The Way Parks Should Be! - Millennium Park - Chicago IL

We had read reviews of Millennium Park prior to our trip to Chicago on November 25-27, 2005, however - we figured it would be too cold out to go walk around a park. I also had no clue where anything was in Chicago so I assumed it was too far away to make the trip.

So when we bumped into the Park on Friday the 25th, not far from the famous Marshall Fields, we were shocked that it was right there on Michigan Avenue. We didn't have much time to stay on that day, but we came back on the following evening and explored it a bit more.

What I thought was Millennium Park
The area I thought was "Millennium Park" turns out to be only about 1/2 of the entire park! I found this out when I came home and looked at their website online (http://www.millenniumpark.org). However, even with the little bit I saw, I must tell you all to visit.

What I expected to find at this Park
The reason we didn't plan to go to Millennium Park was mainly because I thought it was just a Park. You know, swing sets, trails, trees, a park! I was completely wrong. There is a lot more to see there and it is worth the venture down Michigan Avenue just to see whatever you have time to see.

What I saw
Like I said, we only saw 1/2 of the park - but the park is huge! The website says it is 24.5-acres. We spent most of the time on the part nearest MI Avenue, not even realizing how deep this park went. The following "attractions" are what we loved about the park.

1. Ice Skating - The Rink is what we saw right on MI Avenue that drew us to the park. This rink is pretty big! and it's surrounded by lights and people so it just felt like the wintery spirit. We didn't skate because of time limitations - and the fact that I cannot skate - but we went up on top of the "Park Grill" to watch from above. We did see that you could rent skates, so you don't have to bring your own. The rink was very crowded, but it was so big that it did look like a lot of people could fit.

2. Millennium Monument - This monument was very pretty and lit up. The trees surrounding the area were all very nicely kept and lead to some great photo ops.