Book excerpt: “100 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Die”

Take a Fall Stroll Through the Sculptures

Here’s a little piece of trivia for you: The Village of Skokie isn’t actually in Chicago, but the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park is.

Wondering how that works? The park sits on a 2-mile strip of land in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). In 1988, a collaboration between MWRD, the Village of Skokie, and some public art enthusiasts produced the park that exists today. Roughly seventy sculptures call the subtly landscaped space home. Winding paths permit visitors to walk or bike through, and fall is the perfect time to do it.

Finding the park can prove to be a bit of a challenge. As you drive along McCormick Boulevard, it might be easy to miss the collection of public art tucked between the trees — especially if you’re gawking at the fall foliage — but don’t let that keep you from making a visit. It’s a quiet place to wander and experience large-scale contemporary sculpture, and it is most certainly something that should be on your Chicago bucket list.

Molly Page is a freelance writer and digital strategist. She considers herself lucky because her work often feels more like play. After falling madly in love with her adopted hometown, Chicago, she wrote a book about it, 100 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Die. When she's not hard at play, she can be found snapping pictures and adding to the list of foods she’s tried that would make you gag. Shrimp heads, anyone? Follow her adventures via Twitter or Instagram @mollypg.