We are only an hour and a half away from Chicago, so we try to go whenever we can. Chicago is a beautiful city full of amazing things to do! On our latest trip, we visited Lincoln Park Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights event. Lincoln Park Zoo is a free zoo that is open year round. Parking is $30 but there is no admission to the zoo or the event. It was pretty cold out but we bundled up and had a wonderful time. Most animals are not on display during the event but there is so much to do, you can visit the animals during the day then stay for the lights at night!

There were a lot of refreshment stands serving coffee, hot cocoa, and snacks. While entry is free, you can buy tickets for special events. These events are a train ride, carousal, and cookie decorating. We opted to just walk around and enjoy the lights.

One of our favorite parts was the live ice sculpting. It was our first time seeing someone carve with ice so it was very special! Once it was finished, the sculptor used a torch to make the ice clear. I’ll be honest, we did’t see that coming! When he got the torch out, we were confused! But, as he went around the sculpture, it became translucent. When it was finished, it actually looked like glass!

There were a lot of people out but it didn’t feel too crowded. They had an open yard where they had the lights ‘dance’ to music, it was very neat and played every 2 minutes. The red and white lights swirled like a giant peppermint! We like to visit zoos during their light shows because there is something special about being in a zoo at night.