I recently took this amazing fall trip to Illinois. If this post inspires you to travel to Illinois, make sure to check ahead for up-to-date events, exhibits and opening hours at any attractions.
The fall season is one of our favorites as we marvel at colorful changing leaves, explore pumpkin patches, and get spooky for Halloween. We recently spent a weekend exploring Illinois and came across a few activities and places to visit outside Chicago that certainly didn’t disappoint! Here are our recommendations for the best fall family activities in Illinois.
Funtopia (Glenview)
Funtopia is an activity center primarily focused on fun rock climbing walls. Our first stop on this trip, it was only about 20 minutes from the Chicago O’Hare airport. You can book one, one and a half, or two hours of time at Funtopia, which gives you access to the rock climbing walls, ropes course, jungle gym, and caving system.
Our kids’ favorite part of Funtopia was the variety of climbing wall types. They had multiple themes that made them very approachable from a wall resembling the exterior of an apartment complex to a wall made out of large gears. Each wall has an auto-belay device where you connect your kids’ harness to keep them safe throughout the experience. There’s also an open area where kids can connect to the auto-belay and build small structures out of large padded cubes that they can then climb and jump off of.
We stayed for one and a half hours, which gave us plenty of time for the kids to try out a lot of the walls and do the ropes course, as well as the jungle gym and cave system. Ultimately, it was a great place to spend the afternoon, since it allowed the kids to burn off some energy as well as build their problem-solving skills while they figured out how to find the best way to climb each wall.
Great Wolf Lodge (Gurnee)
Great Wolf Lodge (in Colorado) was one of the first places we visited when we started The Jetsetting Family, so this resort will always have a special place in our hearts. The Illinois Great Wolf Lodge absolutely did not disappoint! While the main attraction is the massive indoor waterpark, there are plenty of fall-themed activities to do as well. There are spooky Halloween decorations throughout the resort, and kids can go trick or treating to get candy from a few different areas in the late afternoon. There is also a story time, dance party, and even kids yoga to keep kids entertained when not visiting the water park.
These activities barely scratch the surface of what’s available at Great Wolf Lodge! You can also enjoy thrills at the ropes course, play a round of putt-putt, or create your own Great Wolf Lodge character plushie at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Those looking for an adventure can sign up for MagiQuest – an interactive game that takes players to different stations throughout the resort as they look to complete quests and follow along on a fun story.
Great Wolf Lodge was our home base for the weekend and where we spent our time when we weren’t out and about exploring fall activities in Illinois. We could’ve easily spent a few more days here and had enough to do without even leaving the resort. It’s definitely worth looking into if you’re craving a weekend getaway that’s packed with family fun for all.
Richardson Adventure Farm (Spring Grove)
When we lived in Colorado, we would look forward to the fall season every year so we could check out our local pumpkin patch. We have fond memories of those times, where we’d go to a farm, pick out pumpkins and pet some friendly animals before heading home. Now that we’ve been to Richardson Adventure Farm, we know how much more amazing this experience can be!
The Richardson Adventure Farm is most famous for having the “world’s largest” corn maze. Every year, a new corn maze is designed around a pop culture theme. This year, it was all about James Bond. The maze is massive, with more than 10 miles of trails and the area itself is dozens of football fields in size. There are a ton of mini games designed around discovering certain sections of the maze, and you could honestly spend the entire day exploring it.
But that’s not all! The farm also has a vast assortment of other activities to keep the whole family entertained. There is a giant 100-foot slide, a pedal kart course, mini zip lines (as well as a long zip line), a train, carousel, tube slide, corn kernel play area, and so much more. We loved being able to walk from one activity to the next while enjoying the beautiful changing leaves that the fall season brings. The Richardson Adventure Farm is worth spending the whole day at, and the food, live music, pig races, and many more activities will keep the family entertained, fed, and happy.
Six Flags Great America Fright Fest (Gurnee)
We love visiting theme parks during the fall to see unique takes on Halloween themes. At Six Flags Great America, the Fright Fest was delightfully spooky! Aside from thrilling roller coasters and rides, the whole park is decorated with skeletons, ghosts, pumpkins, and other Halloween props. During the day, the Kids Boo Fest has activities for the younger children. From small rides to spooky story times, trick or treating and dance performances, there’s no shortage of events to keep the kids occupied. There’s even an Oktoberfest pavilion with live music, draft beer, and German delicacies to enjoy as well.
Once 5:45pm hits, the Fright Fest begins! It starts with a live show called “The Uprising,” where a group of monsters declare war on the living and set loose a variety of spooky “creatures” (AKA actors in full makeup) throughout the park. After 6pm, the monsters wielding chainsaws, clown masks, pickaxes, and knives have free reign to scare anyone (although they can’t touch you, and you can’t touch them). This results in a tense, but hilariously enjoyable time where you can’t help but keep looking behind you to make sure you’re not being followed or about to get jump scared.
The event is intended for ages 13+, but depending on your kids’ tolerance to scary moments, those younger might still find it enjoyable. Our 6-year-old daughter Nora was cautious, but confident as we walked around the park, and she had a great time (although she didn’t directly get jump scared). We prepped our kids by showing them YouTube videos from previous Fright Fest days, just so they knew what to expect, and they ended up really enjoying it. But if you’re not into that, then make a plan to start leaving by 6pm!
Volo Museum (Volo)
The Volo Museum is the most unique place on this list because it has such a compelling mix of history, charm, car exhibits, animatronic dinosaurs, and pop culture vehicle showrooms that makes for a great way to spend a few hours. The museum started as a classic car sales floor, and has grown to 45 exhibits and more than 10,000 mechanical displays.
We loved the exhibits with cars from movies and pop culture. From Terminator, to the Fast and Furious franchise, and Disney classics, there is something for the whole family to see and enjoy. There is also an area where you can purchase tokens and use them to ride classic mechanical kiddie rides.
For dinosaur lovers, the Jurassic Gardens is another exhibit with dozens of animatronic dinosaurs, as well as a sensory play area and plenty of space to take pictures. In between exhibits, the kids loved playing in the museum playground, and there is a pizza shop where you can grab a bite and listen to music from an animatronic pirate band.
In all, we visited these six places in one weekend and had a wonderful time. If you’re local to the Chicago area, we highly recommend taking the time to explore these wonderful attractions over several days (or weeks). But if you’re flying in and looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, you can’t go wrong with any of these picks! For more on this trip, check out our posts and stories on our Instagram page.
This post was created in partnership with Travel Mindset and Enjoy Illinois. As always, all views and opinions are our own.
