Things to Do in Naperville Illinois

Naperville is a city in Will and DuPage counties in Illinois, and is a suburb of Chicago. Money magazine voted Naperville the second-best place to live in the United States in 2006. On the list of top cities for early retirement, Naperville was rated 1st in 2013 by Kiplinger. Naperville was named the richest city in the Midwest in a 2010 study, and eleventh in the America with a median household income of $101,443. It was ranked among the nation's top 25 cities by Family Circle magazine in 2010 as one of the "10 Top Cities for Families." Naperville is home to North Central College and Edward Hospital.

The city of Naperville is part of the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. It is also home to the Naperville Yard Dogs, a collegiate summer baseball team.

In fact, Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper, who immigrated to the west from Ashtabula County, Ohio, with his family as one of the party led by John Stevens that purchased 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of land along the DuPage River. Naperville's early settlers were mostly farmers and tradesmen, but Naperville soon became home to many Chicagoans who arrived looking for a better quality of life than that available in the city.

Naperville Park District

The Naperville Park District is a special taxing district that provides parks and recreational programs for its residents. Moreover, the Naperville Park District is available for its population of more than 140,000 people. It is coterminous with the city of Naperville's incorporated limits, although there are minor variations, such as the northern sector of the White Eagle development, which lies within the boundaries of the City of Aurora.

441 Aurora Ave, Naperville, IL 60540

The Naperville Park District administers or owns and operates 139 parks totaling more than 2,500 acres. It provides more than 900 recreational, arts, and environmental programs and events for all ages each year for about 60,000 participants. The Naperville Board of Commissioners, which consists of seven members elected at large by voters in Naperville, is responsible for land-use zoning and planning. Commissioners were to begin their four-year terms in 2007. Naperville's park district has CAPRA accreditation from the National Recreation and Park Association, which is conferred to only 1% of park districts in the United States. The park district earned the National Gold Medal, which was granted by the National Recreation and Park Association, in 1972. It was a candidate for the award in 2002.

Cantigny Park

Cantigny is a 500-acre park in Wheaton, Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago. It's a house in Chicago that was built in the late 19th century and is now a museum dedicated to Joseph Medill, who was the proprietor of the Chicago Tribune and his grandson Robert R. McCormick, who was its publisher.

The Morton Arboretum

This arboretum is a beautiful place to walk, with miles of hiking and biking trails. It also has a children's garden, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The Morton Arboretum is a public garden and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research at the Center for Tree Science located in Lisle, Illinois, United States.

Trees, other living plants, gardens, and restored areas are among the park's features. The Living Collections include more than 4,100 distinct plant species. There are over 200,000 cataloged plants.

4100 IL-53, Lisle, IL 60532

The Arboretum is a recreational destination that includes hiking trails, roads for driving and cycling, an interactive children's garden with four acres (16,000 m2) of adventure, and a 1-acre (4,000 m2) labyrinth.

The Arboretum's Schulenberg Prairie was one of the first prairie restorations in the Midwest, starting in 1962. It is one of the largest restored prairies in Chicago's metro area.

The Arboretum's nature-centered education program, which includes tree and restoration professionals, is available to children, families, school groups, scouts, and adults. The Woodland Stewardship Program offers ecological restoration education in the classroom and online. The Arboretum also provides Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area credit courses, a regional association.

Naper Settlement

The Naperville Historical Society's Naper Settlement, established in 1969, is a 12-acre outdoor history museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums that includes a collection of thirty historical buildings and structures from the Naperville, Illinois region.

523 S Webster St, Naperville, IL 60540

Many structures were transplanted from their origins and restored in a manner consistent with their time periods, which cover 1831, when Naperville was founded, to the early 20th century. In addition to the displays, visitors may participate in hands-on activities and guided walks led by museum guides in period costumes. The land was bequeathed to the City of Naperville by Caroline Martin Mitchell in 1936.

By 1850, Naperville's population had grown to 2,000, and it became a village in 1857. Naperville became a city in 1890, with the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal making it a very important shipping point for grain and livestock. The Naperville Yard Dogs collegiate summer baseball team play their home games at Naperville's North Central College.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad ran through Naperville and served as the local commuter "L" train until the opening of Naperville station in 1974. Metra now provides daily rail service from Naperville to Chicago on the BNSF Railway Line. Amtrak also makes one stop a day in Naperville, carrying passengers between Chicago's Union Station and California or the Pacific Northwest.

Naperville is served by Naperville Community Unit School District 203, which serves much of Naperville as well as parts of Aurora, Lisle, Warrenville and Bolingbrook.

