located 14 miles west of the Loop, it is accessible by Metra. A number of large, naturalistic exhibits. Includes dolphin shows.

Burnham Skate Park
31st Street and Lake Shore Drive
312-742-PLAY
This 20,000-square-foot park for skateboarders and in-line skaters features benches, curbs, rails, and smooth, curved metal surfacing for protection. Admission is free; the park is closed in winter.

Chicago Botanic Garden
Web: www.chicago-botanic.org
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe
847-835-5440
Free admission; parking is $15. Events cost extra.
About 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, the 385 acres—including demonstration, research, and conservation gardens—are worth the trek. Accessible via Metra.

Garfield Park Conservatory
Web: www.garfield-conservatory.org
300 North Central Park Avenue
312-746-5100
Admission and parking are free.
The largest public horticultural collection under glass in the world is located steps away from the Conservatory–Central Park stop on the CTA Green Line.

Lincoln Park Conservatory
2391 North Stockton Drive
312-742-7736
Free admission
Located next to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago's largest park, this horticultural collection, including a 50-foot fiddle-leaf rubber tree dating from 1891, expands into four greenhouses.

Lincoln Park Zoo
Web: www.lpzoo.com
2200 North Cannon Drive
312-742-2000
Free admission; parking is $14.
Home to more than 1,000 animals, the zoo includes a children's petting zoo, an interactive environmental learning center, and a fine primate house.

Millennium Park
Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue
The Frank Gehry–designed Pritzker outdoor music pavilion is the focal design element of this popular park. The park also includes the indoor Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate ("the bean"), an ice-skating rink, and a restaurant/grill.

Morton Arboretum
Web: www.mortonarb.org
4100 Illinois Route 53
Lisle
630-968-0074
Admission $9 ($6 Wednesday)
A visitor center, restaurant, maze garden, children's garden, and more connect visitors with the collections of thousands of trees and other plants at this 1,700-acre site.

Oak Park Conservatory
Web: www.oprf.com/conservatory/
615 Garfield Street
Oak Park
708-386-4700
Free admission ($1 suggested donation)
Visit tropical, fern, and desert greenhouses. Special floral displays are offered in November, December, February, and March.

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