As the third largest city in the United States, Chicago doesn’t disappoint when it comes to landmarks, entertainment hubs, and outdoor activities. There are thousands of things to see and do, with unforgettable experiences lurking at every corner!
One of the best ways to experience the Windy City is through a cityHUNT scavenger hunt. We’ll take you through world-renowned museums, cultural hubs, and bustling neighborhoods that’ll open your eyes to Chicago’s culture and history.
Here are some of the best corporate scavenger hunt locations in Chicago:
1. Lincoln Park
Stretching over 1,200 acres from Hollywood Avenue to Ohio Street, Lincoln Park is one of Chicago’s largest and most beautiful parks along the lakefront. It attracts over 20 million visitors annually and lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood.
For casual outings, you and the team can spread out a blanket for a picnic on the Great Lawn or near the North Pond and enjoy a peaceful afternoon surrounded by nature, scavenger hunting for unique landmarks, wildlife, and plant species.
Alternatively, you can visit the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a historic Victorian-era glasshouse built in 1895.
The conservatory features four display houses, including Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House, and Show House, each with its own climate and plant collection.
Inside, you’ll find exotic tropical plants, rare orchids, lush ferns, and seasonal flower exhibitions.
It’s free to enter, open year-round, and sits right next to the Lincoln Park Zoo, so you can visit both in one trip if you want to make it an all-day outing.
2. Lincoln Park Zoo
The Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the United States and one of the few that offers free entry year-round. It’s home to over 1,100 animals across 200 species, including polar bears, gorillas, penguins, critically endangered eastern black rhinoceroses, and the once-thought-to-be-extinct Jamaican iguanas.
The zoo also features animal-specific exhibitions, like the Regenstein Center for African Apes, the Kovler Seal Pool for seals, and the Camel and Zebra Area for varying hoofstock. There’s also the Farm-in-the-Zoo, a Midwestern farm replica with livestock and barnyard activities.
With dozens of exhibitions, animals, and plants at every corner, you’ll find no shortage of scavenger hunt opportunities for your team.
Ideas include taking a photo of a specific animal or plant, finding the tallest or smallest animal in the zoo, or counting how many of a certain creature live in the exhibit. Clues can lead to the zoo’s oldest building or to locating a specific public art piece inside the grounds.
Afterwards, you can take the team to Café at Wild Things for sandwiches, salads, and coffee, or Eadie Levy’s Landmark Café for classics such as burgers and hot dogs. There are also picnic areas if you prefer to bring your own food.
3. Lincoln Park Rowing Lagoon
If your team enjoys fishing or watersports, head to the Lincoln Park Rowing Lagoon. It’s located at 2045 Lincoln Park West, just east of Lake Shore Drive and south of Fullerton Avenue.
The Lagoon offers opportunities to catch a variety of fish species, including trout, salmon, bass, catfish, and carp.
To fish, you and your team need a valid Illinois fishing license. You can obtain the license through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website or at a sporting goods store like Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Licenses cost between $15 and $30.
Outside of fishing, team members can indulge in activities such as rowing and kayaking, wildlife watching, and picnicking.
While there, you can task your team to snap photos of certain animals, like ducks, geese, herons, and other waterfowl, or locate various objects or architecture along the scenic trails.
4. Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile is an upscale neighborhood in Chicago, famous for its luxury shopping districts and gourmet dining.
It’s also where you’ll find well-known museums like the 23,000-square-foot Chicago Sports Museum, which explores the legends and lore of Chicago sports, as well as the 24,000-square-foot Richard H. Driehaus Museum, featuring 19th-century art, architecture, and design.
The Magnificent Mile is about a mile long, spanning 13 city blocks. The entire neighborhood is accessible on foot, and you can walk from one end to the other in around 20 minutes. Here are some scavenger hunt ideas to make the most of your visit:
- Take a selfie in front of the Chicago Water Tower (one of the few buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871)
- Snap a photo of the most expensive items they could find, and ask competing team members to guess the price.
