Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
No Horsing Around
Let me be frank: Horseback riding in downtown Chicago is impossible.
About the closest you can get is a horse-and-buggy ride. Carriages depart
from the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Pearson Street (next
to the Water Tower). For $30 for a half-hour ride (for up to four people),
it's a picturesque way to take in the city's sights. The rides are operated by
The Noble Horse, which owns the only remaining stable in downtown
Chicago, from a 1917 brick building at 1410 N. Orleans Ave. For group
tours or other information, call
The Noble Horse
at
&
312/266-7878.
In the northern suburbs,
Skokie Sports Park,
3459 Oakton (
&
847/674-
1500
), offers an 18-hole around-the-world-themed miniature golf course, a
9-hole miniature golf course for the smallest tots, a two-tiered driving range, and
junior golf lessons. The Traveler's Quest miniature golf course, geared toward
older kids and adults, lets you putt around the Eiffel Tower and over the water-
fall near Easter Island. Check out the African water hole (in which you putt into
the hippo's mouth), the Japanese garden with lanterns offering sizable hazards,
and the Great Wall of China. The park is open April through October Sunday
through Thursday from 8am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday until 11pm.
In nearby Lincolnwood,
Bunny Hutch Novelty Golf and Games,
3550 W.
Devon Ave. (
&
847/679-9434
), offers miniature golf, batting cages, a video
arcade, and an ice cream parlor. It's a 50-year-old operation that's open daily
from 10am to midnight from early March through late October.
ICE SKATING
Whether you and your kids are executing graceful toe loops or merely stumbling
across the rink, you can hit the ice in the heart of Chicago's Loop. The city's pre-
mier skating destination is the
McCormick Tribune Ice Rink
at Millennium
Park, 55 N. Michigan Ave., located at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and
Monroe Street. The location is unbeatable. You'll skate in the shadows of grand
skyscrapers and within view of the lake. The rink is open daily from 9am to
9pm, November to March. Admission is free, and skate rentals are $5. Try going
on a weeknight when the city lights sparkle over you, and grab a hot chocolate
from a vending machine to warm up before hitting the ice.
Year-round skating and ice-skating lessons are available at the only city-run
indoor ice arena at
McFetridge Sports Complex,
located in the Lakeview neigh-
borhood at 3845 N. California Ave., at Irving Park Road (
&
773/742-7585
).
Open skating sessions in the indoor rink are held Wednesday and Friday after-
noons from 3:30 to 5pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 4:30 to 6pm. Skates can
be rented for $2.50 a pair; the rink fee is $3 for adults, $2.75 for teens 14 to 17,
and $2.25 for kids 13 and under. The rink is huge and can be very crowded on
weekends. You might want to take advantage of the free skating lessons, available
on Monday from 5:15 to 5:55pm.
IN-LINE SKATING
In-line skaters have been taking over Chicago's sidewalks, streets, and bike paths
since the early 1990s. Numerous rental places have popped up, and several
sporting-goods shops that sell in-line skates also rent them. The rentals generally
include helmets and pads.
Bike & Roll,
with locations at Navy Pier (
&
312/
595-9600
) and North Avenue Beach (
&
773/327-7206
), charges $8.75 an
