Karin Horgan Sullivan still remembers the bike ride she took 18 years ago that led her to
Graceland Cemetery. An Ohio-native, Sullivan was living in Boystown at the time and, though in love with Chicago, she hadn't yet found an outdoor space where she could have a moment all to herself.
Years later, when she came across the book New York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet, she immediately recognized the need for a similar Chicago guide. Sullivan drew upon the suggestions of family and friends and spent almost nine months researching indoor and outdoor places that were inexpensive and open to the public. The result, Chicago's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet, deserves a spot on any harried urbanite's bookshelf.
Here are Sullivan's top five overlooked outdoor spots to find peace and quiet.
Open your eyes and discover the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool
This is one of those hidden-in-plain-view places, tucked behind greenery and the Lincoln Park Zoo sign; enter through stone and wood gate on Cannon Drive. Alfred Caldwell, a prominent Prairie-school architect, was commissioned to revamp this space in the 1930s but the Park District cut his budget and there wasn't enough money for plants. He persuaded his wife to cash in his life insurance policy and he used the money to buy plants. What he created is a tranquil oasis in this very busy neighborhood. A waterfall feeds the pond and a path winds around the entire lily pool. Near the south end are these two stone pavilions, ripe for sitting.
Calm down at the Felician Sisters Grotto
The "No Trespassing" sign is off-putting, but if you're going to come and respect the space, it's just fine with the Felician Sisters. You park in a small lot and take a winding path back to the grotto. It's basically a man-made cave, not one you go into, but a shrine that holds statues of Mary. I'm not religious myself, but I still find it a very solitary, contemplative spot. There's a bench that you can sit on and a kneeler if you're inclined to pray, a waterfall, plenty of greenery and flowers in a vase, in offering to Mary. Walk through the archway and you'll find a path behind the grotto that winds around a large, green area past the stations of the cross.
Break a sweat or sniff a flower at the Morton Arboretum
It's hard to visit without a car, but if you can get to the arboretum, it's worth spending an entire day. At 1,700 acres, there's just no place in the city so much space. As an arboretum, it's just covered in trees (14 miles of trails weave through them), but also specialty gardens: The fragrance garden's aromatic plants and flowers were chosen specifically for their fragrance, and the reading garden is a quiet spot to sit with a book. What I like to do best is hike the trails. The stunning fall colors can lead to big crowds, so I try to go on a weekday or really early on a weekend morning. Rent snowshoes in winter after a fresh snowfall.
Head south and discover an uncrowded Lakefront Path
The lakefront path's north side crowds disperse once you're south of the Museum Campus, allowing you to enjoy the lake in a way that's really rejuvenating instead of frustrating. If you take the path all the way to the end you wind up about eight miles south of downtown at the South Shore Cultural Center. There are sand dunes there, which you really can't find along the Chicago shoreline, a boardwalk that winds through the center's nature sanctuary and—my favorite—the council rings, which are stone rings on the edge of the shore where you can sit and build a fire. Because it's so secluded, I'd recommend bringing a friend.
Bring peace near and deer to you at the North Park Village Nature Center
The city's only official nature center, North Park's 46 acres contain Illinois' four original ecosystems: woodlands, wetlands, prairies and savannas. I see as many deer along its paths as I saw the summer I spent in South Dakota, and they come up really close to you, within just a few feet. When you first arrive, visit the resource center, which displays things like turtle shells and animal bones. And be sure to check North Park's calendar of terrific festivals and programs. We went to the Maple Syrup festival in the spring, where they cooked maple syrup over the fire; at the Harvest Festival in the fall there are storytellers out in the woods.
Subscribe in your favorite reader using the links below. To learn more about feeds and RSS, click here.
