Top Things to Do in Northwest Illinois
Do
White Pines Forest State Park
Hiking, fishing and camping draw visitors to the serene, 385-acre White Pines Forest State Park.
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home
Tour the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon. You'll be transported to the 1920s, when the country's 40th president and his family called this stately Queen Anne home.
Dixon Petunia Festival
Thousands of petunias line the town's main streets during June's The Dixon Petunia Festival. Enjoy arts and crafts demos, wacky competitions, a parade, a carnival, live music, and more along the downtown riverfront.
Conover Square Merchant Mall
Once a piano factory, Conover Square Merchant Mall in Oregon now houses an indoor mall with a variety of merchants, including Slip and Slurry Pottery.
Maxon's Riverboat and Riverside Restaurant
Cruise the Rock River aboard The Pride of Oregon. The boat docks at Maxson's Riverboat and Riverside Restaurant in Oregon.
Barnacopia
Mingle with the vintage cars and tractors that reside at Barnacopia, a three-story museum with an in-house ice cream parlor, in Polo.
Timber Lake Playhouse
The Mount Carroll resident stock theater company at the historic Timber Lake Playhouse stage shows, including Shakespeare and Broadway musicals.
John Deere Historic Site
Tour the 1830s family home and observe blacksmith demos at the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour.
Eat and Drink
Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe
Take your pick from more than 130 wines and 100 different martinis at Dixon's spirited and stone-walled Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe.
Aero Ale House
Come for the craft beer, stay for the wings-served baked, fried, or grilled, and then sauced-at Aero Ale House in Byron.
Stay
White Pines Lodge
White Pines Lodge Reopened under new ownershipm the complex (formerly White Pines Resort) includes a restaurant in a 1930s log lodge, a dinner theater and cabins. whitepinesinn.com
For more information: visitnorthwestillinois.com