Things to Do in Lincoln Park

Free. Every single day. 365 days a year. One of the last free zoos in the country.

Free zoo, open every day of the year. Regenstein African Journey, Pritzker Family Children's Zoo with a climbing area, Farm-in-the-Zoo with daily feedings. ZooLights in winter. No excuses not to go.

2001 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614 · Daily 10am-5pm (summer hours extended to 6:30pm)

Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion statues. Free playground behind them.

Wizard of Oz-themed park with statues of the whole crew -- Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion. Big playground with modern equipment, sports fields, artificial turf area. Free. Lincoln Park families treat this as their backyard.

2021 N Burling St, Chicago, IL 60614 · Daily 6am-11pm · outdoor

Walk through a greenhouse full of live butterflies. Small enough for toddlers to handle.

Walk-through Butterfly Haven with hundreds of live butterflies is the headliner. Nature play area for toddlers, water and animal exhibits, RiverWorks water table. Smaller and calmer than the big museums -- a toddler can actually make it through without a meltdown.

2430 N Cannon Dr, Chicago, IL 60614 · Daily 10am-5pm · indoor · Ages 0+

Free open fields near the Nature Museum. No reservation. Pickup and league play.

Free soccer fields in the north end of Lincoln Park, near the Nature Museum. Pickup games and organized Park District leagues. No reservation for informal play. The go-to location for adult soccer leagues in the city.

2045 N Lincoln Park W, Chicago, IL 60614 · Daily dawn to dusk · outdoor

Free sand volleyball courts on the lakefront. Permit for organized groups; pickup is free.

Free outdoor sand volleyball courts at North Avenue Beach, the most popular beach on the lakefront. First-come, first-served for casual pickup games; organized groups of 8+ need a Park District permit. The beach also has a fitness court, running path, and kayak rentals. Summer only.

1603 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60614 · Beach: Memorial Day-Labor Day 11am-7pm · outdoor

Two stages, simultaneous blues bands, until 5am Saturdays. Open since 1968.

Chicago's oldest continuously operating blues club. Two stages running simultaneously every night until the early morning. Open until 5am on Saturdays. Since 1968. If you're in Chicago and you like blues, this is the one.

2548 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614 · Mon-Thu 7pm-4am, Fri 7pm-5am, Sat 7pm-5am, Sun 7pm-4am · indoor

Founded by Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. New in-the-round theater. Rush tickets available.

Founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, and others. Tony Award-winning ensemble known for visceral, emotionally intense productions. The in-the-round Ensemble Theater opened in 2022. Rush tickets and student discounts often available.

1650 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614 · Show times vary, box office Tue-Sun 12pm-5pm · indoor

500 capacity. Sister venue to Schubas. Best mid-size room on the North Side.

500-capacity venue on Lincoln Ave booking indie rock, folk, electronic, and national touring acts. Run by the same team as Schubas Tavern next door. Good sound, clean sightlines from the balcony, and a chill vibe. The best mid-size music room on the North Side.

2424 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 · Show nights, doors vary · indoor

The Malnati Chicago Classic — sausage patty, not crumbles — is the deep dish benchmark. This is the hill Chicagoans die on.

The oldest family name in Chicago deep dish. The buttercrust is the differentiator — flaky, almost shortbread-like. Order the Malnati Chicago Classic with the sausage patty and extra-chunky tomato sauce. Multiple locations, but the smaller neighborhood spots have shorter waits than the tourist magnets on Michigan Ave.

958 W Wrightwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 · Sun-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-midnight · indoor

The caramelized cheese crust ruins every other pizza for you. That blackened, crunchy cheese ring is the whole point.

Pequod's pan pizza has a caramelized cheese crust — they press mozzarella into the edge of the pan so it burns into a crunchy, blackened cheese ring. It is not traditional deep dish and purists will fight you about it. Everyone else will just eat it and be happy. Weekday lunch personal pans are $9. Expect a wait on weekends.

2207 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 · Mon-Sat 11am-2am, Sun 11am-midnight · indoor

Third-generation tavern-style thin crust since 1950. Ultra-crispy, cut in squares, the way Chicago actually eats pizza at home.

Tourists argue about deep dish. Chicagoans eat tavern-style thin crust cut in squares, and Pat's has been doing it since 1950. Ultra-thin, ultra-crispy, no-frills. Three generations of the same family. This is the pizza you order when you actually live here.

2679 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 · Mon-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-midnight, Sun 11am-10pm · indoor

24/7 locksmith serving all of Chicago with residential, commercial, and automotive services. Handles lockouts, rekeying, lock installation, and key duplication. Mobile units dispatched citywide with typical 15-30 minute response times. Residential lockout service starts around $75-150 depending on lock type and time of day.

2111 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614 · 24 hours, 7 days a week · (312) 929-2230

Yes, it's really called Wiggly Field. Small but perfectly located in Lincoln Park. The morning regulars have been coming here for years.

Classic Lincoln Park dog run — fenced, off-leash, and always busy. Named after the ballpark a mile south. Gravel surface, double-gated entry, water fountain. Small but the location is perfect if you live in Lincoln Park. Morning crowd is the most social.

2645 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 · 6am-11pm daily · outdoor