- Track down a public art piece along the avenue and note the artist’s name
- Identify one embedded stone in the Tribute Tower’s facade and write down where it came from
5. Chicago Navy Pier
Next up on the list is the Chicago Navy Pier, one of the city’s most popular lakefront attractions stretching over 3,000 feet into Lake Michigan.
It is a vibrant entertainment hub with varying activities for all ages. You can ride the Centennial Wheel for panoramic views of the Chicago skyline and lake, catch a show at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, or explore interactive exhibits at the Museum of Contemporary Art (north of the pier).
If you visit during the summer (May 24 to August 30), you may catch a stunning fireworks display every Wednesday at 9 pm and Saturday at 10 pm.
For scavenger hunt ideas, you can challenge teams to take a group selfie on the Centennial Wheel, find the most unusual souvenir in one of the pier’s gift shops, or snap a photo at the Wave Wall Staircase.
6. theMART
theMART, formerly known as Merchandise Mart, is the world’s largest commercial building in terms of total floor area. It spans over 4 million square feet, covering two entire city blocks. In fact, the building is so large that it has its own zip code!
The 25-story building houses a staggering collection of showrooms, dining, amenities, and offices. It also hosts major trade shows like NeoCon, one of the world’s biggest design conferences, as well as art exhibitions, sample sales, and pop-up events throughout the year.
One of theMART’s biggest attractions is Art on theMART, a massive public digital art display projected onto the building’s river-facing facade. It’s best viewed from the Chicago Riverwalk in the building. The video starts at 9 pm and lasts about 30 minutes. The vibrant lights make for an excellent backdrop for a team photo!
After exploring the galleries, treat your team to a dinner at one of theMART’s many eateries. Visit Marshall’s Landing on the 2nd floor for upscale dining, River Park for al fresco seating overlooking the beautiful Chicago River, or the Food Hall for quick but delicious bites.
Encourage team members to order something they’ve never had before, and ask them to provide a detailed review of the food. Who knows, they may find their new favorite food or inspire someone else to give it a try!
7. Willis Tower
The Willis Tower is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the United States, second only to the One World Trade Center.
Standing at 527 meters tall, the Willis Tower offers dozens of activities within its glass walls. The tower’s main attraction is the Skydeck Chicago on the 103rd floor, offering 360-degree views up to 50 miles across four states on clear days.
If you have the stomach for it, step onto a transparent glass box called The Ledge that extends four feet out from the building, offering a dizzying view 1,353 feet down. You can challenge team members to snap a picture while jumping mid-air, sitting on the ground, or doing a dip with a partner. It’s scary but thrilling!
The tower’s lower floors feature an array of coffee shops, dining options, and retail spaces, so you can spend an entire day just visiting each area and looking around.
The outdoor terrace, meanwhile, regularly hosts live (free) concerts, public art installations, and pop-up markets featuring local artisan vendors.
8. The Loop
The Loop is a neighborhood in downtown Chicago and is considered the commercial core of the city. It’s home to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center, and Grant Park, AKA Chicago’s front yard.
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and most renowned art museums in the US, hosting more than 300,000 works of art.
Notable works include Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande, and original masterpieces by Picasso (The Old Guitarist, Mother and Child), Van Gogh (The Bedroom, The Poet’s Garden), and Monet (Water Lilies, Stacks of Wheat).
The Loop is a prime location for scavenger hunts due to the sheer number of displays it contains.
The Chicago Cultural Center is the place to be if you’re looking for no-cost art exhibitions and concerts.
Meanwhile, Grant Park is home to famous landmarks and attractions like the Buckingham Fountain, one of the largest fountains in the world. At night, the fountain glows a beautiful blue-purple, so make sure to stick around for a photo shoot with your team members.
9. Millennium Park
Within The Loop lies Millennium Park, a world-famous public park located at 201 East Randolph Street in downtown Chicago.
Situated just north of Grant Park and bordered by Michigan Avenue, it spans approximately 24.5 acres and serves as a vibrant recreational hub.
Iconic landmarks include the Cloud Gate (nicknamed The Bean), the Crown Fountain, and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which hosts concerts and events year-round.
