Activities & Attractions

Get Out There!

There’s always something fun to do in the Elgin Area! You can celebrate Fall at Goebbert’s Farm or spend the summer perusing the stalls at the Elgin Farmers Market. No matter what time of year it is, our museums, zoos, and art centers offer opportunities to explore what our communities have to offer all year round. And if you want to get in touch with nature, the Northern Fox River Valley has some of the best parks and nature preserves in the Chicagoland Area!

Fox River Trolley Museum

South Elgin

Check out Fox River Trolley Museum! Here, you will enjoy a nostalgic trip back to an era when the electric trolley car was a vital part of American life.

Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center

Carpentersville

Come and enjoy our Splash-down Family Slide, Sandcastle Beach or simply relax in our lounge chairs. With umbrellas, lawn chairs, picnic tables, and a sun hill, there’s a place for... more

Main Street Bicycles

Carpentersville

Main Street Bicycles is a full service repair shop, and provider of exceptional bikes and accessories for purchase or for rent. Located right on the expansive Fox River Trail as... more

Bartlett Nature Center

Bartlett

Bartlett Nature Center includes exhibits, programming, special events, rental opportunities, scout programs and more. The Bartlett Nature Center is a Facility of the Bartlett Park District.

Santa’s Village Azoozement and Water Park

East Dundee

This Christmas-themed entertainment park is packed with attractions. Enjoy carnival rides,  200+ zoo animals, and the new Santa Springs Water Park! Open May through October.

Randall Oaks Park

West Dundee

At Randall Oaks Park you’ll find 141 acres of open space that includes three shelters, a 10-hole disc golf course two volleyball courts and three playgrounds. There’s also an amazing... more

Villa Olivia Winter Sports

Bartlett

Downhill skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing are right here in your backyard.  Villa Olivia is just a short drive from anywhere in the Chicago area. With 100% snow making, ski... more

Goebbert’s Farm Pingree Grove

Pingree Grove

Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch is a 200 acre farm that is open to the public in mid August when our U-Pick fields open. In late September, we open as a fun fall festival for the family. Goebbert’s has been in the farm market business since 1948. George Goebbert started a roadside vegetable stand in Arlington Heights at the corner of Algonquin […]

The Pumpkin Wagon

Elgin

Do you have fall on your mind? Come out and see over 30 different kinds of pumpkins, gourds & squash, along with corn shocks, broom corn, mums, straw, and fall decor. All our products are grown right here in Elgin on our family farm. If you are interested in working with us on a large order, please private message us. […]

Enjoy Pioneer Farm

Hampshire

Pumpkins, Fun, Free Admission. Grab a wagon and pick your own pumpkins from the 2 acre field. Also winter squash, gourds, specialty pumpkins, cornstalks and straw bales. Pre-picked pumpkins are in the farmyard for your convenience. Also eggs, meat.  

Judson University

Elgin

Judson University is a fully accredited, private Christian university of the liberal arts, sciences and professions. Judson offers degrees in more than 50 different majors/minors for traditional, graduate, and adult students.

Hemmens Cultural Center

Elgin

Located in the Center City area along the banks of Elgin's award-winning Riverwalk, The Hemmens Cultural Center is the cornerstone of Elgin's growing arts community.

Muirhead Farmhouse

Hampshire

Designed in 1950 by renown architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Muirhead Farmhouse is the only known farmhouse designed and built by Wright during his lifetime.

Arts in Bartlett Center for the Arts

Bartlett

The purpose of Arts in Bartlett is to improve the community by providing access to the arts.

Elgin Farmers Market

Elgin

The Elgin Farmers Market is a large open air fresh market that takes place every year from early June through early October. Shoppers can find fresh locally grown produce and other locally sourced fare like, fresh honey! You can also find body care products, baked good and items for your pet. The Elgin Farmers Market has also been known to […]

NENA Butterfly Garden

Elgin

The NENA Butterfly Garden is located at the corner of Ann Street and Douglas Avenue in the northeast neighborhood. Formally a vacant lot, volunteers and local residents worked with the City of Elgin to create a natural, tranquil, and butterfly friendly space for the entire neighborhood to enjoy. The project was built in 2008, and funded through a Neighborhood Improvement Grant and […]

