The 5 Best Day Trips From Chicago

Even if you love city life, it can be nice to take a break from the commotion every once in a while. Chicago is well-positioned for a number of amazing day trips, whether you are looking to be active in the outdoors, relax and sip delicious craft beer, explore small-town shops, or some combination of it all. Here are the five best day trips from Chicago.

Visit Starved Rock State Park

Starved Rock State Park offers visitors many activities

Starved Rock is one of the most popular day trips from Chicago and is an ideal place to visit if you are looking to immerse yourself in quintessential Midwestern nature. It takes less than two hours to drive to this beautiful park filled with canyons and waterfalls, which visitors can hike to year-round.

In the warmer months, there are also activities like kayaking, canoeing and horseback riding. In the winter, visitors can see the frozen waterfalls and partake in ice climbing and cross-country skiing. If you want to turn this into more than a day trip, there is also a campground where you can spend the night roasting marshmallows and sleeping under the stars.

Riding a bike to 3 Floyds Brewpub allows you to take in views of Chicago’s lakefront

This day trip allows you to enjoy so many things at once: a lovely bike ride, sprawling views of Lake Michigan and delicious food and drink from a famous pub. In 2018, the Brewer’s Association named 3 Floyds, located in Munster, Indiana, one of the top 50 brewing companies by sales volume.

While you can drive here for a visit, one of the most fun ways to get here is by bike. The ride is about 34 miles (55 kilometers) and, depending on speed, takes between two-and-a-half and three hours. You’ll spend a large portion of the journey along Chicago’s gorgeous lakefront path. When you arrive, celebrate your hard work with one of 3 Floyds’ famous brews as well as a delicious burger – and maybe some cheese curds on the side. You deserve it after all that work. When you’ve filled up, there is a Metra train station about 10mi (16km) away, so you don’t have to ride back to the city.

Relax in Saugatuck, Michigan

Saugatuck, Michigan, makes for a peaceful escape from city life

Saugatuck is a delightful little lakeside town. Just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the city, it’s a wonderful place to shop, eat and lounge. During the summer, you can visit Saugatuck’s Farmers Market on Fridays. If you have time, you can also check out the other neighboring and equally cute towns of Holland and Douglas. If none of these strike your fancy, you can explore one of Illinois’s own charming, small towns.

Tour breweries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has a history dating back to the mid-1800s

It takes about one hour and 40 minutes to drive from Chicago to Milwaukee, a city known for its centuries of rich brewing history. Milwaukee is currently home to dozens of brewers, large and small, including the Pabst Milwaukee Brewery, Miller Brewing Company, Good City Brewing and Black Husky Brewing.

Watch a Big 10 football game

Ann Arbor, Michigan, is home to the University of Michigan Wolverines

Chicago is between two and four hours from the famed college towns of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; Iowa City, Iowa; and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Homes to the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois respectively, these locales are brimming with shops, restaurants and school spirit and are fun to explore on any day. For the ultimate Big 10 experience, though, visit one of these institutions for a football game. Spend the day tailgating and soaking up the energy and excitement of the student body before settling into the stadium to cheer on the home team.
This article is an updated version of a story created by Elizabeth Newhart.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.