Journal destination
Stories from this city location. Explore published field notes, guided trips, and local perspectives.
The collection
01Lake air, glass pavilions, and the soft roar of a distant city: Lincoln Park & Zoo is an unexpectedly wild corner of Chicago. This guide breaks down the best ways to experience its animals, conservatory, and history in a single half-day itinerary.
02A reclaimed stretch of shoreline where prairie meets the Chicago skyline—Northerly Island delivers calm, open-water vistas, easy boardwalk loops, and bird life right next to the Museum Campus. It’s a short escape best explored by foot or bike, and ideal to pair with a guided lakefront tour.
03A radical vantage point over Chicago: Skydeck’s glass Ledge and high-floor views compress the city into a readable map. Here’s how to time your visit, what to expect, and how to photograph the skyline like a pro.
04The Chicago River slices through the city like a living archive—board an architecture cruise, paddle past historic façades, or stroll the Riverwalk to see how engineering, commerce, and nature coexist in the heart of downtown.
05Hyde Park is where Chicago’s civic and natural histories intersect — the University of Chicago’s Gothic quads meet the broad Lakefront Trail. Ride through academic streets, surf the lake breeze at Promontory Point, and join guided food-and-bike tours that stitch the neighborhood into a single, human-scale adventure.
06An 18.5-mile urban ribbon of pavement and parkland, Chicago’s Lakefront Trail links beaches, museums, and neighborhoods. Ride, run, or paddle this shoreline to see the city from its most kinetic vantage point.
07From dawn paddles off Ohio Street Beach to sunset skyline cruises, Lake Michigan shapes Chicago’s rhythms. This is a practical, story-driven look at how to experience the lake the way locals do—by water, wheel, and foot.
08The Chicago Loop compresses a century of architecture, transit, and food traditions into a compact, walkable grid. From donut counters beneath the Merchandise Mart to deep-dish debates on the Riverwalk, here’s how to experience the Loop with purpose—and appetite.
09An app-guided scavenger hunt through Chicago’s riverbanks, plazas and architectural milestones—90 minutes of local stories, playful puzzles, and the kind of detail that turns a city walk into a mini-education.
10Skip the slow cruise: this 90-minute Willard Marine ride blends high-speed thrills with the stories of Chicago’s lakefront. Expect spray, skyline views, and a crash course in the city’s maritime past.
11A private, app-led scavenger hunt that transforms Chicago’s Loop, Riverwalk and plazas into a 90-minute game of riddles, architecture, local food and hidden stories. Perfect for teams, families or friend groups who like to explore on foot.