If you are planning to extend your trip to Chicago, there are many activities within a few hours’ drive of the city.

North

The Chicago Botanic Garden is actually not in Chicago. Head north a bit up to Glencoe and you’ll find a 385-acre living plant museum with more than 25 display gardens. Just a little farther north is Highland Park—a quaint town with nice houses, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Willits House. It is mostly known for being the summer home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia, however. Check to see if there are any tickets left. It is fun to sit on the lawn and picnic while listening to the music.

A little farther north, you will find Gurnee. Six Flags Great America with a water park and Gurnee Mills outlet mall are the two biggest attractions there. Still farther north, you will cross into Wisconsin and hit Kenosha. There is another outlet mall there, but there is also a new Civil War Museum, the Durkee Mansion, the Anderson Arts Center with free jazz Tuesday nights, and the Southport Light Station Museum.

Northwest

There are plenty of things to do northwest of the city. See where Hillary Clinton grew up in Park Ridge (renamed Rodham Corner), or see the site of the first McDonald’s Hamburgers in Desplaines. Woodstock is about 60 miles out. You may have heard about it, and heard about it, and heard about it from Bill Murray’s movie Groundhog Day. The Woodstock Mozart Festival is usually in early August, so that might be something to check out!

A little farther away is Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is a popular vacation spot for folks from Milwaukee and Chicago. It was also a haven for infamous folks like Al Capone and Hugh Hefner.

Milwaukee is 93 miles from Chicago, where you can see the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Miller Park (Brewers are playing the Braves August 8–11), the Pabst Mansion, and the Basilica of St. Josaphat. Or go about 50 miles west of Milwaukee to the Wisconsin state capital in Madison, where the nation’s largest farmer’s market is held every Saturday.

For a longer trip north, the Wisconsin Dells is a great family vacation spot. Named “waterpark of the world” and, in my mind, a runner-up for miniature golf capital (no slight to Myrtle Beach!), the Dells are always hopping! If you want to go to the Dells, but stay in a quieter area, check out Baraboo, Wisconsin—Home of Circus World Museum and a short drive from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin home. You can get to the Dells, but not have to deal with the noise, noise, noise, noise.

North-by-northwest

North-by-northwest (the upper corner of Illinois near Iowa and Wisconsin) is a lovely area. Apple River Canyon State Park has wonderful hiking trails, and just west of there is the city of Galena. With wineries, Blaum Bros. Distilling Company, and Ulysses S. Grant’s home, it is an amazing historical area that many overlook. It’s also the home of E.B. Washburne, Grant’s secretary of state.

West

Illinois has more Frank Lloyd Wright homes than any other state. You can see several houses, the Unity Temple, and his Oak Park home and studio in Oak Park/River Forest, the first suburb west of Chicago. Shout-out to Oak Park—one of the best suburbs in Chicago (disclosure: home of the author)! There are tours of the Wright home and studio that are really interesting. Also, one of North America’s four continental divides runs through Oak Park, order ativan online cheap separating the St. Lawrence River watershed from the Mississippi watershed. And Ernest Hemingway’s childhood home is there, as well as Hemingway’s Bistro, a French restaurant I’ve been meaning to try.

Farther west in Lisle, you will find the Morton Arboretum. Covering 1,700 acres and including native wetlands and restored prairie, you should allow plenty of time to study trees from around the globe at the onsite library or in person. You can also just take a long hike.

A bit farther west is the Fox River Valley, where you can canoe or take river steamboat rides, or simply explore charming boutiques in Geneva and a family-run winery in Oswego. The Kane County Cougars, a minor league baseball team, is just on the east side of Geneva. They are at home July 30–August 2.

Southwest

Drive southwest for about 100 miles and you’ll find Starved Rock National Park, just outside the village of Utica. This is a beautiful place to hike, canoe, or kayak—or even go horseback riding. The park is on the Illinois River, in an area once home to the Illiniwek, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie. The latter two tribes allegedly drove the former to the top of the rock, surrounded it, and starved them out … hence the name of the park. There are gorgeous waterfalls, 18 canyons, and more than 13 miles of trails. It is the most popular of Illinois state parks, hosting more than 2 million visitors annually.

Get your kicks on Route 66! The famous Will Rogers Highway runs from Chicago all the way to Santa Monica, California. Through Illinois, you can visit the city of Joliet and see landmarks such as the Route 66 Visitor’s Center, the Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet Prison, the first Dairy Queen, and the Rialto Square Theater. Another city you will drive through is Bloomington-Normal, home to State Farm Insurance and Illinois State University.

South by southwest

Travel on Route 66 south by southwest for about 200 miles to reach Springfield, the capital of Illinois. Here, you will find Lincoln’s home, the Lincoln Presidential Library, Lincoln’s Tomb, the Dana-Thomas house (another Wright design), and the Old State Capitol. Eventually, you will get to East St. Louis, Illinois, and see the Gateway to the West across the Mississippi in St. Louis, Missouri.

South by southeast

South by southeast, you can drive just over the Illinois border to find Indiana Dunes State Park. The Indiana-Michigan (referred to as Michiana) shoreline is a great place to enjoy sand dunes, swim, or just relax in a summer-town type atmosphere. Be careful around here, as you can be in or out of CDT/EDT zones.

There are also wine tours of southwest Michigan. Yep, we have wineries here. Not necessarily Napa Valley–worthy, but pretty good swill from a local perspective, as the lake provides moderate temperatures. Not too far south of the lake are the towns of Elkhart, Goshen, Nappanee, Middlebury, Wakarusa, Bristol, and Shipshewana. Take a 90-mile scenic drive around Amish Country to see these cities and the attractions of Amish life.

East

It would be hard to go due east from Chicago, as the lake (really, it’s a lake) is on the east side. So we will end the compass tour here.

This article is by no means comprehensive. Google almost anything with Chicago and you’re sure to find what you want!