10. Field Museum
The Field Museum, also known as the Field Museum of Natural History, is one of the largest museums in the world. It houses over 40 million specimens and artifacts, including dinosaur exhibits, ancient Egyptian relics, precious gems, and rare cultural artifacts. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that it has something for everyone.
The Field Museum is home to SUE, a 40-foot-long, 13-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that’s over 67 million years old. It’s the largest, most complete, and best-preserved T. rex ever found.
Scavenger hunt ideas can include searching for a fossil that’s not a dinosaur, finding the oldest artifact in the room, locating interesting artifacts in the Ancient Egypt exhibit, and locating a gemstore in the Grainger Hall of Gems that matches your birthstone.
Admission fees are a bit pricey at around $30 per person, but the museum does offer discounts for corporate events. This doesn’t include tickets for certain exhibitions like Reptiles Alive!, Australia’s Great Wild North 3D, and Drop in the Ocean (Virtual Reality), which cost an extra $15 to $30 per person.
However, with the amount of activities and exhibitions found at the museum, it’s 100% worth the visit, especially if your team is interested in science and history.
11. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is about a 10-minute drive from the Field Museum, located in Jack Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood. It’s right across the University of Chicago and Lake Michigan.
The Griffin Museum is the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere, spanning over 400,000 square feet of exhibit space.
Notable exhibits include the Coal Mine, where visitors can learn about coal mining technology, the Giant Dome Theater featuring a 76-foot wraparound movie screen, and the U-505 On-board Tour that lets you walk through the actual craft that stalked the waters of the Atlantic.
The museum also hosts timed events, like Escape the Museum, where participants can solve their way out of an escape room.
Entry costs $25.95 for non-Chicago residents and $9 for Chicago residents.
12. Shedd Aquarium
Located at 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive within Chicago’s Museum Campus, the Shedd Aquarium offers a close-up view of over 32,000 aquatic animals, birds, insects, and amphibians across 1,500 species.
It holds 5 million gallons of water and was once the largest indoor facility in the world.
You’ll encounter stingrays, sea otters, belugas, sea stars, bluegills, and hundreds of other creatures.
If you were to visit every single exhibition, it would take at least 2 to 3 hours. This doesn’t include special exhibits like the dolphin shows and sea lion encounters, which can add an hour to the outing. You can easily spend the entire afternoon with your team without getting bored.
Scavenger hunt ideas can include locating a specific marine creature, taking a picture of the most colorful fish they find, or writing the most surprising fun fact about an animal found in the aquarium.
Afterwards, you can bring your team to the Bubble Net Food Court for pizza and hamburgers, Soundings Café for delicious desserts, and Deep Ocean Café for quick on-the-go bites (the Brown Cow Ice Cream is to die for, definitely recommend!).
Admission costs around $20 per person. Illinois residents get free access during Illinois Resident Free Hours. Find exact dates and times on the official Shedd Aquarium website.
13. Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, formerly known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is an entertainment theatre located at 175 North State Street in downtown Chicago. You can’t miss it; you’ll spot the large “CHICAGO” neon sign on the building from miles away!
The Chicago Theatre hosts numerous performances throughout the week, with notable performers like Alicia Keys, David Letterman, and John Malkovich having appeared on its stage.
The auditorium hosts live music concerts, theatrical performances, comedy shows, and podcast shows, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Find the full list of performances, including ticket prices, on the Chicago Theater website.
14. Garfield Park Conservatory
As far as nature conservatories go, the Garfield Park Conservatory tops the list. It’s one of the largest and most stunning botanical conservatories in the nation and the 3rd largest garden under glass in the world, spanning 12 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens. It showcases over 100,000 plant species all over the world, from cacti and succulents to ancient cycads and ferns.
15. Adler Planetarium
Located at 1300 S. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable Lake Shore Drive on the Chicago Museum Campus, the Adler Planetarium is a premier destination for astronomy enthusiasts.
It offers dozens of exhibits on space science, the history of astronomy, and cutting-edge research that NASA scientists use today.
Don’t miss out on the sky shows in the domed theaters, which simulate the night sky and cosmic phenomena. It’s the closest to space you’ll be without actually getting into a rocket ship! Tickets cost between $25 and $40, not including special exhibitions.
