morton arboretum

ChuckC545

Was quite lucky to visit on a beautiful day of mild weather. Tour of the collections and natural area and east and west side. Lots of beautiful trees. Even without leaves, they are striking and beautiful, in an interesting and intriguing way. Maybe even more so because you can really see their shape and form. The quality of the organization was superb!

TexanTraveler77388

For our first time to cross-country ski, we chose Morton Arboretum. The trails were well laid out and gave everyone options for shorter or longer treks. Very beginner trails and mostly flat. Rentals for both cross country and snow shoeing were available on site and reasonable priced. Check out was easy and the personnel assisting us were very helpful and friendly There is a fee for entering the park at $9.00 a person. This price seemed a little high since there wasn't a lot to see with all the snow. Overall, beautiful park and we are looking forward to coming back for the spring and fall colors.

lindagB8369JW

Go for a run, with about a million trees at your side, finish off with a bite to eat at the Cafe, what more could you ask for?.....This place is a major 10- over the charts- incredible!!.......

JodyKQ

We love the Morton Arboretum in the summer! We were not overly impressed with the Christmas lights...prefer the Lincoln Park Zoo! But spring, summer & fall here is the best!

IllinoisCookie

We went to see the lights for the Holidays. It was beautiful. We were very happy we had a Groupon for the occasion because it is expensive to pay a visit unless you are a member

LJ0627

The Illumination of Lights is a must! We went on a very cold night and the warming fires throughout the trail were a welcome site. The lights are incredible! You can go as fast or slow as you want, I highly recommend taking your time and enjoy it! This will be a yearly adventure!

teachertraveler1961

Morton Arboretum is a one-of-a-kind place in the Chicago suburbs. I go whenever the opportunity arises, which isn't nearly often enough! I generally wait for a Groupon to go on sale or take advantage of their free admission on Thanksgiving Day. A great way to connect with nature and even art. Beautiful.

IllinoisLglegl

Our family had never been to the holiday Illumination, but I am so glad that we went! There is a walking path that we followed that is about 1 mile in length. It was a cold evening, so we dressed warmly. But it was very nice to see that they had warming stations along the way-either a fire pit or a thermal heater. There were also a few heated tents where you could buy a hot beverage. They did a very nice job lighting the trees and setting the changing lights to classical music. It is definitely recommended for all ages. Beautiful!Buy tickets online or you may arrive to find it to be sold out.

SCtripchick

I have been to Arboretums on the east and west coast but this was my first in the midwest. It was very mid western in its personality, lovely trees and meadows but nothing over the top, or trying to stand out. Nature was looking well, natural, not groomed or sculpted or trained to behave. The cafe was good, a nice place for lunch with a variety of choices. We followed one trail through trees and meadows. The pond with lily pads and flowers in bloom was a highlight. We were there for the end of the rhododendron and azaleas (late May), they are probably spectacular when blooming in full force. There is a garden-y gift shop and specific gardens for children.

CarolH183

Went here just after Christmas on a Saturday night. It was really cold out, and windy. Had to go anyway, and so glad that we did! The walk is about 1 mile long along a trail that meanders through the Arboretum. Most completed the walk in 60-90 minutes. Trees are beautifully lit all along the way. There are several stops where you can make the lights change colors yourself - very cool! Also along the way were heaters for warming up or making s'mores (really!). At the start and near the end were tents offering drinks and snacks for purchase. Tickets were sold at just over 4000 per day. Luckily, you can buy them online days before the event. We were glad that we did, because this night eventually sold out. Parking was either a short walk, or a long walk, depending on the crowd for the night. We walked probably 1/4 mile, but signs were well-placed and lead you directly to the start of the display. Illumination was a great way to spend a couple of hours at Christmastime. This was my first time going, but it won't be my last!

TravelerG8

Went to see the winter light show but found the it sold out when arriving at 7pm. From the exterior looks like it was very well done and wish they would have had more admissions available as we were just passing through. Friends had attended a week before and raved about the quality of the light display.

wandering-until-

We went to the Illumination event/attraction for the first time on a Monday evening (12/29) when it was about 27 degrees outside. We are members and purchased our tickets online. We enjoyed the walk, the display, the beverages (for purchase) and the fairly peaceful time altogether as a family.I am glad we attended on the night we did because it wasn't over crowded. Some of the displays had a bit of a crowd around the interactive elements which, if we had wanted to be the one interacting, would have caused a bit of a wait. The food-beverage tents were heated and the cost of the drinks, while expensive, was expected ($6 for hot cider with rum - very tasty; $4 for hot chocolate - also very tasty). The line for the food-beverages was reasonable.We'll go again next year.

TomPeggyL

We loved this! Very cool lighting effects. Nicely spaced (both lights and crowd) so that we had time to enjoy everything. Everyone here is also very friendly. You need to do this at least once.

FF13

This was our first visit to the Arboretum and we were treated to the Christmas display admission by family who live in the area. The night was cold but we enjoyed the "Illumination" experience. It's a lot of walking! Most of the light shows and exhibits are with colored LED spotlights. Few of the displays actually have lights on the trees as in other exhibits and locations. Music accompanied many of the light shows. Some displays are interactive and allow children and adults to press buttons that control different aspects of that particular display.Parking was adequate for us, but we arrived fairly early. Signs were posted throughout and the flow of people through the displays was maintained well. Apparently, this is a relatively new series of exhibits at Christmas and hopefully will grow more with time and experience.

Ready_For_Sun10

Even though we live in Florida we maintain our membership here. Regardless of the season there is always something to do or see at the Arboretum. We took the G'kids to see the "Illumination" event. What an awesome display. And it was interactive for the kids. Our 4.5 year old G'daughter got a little bored after 30 minutes but the 8 yeat old G'son loved it and would have stayed longer (we were there for 60 minutes) if his Sister hadn't been complaining. If your in the West Chicago area over the Christmas holiday you must check this event out.