Naperville is also served by Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204, which serves most of Naperville south of 75th Street as well as parts of Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield. Naperville is the fifth-largest city in Illinois, and a major part of what is known as the Chicagoland area. Naperville had a population of 141,853 as of the 2010 census, which was estimated to have increased to 147,682 by July 2013.

The city's population density was 3,604.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,386.8/km2). Naperville's estimated metropolitan area, informally called Chicago land, had a population of 9,439,362 people as of the 2010 census. Naperville's Downtown Naperville features the Riverwalk, a paved trail system along the DuPage River. In 2009, Travel & Leisure magazine ranked Naperville as the second-best place to live in the United States, and Chicago's CNN affiliate named Naperville the best city for raising a family in 2010. In 2015, Naperville was voted as one of America's safest cities.

Naperville has an area of 40 square miles (101.83 km2), of which 38.77 square miles (100.26 km2) (or 98.57%) is land and the other 0.553 square miles (1.42 km2) (or 1.43%) is water, though portions of Naperville drain to the West Branch of the DuPage River within DuPage County. Specifically, in the flood of 1996, water backup occurred through storm sewers to homes as far east as Route 59. Naperville borders the communities of Warrenville, Wheaton, Lisle, Woodridge, Bolingbrook, Plainfield and Aurora. Naperville has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold winters. A majority of the year is filled with wet weather as Naperville sees an average precipitation of 36.6 inches (930 mm).

Snowfall is common in the winter, averaging about 24 inches (610 mm) annually, but accumulation and thaw cycles often leave roads clear for driving. Approximately 8 to 10 inches (200 to 250 mm) of snow typically accumulate in one storm. Naperville averages 149 days with measurable precipitation, which occurs on an average of 109 days during the growing season. Extremes have ranged from −27 °F (−33 °C), recorded on January 20, 1985, up to 105 °F (41 °C), recorded on July 14, 1936; the record cold daily maximum is −10 °F (−23 °C) on February 4, 1896, while the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on August 4 and 5, 1911.

Naperville has a number of accomplishments including: being designated a White House Millennium Community in May 1999; Naperville was one of 50 communities nationwide to be named; Naperville was also designated as a Preserve America Community in February 2003. Naperville is home to North Central College, a nationally recognized college of the liberal arts and sciences that provides more than 55 undergraduate majors and graduate programming in six areas. Naperville is also home to two major healthcare organizations: Edward Hospital and Naperville's Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital.

Naperville is the headquarters for several Fortune 500 companies, including Nicor, Office Max, Tellabs, O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Beeline Fashion, Nalco Holding Company and Bell Laboratory's Naperville research center. In addition to these major organizations, Naperville is also home to a variety of smaller companies and start-ups. Naperville lies 28 miles (45 km) west of the Chicago Loop and roughly 34 miles (55 km) from O'Hare International Airport, which lies directly to the city's west. Due to its proximity to both major airports and downtown Chicago, as well as its outlying suburban residential communities, Naperville has become a popular bedroom community for those who commute to either Chicago location for work. Naperville is served by the BNSF Railway and the Metra system, which provides daily commuter rail service to Chicago on the BNSF Railway's Aurora Branch and the Milwaukee District / West Line. Naperville is also served by Naperville Municipal Airport, commonly called DuPage Airport.

Naperville is home to naperville magician Jon Finch, and is the headquarters for several Fortune 500 companies, including Nicor, Office Max, Tellabs, O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Beeline Fashion, Nalco Holding Company and Bell Laboratory's Naperville research center.

In addition to these major organizations, Naperville is also home to a variety of smaller companies and start-ups. Naperville lies 28 miles (45 km) west of the Chicago Loop and roughly 34 miles (55 km) from O'Hare International Airport, which lies directly to the city's west. Due to its proximity to both major airports and downtown Chicago, as well as its outlying suburban residential communities, Naperville has become a popular bedroom community for those who commute to either Chicago location for work. The city is served by the BNSF Railway and the Metra system, which provides daily commuter rail service to Chicago on the BNSF Railway's Aurora Branch and the Milwaukee District / West Line. Naperville is also served by Naperville Municipal Airport, commonly called DuPage Airport.

Cities and towns near the city of Naperville, IL

• Lisle

• Wheaton

• Warrenville

• Winfield

• Downers Grove

• Glen Ellyn

• Woodridge

• Aurora

• West Chicago

• Bolingbrook

• Carol Stream

• Lombard

Naperville, Illinois

• 60540

• 60563

• 60564

• 60565

• 60566

• 60567