Chicago/St Louis trip help & advice

[oflory]

I'll be going to St. Louis for a wedding next year (Covid dependent on flights etc from the UK). We'll also have a few days in Chicago.

The collections I'm hoping to visit are the Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and then St Louis Zoo in St Louis (as well as the Field Museum in Chicago). I'm also hoping to get some birding in. Does anyone have any advice/species highlights to look out for/good tips on birding places?

Thanks!

 

[pachyderm pro]

I'll be going to St. Louis for a wedding next year (Covid dependent on flights etc from the UK). We'll also have a few days in Chicago.

The collections I'm hoping to visit are the Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and then St Louis Zoo in St Louis (as well as the Field Museum in Chicago). I'm also hoping to get some birding in. Does anyone have any advice/species highlights to look out for/good tips on birding places?

Thanks!

Unfortunately, Brookfield's biggest draw for zoo nerds is no longer present at the moment. The pangolins at the zoo have all been temporarily moved off display for breeding purposes. I'm not sure how long they will be off exhibit so they may be back by the time of your trip. If so, I have had consistent luck when going through the Habitat Africa! The Forest building around 4 PM when they are fed. Again, all dependent on if they are back on display. Other highlights at Brookfield include wombats, echidnas, gerenuk and Chinese giant salamanders.

Lincoln Park doesn't have many super rare or uncommon species, with one major exception. The only Puerto Rican parrots outside of their native range are here. They are the last exhibit in the small mammal/reptile house. Other than that, kagu and red wolves are also neat.

Shedd has a ton of cool stuff, so much so that I can't even begin to list them all. The one thing I will recommend when it comes to the aquarium, get tickets ahead of time. The lines have a tendency to get absurdly long so I was absolutely recommend getting advanced reservations.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your time in Chicago and Saint Louis!

 

[ZooNerd1234]

I'll be going to St. Louis for a wedding next year (Covid dependent on flights etc from the UK). We'll also have a few days in Chicago.

The collections I'm hoping to visit are the Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and then St Louis Zoo in St Louis (as well as the Field Museum in Chicago). I'm also hoping to get some birding in. Does anyone have any advice/species highlights to look out for/good tips on birding places?

Thanks!

I see most people who make these kind of trips from out of the area often have a set number of days to plan for. Usually the conflict with visiting all of these facilities is how to fit them into this time frame. The Saint Louis Zoo is also something that I prefer to see in one full day. I will say the Brookfield is definitely a full day trip, and I’ve been able to visit both the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Shedd Aquarium in one single day. Although the same could be done with either of those and the Field Museum. Of course this all depends on the duration of your trip, and what you prefer to see. Hope this helps!

 

[oflory]

Thanks both - helpful advice! Yes, I hope the pangolins will be back on show by this time next year. I might attempt to get in contact with the zoo and see if it would be possible to be shown behind the scenes - I've had really good luck with various zoos on this side of the pond (honourable mentions to Wroclaw and Pilsen especially), maybe American zoos will be just as generous!

 

[birdsandbats]

Buy your tickets for Shedd Aquarium online before you go. This allows you to avoid waiting in a line that can get up to 5 hours long! Ditto for the Field Museum.

Contrary to what many would say, for me Shedd and the Field Museum are all-day attractions. It's best to get there when they open, and you will likely leave around closing. Brookfield and Saint Louis will also take all day. Lincoln Park will only take a few hours to see, leaving you time to do something else. I recommend spending the rest of the day either birding Lincoln Park or visiting the nearby Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, which is a 10-minuite walk from the zoo.

Lincoln Park offers the best birding in Chicago. Montrose Point (inside Lincoln Park) is among the last nesting sites for the critically endangered Great Lakes subspecies of Piping Plover. Saint Louis is of course home to the famous Eurasian Tree Sparrows but I image those are probably not of interest to you. To give you more birding tips, it would be helpful to know what time of year you are visiting and if there are any species in particular you are interested in seeing.

