Lake Forest area things to see or do?

Visiting friends in Lake Forest for 3 days in late April. Any must see or dos in the greater Lake Forest area, any Chicago area festivals? Planning to attend a Cubs game.

Lake Forest area things to see or do?

Chicago Botanic Garden, which is in nearby Glencoe (chicagobotanic.org.)

Lake Forest area things to see or do?

Ravinia Festival in Highland Park

Great America Amusement Park in Gurnee

Take time to drive or bike around Lake Forest looking at the beautiful homes, shopping mall (on the National Register of Historic Places) and lakefront.

Sorry, just noticed your dates. Ravinia and Great America will not be open that early in the year.

Check metromix.com, chicagoreader.com, chicagoplays.com for events. You need outdoor as well as indoor plans for April. Also, try not to get Cubs seating that is high up - you might freeze solid in April.

Thank you for your ideas, just to flesh this out a bit we do enjoy moderate hiking, also museums. jazz, opera. Looking forward to driving/walking by some of the very fine old homes by the lake and in the Lake Forest area. Any suggestions for Chicago style pizza in the Lake Forest area?

After 3 days in the Lake Forest area we plan to rent a car and visit the Lincoln Museum in Springfield then on to relatives near Toledo, OH then back to Lake Forest returning to Oregon by train. Did plan to board train at Union station but it appears it would be much more convenient for our friends if we boarded in, I believe, Glenview.

%26lt;%26lt;Thank you for your ideas, just to flesh this out a bit we do enjoy moderate hiking, also museums. jazz, opera. Looking forward to driving/walking by some of the very fine old homes by the lake and in the Lake Forest area. Any suggestions for Chicago style pizza in the Lake Forest area?

After 3 days in the Lake Forest area we plan to rent a car and visit the Lincoln Museum in Springfield then on to relatives near Toledo, OH then back to Lake Forest returning to Oregon by train. Did plan to board train at Union station but it appears it would be much more convenient for our friends if we boarded in, I believe, Glenview. %26gt;%26gt;

The Glenview-Oregon train (the Empire Builder) would be more convenient to pick up at Glenview instead, correct.

Do keep an eye on Amtrak%26#39;s Weekly Specials section (tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/WeeklySpecials) as sometimes the Empire Builder does show up.

The Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Builder are both choices to take from Toledo, OH. The Lake Shore is (in)famous for being late in the past, but has improved in the last year. However, either train - as it goes with Amtrak - can run late. The Lake Shore Limited is a 1-level Viewliner, while the Capitol Limited is a 2-level Superliner.

When you get back to Chicago, if you are going to Lake Forest and staying there again for a multi-day period, what you would do is take the local Metra train from Ogilvie Station (across the street of Union) up to Lake Forest itself. Then, when you are ready to board the Amtrak back to Oregon, you%26#39;d go to Glenview.

Woops - misread and thought you were taking the train back from OH. It is an option, though, if you wanted to drop off the car in OH and grab the train back. You could then take the Metra straight up to Lake Forest from downtown.

Since you mentioned hiking, I recommend looking at the websites for the Lake Forest Open Lands Association (www.lfola.org) and the Lake County Forest Preserve District (www.lcfpd.org). Of most interest would be the Middlefork Savanna, Independence Grove (recent national award winner) in Libertyville about 10 miles away, and Fort Sheridan (historical markers along the trail and great views of Lake Michigan) which adjoins Lake Forest%26#39;s south border. The walkway along the lake at Lake Forest Beach is very special, too, and shouldn%26#39;t be missed, but you must be accompanied by a resident, I believe. The beautiful campus of Lake Forest College is a nice place to stroll and, if you appreciate grand old buildings, stop in the nearby Lake Forest Library for a look around.

I%26#39;d also recommend a tour of Ragdale, former summer home of a renowned architect, now an artists%26#39; retreat, (www.ragdale.org) in Lake Forest which will help you appreciate Lake Forest%26#39;s Market Square architecture even more. You%26#39;ll need to make a reservation.

There is a nice small theatre in Glencoe called the Writers Theatre, if you like plays. The bulbs should be blooming at the Botanic Garden.

Don%26#39;t know why this thread was revived - the OP was traveling in spring, 2008.