I likely would never have had the occasion to visit Lake Forest—that “bastion of gentility and reserve“—if not for the gravitational pull of the town’s annual rummage sale.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Two bags of clothes, three massive brass planters, and $85 later, I could have departed Lake Forest perfectly content. Then I got slightly lost and happened upon an ivy-clad, Tudor-style relic: the Deer Path Inn, designed in the 1920s by architect William C. Jones (who also worked on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition) as a weekend retreat for upper-crust Chicagoans.
I ended up leaving Lake Forest ecstatic.
Yet another bucolic wonderland can be found a mere 15-minute walk from the Deer Path Inn: the Skokie River Nature Preserve. June is an especially fine time to visit the 122-acre site; both the Shaw Prairie and Bennett Meadow, popular spots for hikers and bird-watchers, are graced by more ephemeral guests: scores of butterflies, from viceroys to pearl crescents, fritillaries to swallowtails.
Getting thereMetra fare round-trip to Lake Forest (stopping at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, and tacking on a trip up to Lake Bluff): $7 weekend pass ($20.75 Mon-Fri)
Where to stayOne-night stay, per person, at the Deer Path Inn, based on double occupancy: $128
What to doAdmission to the Chicago Botanic Garden: Free (but $20 to park your car, which is why you should take the train)
Admission to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s model railroad exhibit: $5
Admission to the Skokie River Nature Preserve: Free
Where to eat & drinkLobster salad and a martini at the English Room (tax and tip included): $38
Six-course dinner, with wine and beer pairings, at Inovasi (tax and tip included): $110
Choose another adventure: •Louisville for $100•Southern Illinois for $200 •Indiana for ???
Back to our Guide to Summer