 

[mkdnwll]

I live halfway between Chicago and St. Louis along the Illinois River. If you are going to drive from Chicago to St. Louis, then your best opportunity for birding will be to drive down the Illinois River from Chicago to St. Louis. There are many federal, state and local parks, refuges and boat ramps along the Illinois River and in the hills surrounding the river valley with many places to stop and do some birding, to many to mention them all.

Starved Rock State Park, which is right along the river, is one of the most beautiful parks in Illinois and it has many tall, skinny waterfalls. A lot of people drive 90 minutes from Chicago to visit this park. Due to the large number of visitors, this would probably be the best park to get good views of upland birds that are used to being around humans.

There is a backwater marsh of the Illinois River called Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes. At this place there is a 30 foot tall birding platform that overlooks the marsh. In and around the city of Peoria, there are many places to see waterfowl along the river and upland birds in the hills. Just outside of Peoria there is a 2,000 acre zoological park called Wildlife Prairie Park. At this zoological park they specialize in only having animals that are native to the Midwestern United States. There would also be good opportunities to see wild, upland birds here, because the animals are kept in fenced in spots in natural, forested areas.

Mendenhall Park and Public Boat Launch is a great place to park and walk along the riverbank and see Bald Eagles if the river isn't at a high level. At Banner Marsh State Park there are dirt roads crisscrossing lakes and marshes along the river with good opportunities to see many types of birds. There is a huge backwater lake along the river at a place called Emiquon Preserve. At different times of the year there will be countless thousands and thousands of different species of waterfowl during migration periods.

Driving down the Illinois River Valley from Chicago to St. Louis is a lot more scenic, than taking the main travel route down Interstate 55. Along Interstate 55 it is just endless, wide open, corn and soybean fields for the whole way. All of the federal, state and local parks, refuges and boat ramps are free to enter. The only place that would cost money would be the zoological park and that is $10 per person with no parking fee.

 

[oflory]

Hi all, I have finally booked my tickets and am actually going (first foreign holiday for too long...).

Have managed to work out a reasonable schedule for Chicago - a day for the Shedd and the Field Museum (not especially interested in fish, so will mostly be going for the marine mammals, herps and birds), a day for Lincoln Park Zoo and birding in the park, a day for birding (under the auspices of a professional guide with the all important car), and a day for the Brookfield Zoo (also a couple of days for non-animal related museums etc). St Louis Zoo has a full day in itinerary too (as well as my first ever baseball game - go Red Birds...)

Getting excited now - and thanks to all above for their advice.

 

[Sarus Crane]

Hi all, I have finally booked my tickets and am actually going (first foreign holiday for too long...).

Have managed to work out a reasonable schedule for Chicago - a day for the Shedd and the Field Museum (not especially interested in fish, so will mostly be going for the marine mammals, herps and birds), a day for Lincoln Park Zoo and birding in the park, a day for birding (under the auspices of a professional guide with the all important car), and a day for the Brookfield Zoo (also a couple of days for non-animal related museums etc). St Louis Zoo has a full day in itinerary too (as well as my first ever baseball game - go Red Birds...)

Getting excited now - and thanks to all above for their advice.

If you like theme parks Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka has a Mr. Freeze clone. My recommendation for the Field Museum is to spend several hours there. Loads to see especially the dioramas and the Man Eaters of Tsavo, which can become pretty busy so be sure to see them when the museum first opens. They, Sue and now the new Titanosaur are the main exhibits people flock to.

 

[Zoo fanatic]

I'll be going to St. Louis for a wedding next year (Covid dependent on flights etc from the UK). We'll also have a few days in Chicago.

The collections I'm hoping to visit are the Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and then St Louis Zoo in St Louis (as well as the Field Museum in Chicago). I'm also hoping to get some birding in. Does anyone have any advice/species highlights to look out for/good tips on birding places?

Thanks!

Can you lmk if reka the new tiger is on exhibit yet

 

[birdsandbats]

Have a nice trip! Though I think you will have trouble seeing everything you want to see at Shedd and the Field Museum in one day.

