Lincoln Park Zoo Lights

In honor of the holiday season, I'll share one of my favorite Chicago traditions.  For those that don't know, Chicago has a zoo that is free all year long.  And it's amazing.  It's in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, and is a blast to visit even in the cold months.  There are indoor and outdoor areas for most of the animals - that way you don't feel like you missed out.

Every holiday season though, the zoo stays open past 5pm, dims its lights and does the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights.

It's amazing to walk through some place that you think you know so well and see it in a whole new....well...for lack of a better word - light!  There's animal figures made out of lights....

As well as the trees all gorgeous and beautiful...

And then some delightful Christmas figures....

And lastly something even more mesmerizing, are the ice sculptures.  They make gorgeous ice designs - usually animals - with just ice and chain saws.  Backlits with white lights, these are a sight to see.  Careful though!  This area is usually full of puddles from the massive amount of ice melting around the area!

The best times to go to the Zoo Lights are non-holiday weekends.  It's not dead, but not overly crowded.  If it snows, it's even more gorgeous around the zoo in my opinion! 
Also, do not expect to see the animals.  Come back later for that.  They turn down all the lights for the Zoo Lights and most of the animals are asleep (though gorillas are adorable and quite human-like while sleeping!).

My tip before going in?  If you like your coffee, go across from the zoo at Dickens and Clark and hit up Starbucks for their holiday special, Peppermint Mocha.  Or a Gingerbread Latte.  Inside the zoo there's just hot chocolate and popcorn for about the same price. 

We hadn't done this since our first Christmas here 4 years ago.  Mix this with a snowy walk through Oz Park not too far down the street, and you have yourself a wonderful holiday date!