Goat Yoga Chicago

Elgin

Goat Yoga at Reverse the Kerrs Farm allows you the opportunity to be one with nature, one with goats, and one with your soul. We are a unique farm in that we sit on the edge of a beautiful wetland full of a variety of birds and other wildlife that provide a beautiful chorus of sounds from sunrise to sunset.  Only five […]

Elgin Community Bikes

Elgin

Elgin Bike Hub is a community oriented project to support and grow bike riding for transportation and recreation in Elgin. They accomplish this through bike rides and bike education events. Elgin Bike Hub is a project to support the bike riders and bike culture of Elgin. Bikes can change the world and Elgin can be a part of that change. […]

South Elgin Canoe

South Elgin

Canoe & Kayak Rentals on the Fox River. Our unguided 6.5 mile trip begins below the dam in South Elgin and ends at Ferson Creek Park in St. Charles (1 mile north of route 64 on route 31). A great trip for families, friends and groups up to 20! Rental includes a canoe, paddles, life preserves and shuttle (when available). […]

Disc Golf at Randall Oaks

West Dundee

Disc golf is one of today’s fastest growing sports! Disc golf is similar to regular golf; however, instead of using golf clubs and balls aiming for a hole, disc golf players use golf discs and aim for a disc pole hole, a pole extending up from the ground with chains and a basket where the disc lands. The object of […]

Randall Oaks Zoo

West Dundee

Situated at the top of a hill, Randall Oaks Zoo offers a variety of kid-friendly farm animals for viewing, petting and feeding. A stroll through the barn gives visitors an opportunity to meet alpacas, goats and a few of our other animal friends. Some highlights of the zoo include: cows, mini horses, a Clydesdale, sheep, goats, emus, alpacas, reptiles, deer, […]

Paintball Explosion

East Dundee

We are Chicagoland’s premier paintball theme park! Located under 40 minutes West of Chicago, we are housed within the historic Santa’s Village Amusement Park that you all remember from our childhoods. Numerous fields (many based on video games) plus laser tag, indoor speedball & a bar with TVs. Now share new memories with your family and friends at our state […]

U-46 Planetarium

Elgin

The Elgin School District U-46 Planetarium began life as the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory. It was in 1959 that the Elgin National Watch Company donated its observatory to the Elgin U-46 School District. The school district added a planetarium to the facility in 1963, making it the first school system in the state of Illinois to have its own […]

Hawthorne Hill Nature Center

Elgin

Hawthorne Hill Nature Center is the perfect place to enjoy rich fall colors, snow-frosted trees, spring wildflowers, summer amphibians, and an ever changing host of birds near the pond, in the woods, or even from the comfort of the nature center. The 67-acre natural area that flanks both sides of Brookside Drive has a wheelchair accessible trail that leads to […]

Lords Park Zoo

Elgin

Located on Elgin’s east side, at the south end of Lords Park, the zoo has had a long history and has undergone many changes. Currently, the fenced in outdoor area includes: Buffalo, Elk, and White Tail Deer, which can be seen all year long. During the summer the farm zoo will open to provide visitors with the opportunity to view […]

Fox Valley Bicycle & Ski Club

St. Charles

The Fox Valley Bicycle and Ski Club (FVBSC) is centered in the beautiful Fox River Valley region of Northeastern Illinois. Located thirty miles west of Chicago, the FVBSC provides a focal point for group bicycling and skiing activities for the communities in, and surrounding the Tri-Cities of St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia. The club enjoys close proximity to the quiet […]

Kayak Myak Rentals

Elgin

Kayak rentals on the beautiful Fox River, 3 trips to choose from. Relax and enjoy yourself as you paddle down the Fox and become one with nature.

The Highlands of Elgin

Elgin

The original nine holes flow over beautiful rolling terrain, creating a diverse collection of holes. The new nine holes reclaim an old stone quarry, and take maximum advantage of the unique and dramatic landforms that were left behind, including a twelve acre quarry lake. Four holes hug the top of the bluff thirty to forty feet above the water providing […]

Bartlett Park District

Bartlett

Winter Skiing at Villa Olivia or Golfing in the Spring, Banquet Facilities, Bartlett Aquatic Center.

The Edward Schock Centre of Elgin

Elgin

From award-winning golf course to open parks, City of Elgin Parks & Recreation Foundation has something for everyone.

Trout Park Baseball

Elgin

Stop by our ballpark to support local high school and college players, watch a tournament or just enjoy a game of baseball in a beautiful setting.

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