 

[oflory]

Have a nice trip! Though I think you will have trouble seeing everything you want to see at Shedd and the Field Museum in one day.

Might split them into different days in that case. Now to decide on restaurants....

 

[oflory]

Hi everyone,

Am now starting to think about packing for my trip - thanks again for all your advice.

I have one further question - is the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum worth an hour or so for live animals? They seem to have herps and fish from the gallery here, but can't really see much on their website.

 

[birdsandbats]

Hi everyone,

Am now starting to think about packing for my trip - thanks again for all your advice.

I have one further question - is the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum worth an hour or so for live animals? They seem to have herps and fish from the gallery here, but can't really see much on their website.

An hour is probably all it takes to see the live animals there. It's mostly herps and fish but they also have some butterflies and a small bird collection. Of course, their taxidermy collection is the real star of the show there.

 

[oflory]

An hour is probably all it takes to see the live animals there. It's mostly herps and fish but they also have some butterflies and a small bird collection. Of course, their taxidermy collection is the real star of the show there.

Thank you, I think it seems worthwhile, as we can walk via it up to Montrose Point from Lincoln Park Zoo.

Another annoying query (may be a few more of these before I go), does anyone know if Brookfield has re-entry? Not especially enamoured by the food on offer and would like to deliveroo some of the amazing looking birria from Birria Zaragoza, come out of zoo to collect and then take it in to eat with a beer. Am sure I can just ask staff politely, but wondering what their official policy is and website is vague.

 

[birdsandbats]

Thank you, I think it seems worthwhile, as we can walk via it up to Montrose Point from Lincoln Park Zoo.

Another annoying query (may be a few more of these before I go), does anyone know if Brookfield has re-entry? Not especially enamoured by the food on offer and would like to deliveroo some of the amazing looking birria from Birria Zaragoza, come out of zoo to collect and then take it in to eat with a beer. Am sure I can just ask staff politely, but wondering what their official policy is and website is vague.

I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they wouldn’t let you bring a beer into the zoo.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Thank you, I think it seems worthwhile, as we can walk via it up to Montrose Point from Lincoln Park Zoo.

Another annoying query (may be a few more of these before I go), does anyone know if Brookfield has re-entry? Not especially enamoured by the food on offer and would like to deliveroo some of the amazing looking birria from Birria Zaragoza, come out of zoo to collect and then take it in to eat with a beer. Am sure I can just ask staff politely, but wondering what their official policy is and website is vague.

I have no idea, but I will tell you that the food at the zoo has improved dramatically over the last few years ever since they started outsourcing their operations. Cafe De Sol is my personal favorite (the one in the South American Marketplace by the zoos southwest corner) and has some reliably solid options. The sweet and spicy chicken sandwich is my go to here. Beer is also sold at various places throughout the zoo, although I'd be lying if I said it was reasonably priced. Sorry I couldn't give you a more definite answer. I'd contact the zoo to know for sure.

Your queries are definitely not annoying, after all that's kind of what this site is here for. Feel free to ask away.

 

[oflory]

I have no idea, but I will tell you that the food at the zoo has improved dramatically over the last few years ever since they started outsourcing their operations. Cafe De Sol is my personal favorite (the one in the South American Marketplace by the zoos southwest corner) and has some reliably solid options. The sweet and spicy chicken sandwich is my go to here. Beer is also sold at various places throughout the zoo, although I'd be lying if I said it was reasonably priced. Sorry I couldn't give you a more definite answer. I'd contact the zoo to know for sure.

Your queries are definitely not annoying, after all that's kind of what this site is here for. Feel free to ask away.

I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they wouldn’t let you bring a beer into the zoo.

Yes, will buy beer there definitely. Beer in London has just about reached £6 a pint, so am accustomed to paying ridiculous money for a beer...

Good call on food, will have another look. UK zoo food is universally grim, so maybe am prejudiced.

 

[MeiLover]

does anyone know if Brookfield has re-entry?

If you go up to one of the admission stands, let them know you are leaving the zoo but will be right back. They will stamp your hand for re-entry.