Make The Best Of This Winter!

Hey y’all! Hopefully your semester has been going pretty well so far, I would expect nothing less from my fellow UICers. Everyone I meet here works too hard, so I figured why not take a break and actually enjoy all this snow that is being thrown at ya! Yeah yeah, I know Netflix and funny cat videos are the ideal things to do, but fresh air is good once in a while, trust me. So hit that pause button and start putting on your fancy scarfs!

Below, you’ll find a bunch of fun activities in the snow, along with a few other random ideas!

1. Ice-skating: Oh c’mon, you knew this was coming…especially with the new Maggie Daley park that opened. It’s free at both places in the city but beware the crazy long lines to actually rent the skates, which is usually around $10-$15. If you already have a pair, you got lucky because no waiting in lines for you!

2. Skiing/Snowboarding: For beginners, the best places to go to is the Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports in Lisle. They rent out all the equipment you need and they have a little beginning hill. Warning: they do not have lifts, they have rope tows instead (which sucks). For experts who are really looking to shred, try heading up to Wilmot Mountain up in Wisconsin.

3. Snowtubing: For those us that are too lazy to put any work into skiing or snowboarding…I love it because you don’t have to put in sort of energy. They hook your tube up to a rope tow so all you gotta do is sit! And when you get up there, you get to roll over into the snow so they can unhook you. And finally, you can slide down in pairs or singles. It’s so much fun, I loved it! I would suggest Villa Olivia in Bartlett where they rent out everything and you pay for 2-hour slots to go on the hill. They also have a cafeteria-type restaurant so you can easily plan on spending your whole day there.

4. Snow Sculptures at the Navy Pier: They usually have some crazy cool international award-winning snow sculptors come to Navy Pier and build a masterpiece. According to the website, the artists start sculpting on Wednesday but they open to the public for free on Feb 7th and 8th. Along with that, they have Neighborhoods of the world, where they showcase different cultures of the world every week. The full schedule can be found on their website.

5. The Chicago Auto Show: What better way to motivate yourself to do better in school?? Go to the car show, find your favorite car, take a seat and just take it all in for a moment. All your hard work and dedication will start to make sense again. That car could be all yours if you play your cards right and start doing much better in your classes! And besides, it’s such a unique date idea for new couples. Take your cutie to the Auto Show and dream about your future together!

That’s all for today guys! Hopefully, these ideas make you want to gather your friends and get moving. Remember, don’t let the winter get to you!