A Mother's Guide to the Morton Arboretum of Chicago

The Morton Arboretum is a beautiful setting with well-maintained paths and modern, clean facilities. It is very easy to get to as it is just north of I-88 on route 53. Finally, it is also a lot of fun for kids.

I recently visited the Morton Arboretum on a hot July day with my 3 kids. I was a little bothered by the sign that said parking lot full. I took a risk, went right around it and found easy parking.

Our first stop was the Children's Garden. A pleasant volunteer offered us a pictorial map of this garden, but I trusted that we could explore on our own. Being such a hot day I was hoping for some kind of water area where my kids could get a little wet...there were plenty of opportunities. My kids loved going on the stepping stone path; bare feet or sandals are recommended here. There was an amazing climber through a tree house and across some rope bridges. My son and daughter spent almost an hour moving rocks and climbing around in the stream while my youngest and I snacked and soaked our feet.

Other highlights include a climb into the trees, spitting frogs, sliding among the tree roots and spotting dragonflies and turtles. In the vegetable garden area my son got a little crazy with a water pump and spent the rest of the afternoon with wet shorts and no shirt. Did I mention it was a HOT day?

All of the paths and activities in the Children's garden were stroller friendly. I had no problems getting around the easy steps and sloping ramps. There are large and clean restrooms in this area including a family restroom and two vending machines, which offered water and Gatorades. We spent almost two hours in this garden.