During the last month of a Chicago summer, weather forecasts can often call for 90 percent humidity with temperatures hovering close to 100, and no breeze in sight. Whatever the exact forecast, you can usually count on a hot and muggy August. For most of Chicago’s history, the dog days of summer bake the city’s pavements and leave residents sweltering under a blistering Midwestern sun. It’s the time of the year when the mayor’s office warns citizens to take it easy and stay cool.
Beating the heat, however, doesn’t mean that you have to remain a prisoner to your air-conditioner or stew in front of a noisy indoor fan. The sultry and sticky weather can give you a great excuse to get out and really enjoy yourself. In fact, just off the top of our heads, we can think of 10 ways to beat the summer heat while having a blast and feeling virtuous at the same time.
1. Imagine the cool thrill of plunging down a waterfall on a water-drenching boat ride at Six Flags Great America. As the nautical vessel takes a mighty drop down Splashwater Falls and comes crashing down into a super-cooling tidal wave of water, you can feel guilt free about having fun because, after all, you’re only doing your civic duty.
This Gurnee-based amusement park has three other exhilarating rides guaranteed to give you the chills. You can take your pick of wet-water rides or do them all. There’s Logger’s Run, in which you climb into a hollowed-out loglike boat that plunges down a 60-foot waterfall drop in two to three minutes, leaving you soaked as you crash into its manmade lake. You can also climb aboard a giant raft, which takes you on a ride through a lazy river and then enters the Roaring Rapids. Another refreshing ride, the Yankee Clipper, similar to Logger’s Run, takes you down a steep, watery drop in a dinghy instead of a log.
2. For a sure-fire way to keep from melting, take to Chicago’s pride and joy, Lake Michigan. Keep cool as you ride in any one of the city’s sightseeing tour boats. Climb aboard either the Mercury or the Wendella boats docked near Michigan Avenue, or the Shoreline Sightseeing boat, which departs from Navy Pier.
While at Navy Pier, you can chill out fast with a water-drenching run on the Seadog, the largest and fastest speedboat in the country.
3. Also at Navy Pier, there’s another way to nip the heat. Just west of the main entrance to the Pier, at the grassy Gateway Park, there’s a square black granite cube fountain with a skyrocketing central jet that streams upward some 200 feet. Surrounding the cube, smaller jets shoot out streams of water in fast-acting sequences, playfully projecting dancing jets of frosty water from the ground upward. Take off your shoes and get your feet water-massaged by the pulsating water. Make sure you’re wearing a bathing suit or shorts because this pretty fountain will soak you from head to toe.
4. Chicago’s lakefront, with its miles and miles of beaches, can also lower one’s Fahrenheit. With its sea-swept breezes and its lower-than-inland temperatures, Lake Michigan beckons the heat-stricken city slicker. With a good swim and a bit of sand in your hair, you’ll quickly forget that it’s hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk. It’s also a great way for families to spend the day together. Kids and parents can frolic along the seashore and enjoy a picnic on the sandy beach.
5. If you can’t get to the beach, however, a brisk dip in an outdoor swimming pool can do wonders for dropping anybody’s temperature. Spread throughout Chicagoland park districts, neighborhood pools offer low-priced cool-down options for all.
6. Experience a super version of the old-fashioned pool at a modern aqua park, a wonderful concept for fighting hot air. Highland Park just opened its new aqua park in July. This Disney-like water theme park comes complete with a six-lane pool for Olympian swimmers, a playground in which bubbling water pours out of every crevice and cranny, splashing waterfalls, a sand play area for building sand castles, and twisting water slides that plunge thrill seekers into a gurgling stream of running water.
The state-of-the-art Cypress Cove Aquatic Center in Woodridge, another recent aquatic opening, also delivers watery fun. This 8-acre aquatic park features a plunge pool with a body slide, a 640-foot-long lazy river with a tube slide, and a competitive swim and diving pool with six lanes. There’s also a sand play area for preschoolers, as well as a picnic area, a grassy hill for sunbathing and a concession stand.
Other aqua-water theme parks include Pelican Harbor at the Bolingbrook Recreation and Aquatic Complex. The only outdoor-indoor water park in Illinois, it provides a 25-yard, six-lane lap swimming pool with a beachlike entry, and lots of water slides. Also, the Wheeling Park District Aquatic Center features 3.5 acres of watery playground, which includes a swimming pool, an adult spa with a huge whirlpool, and many slides.
7. Swimming is also available at McFetridge Sports Center, but those who really want to cool off there use the ice skating rink, operating all summer with open skate hours 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
8. Other ice lovers can be found at the Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoos, where just watching polar bears, seals and penguins swim in their icy waters can have a cooling effect. We’d recommend that you resist the urge to jump in yourself. These are wild animals. And speaking of Lincoln Park Zoo, why not jump in the semi-shaded lagoon for a leisurely paddle boat ride?
9. Those who really want to make it feel like winter can take a trip to East Dundee, where the The Three Worlds of Santa’s Village keep spinning all summer long. If a visit to the adjoining Racing Rapids Water Park doesn’t reduce your temperature, maybe a visit to Old St. Nick in the ultra-air-conditioned Santa’s House will do the trick.
10. For still another way to chill out, grab a frosty-cold treat. For a nostalgia trip, nothing beats spending some time in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. While every neighborhood has its own unique ice cream shop, a few deserve a special visit.
For a glacial mound of vanilla ice cream smothered in famous Ghirardelli’s chocolate fudge, wrapped in whipped cream, topped with nut sprinkles, go to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop & Soda Fountain on Michigan Avenue. To soothe a parched throat, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor in Lincoln Park makes ice-cold thick shakes. And if slurping on a slushy, arctic Italian ice that comes in a variety of fruit flavors is your idea of heaven, visit Pompei Bakery, on Taylor Street, in the heart of Chicago’s Italian neighborhood.
And if all that doesn’t work, head to a movie or the mall, or better yet, a movie in a mall. But make sure it’s a cool movie like “Contact,” or “Face Off” or “Men in Black” or “Operation Condor,” though. Stay away from flicks like “Volcano” or “Dante’s Peak.” They’ll just in crease the heat.
Here are some details on cool places to beat the heat:
AMUSEMENT PARKS
Six Flags Great America, Gurnee. Open daily, May 12-Sept. 1; fall weekends, Sept. 6-14. Park opens 10 a.m. Admission: children 3 and under, free; children 4-10, $28; adults, $33. Parking: $6. Phone: 847-249-INFO; Web: www.sixflags.com
The Three Worlds of Santa’s Village, Ill. Hwys. 25 and 72, East Dundee. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission: $13.95 for people over 2 years old. Call for hours and details on Santa’s House and Racing Rapids. 847-426-6751.
BOAT RIDES
Seadog, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave. Adults, $13; children (3-11) and seniors, $8. Phone: 312-822-7200.
Shoreline Sightseeing (through Sept. 30), departs from Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium and Buckingham Fountain. Tickets: Adults, $9; seniors, $8; children (under 11), $4. Phone: 312-222-9328
Mercury Skyline Cruiseline (through Oct. 1), Chicago River at Lower Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue. Adults, $12; children (under 12), $6. Phone: 312-332-1353
Wendella Boats (through Oct. 31), Chicago River at 400 N. Michigan Ave. Adults, $12; seniors (62 and over), $11; children (under 11), $6. Phone: 312-337-1446
The Navy Pier Fountain in Gateway Park, open year round, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave. Phone: 312-595-7437 Web: www.navypier.com
AQUA PARKS
Hidden Creek Aqua Park, 1220 Fredrickson Pl., Highland Park. Season passes for Highland Park residents. For non-residents, $10 per day. Parking: Free. Phone: 847-433-3170
Pelican Harbor, Bolingbrook Recreation & Aquatic Complex, 200 S. Lindsey Ln., Bolingbrook. Residents, $4; non-residents, $6. Parking: Free. Phone: 630-759-2727.
Cypress Cove Aquatic Center, 8301 Janes Ave., Woodridge. Residents, $5; non-residents, $7.50. Parking: Free. Phone: 630-985-5620.
Wheeling Park District Aquatic Center, 327 W. Dundee Rd., Wheeling. Admission: Resident discount, $4; non-resident, $8. Parking: Free. Phone: 847-465-POOL.
PARK DISTRICT OUTDOOR POOLS
North: Phone: 312-742-7879: Avondale, California, Chase, Gompers, Hamlin, Jefferson, Norwood, Portage, River Park and Wrightwood Playground.
Near North: Phone: 312-746-5357: Altgeld, Austin, Clark Playground, Columbus, Garfield, Holstein, Humboldt, Pulaski, Riis, Smith and Union Park.
Southwest: Phone: 312-747-6136: Ada, Grand Crossing, Hale, Kennedy, Mt. Greenwood, Oakdale and Tuley Park.
Central: Phone: 312-747-7640: Jane Addams, Armour Square, Cornell Square, Davis Square, Douglas, Dvorak, Franklin, Fulle, Gage, Hamilton, Lindblom, McKinley, Ogden, Piotrowski, Sherman and Sherwood Park.
South: Phone: 312-747-7661: Abbott, Avalon, Bessemer, Madden, Meyering, Palmer, Russell Square, Robert Taylor, Trumbull, Washington and Wentworth Gardens.
ICE SKATING
McFetridge Sports Center, 3843 N. California Ave. Phone: 312-742-7585.
POLAR ANIMALS
Brookfield Zoo, 8400 W. 31st Ave., Brookfield. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Admission: free to $5.50. Phone: 708-485-2200
Lincoln Park Zoo, 2200 N. Cannon Drive. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission: Free. Phone: 312-742-2000.
COOL TREATS
Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop & Soda Fountain, 830 N. Michigan Ave. Phone: 312-337-9330.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor, 338 W. Armitage Ave. Phone: 773-281-5152.
Pompei’s Bakery, 1455 W. Taylor St. Phone: 312-421-5179.
