Family Sledding at Lake County Forest Preserves

The dog days of winter are upon us, when we are all hoping for warmer weather to arrive sooner rather than later. Even with it being cold outside, there are plenty of activities for everyone in the family to enjoy such as sledding, skiing or any activity at our forest preserves, Broadway shows and musicals at the Genesee Theatre and Lincolnshire Marriott Theatre, and indoor entertainment at RinkSide Sports. These are more reasons why Lake County is perfect for family fun all year round!

I like to get out and enjoy the forest preserves every time I get a chance to especially during the winter the months. The sled hill at Old School off St. Mary’s Road in Libertyville is open every day when conditions allow until sunset. This is a great hill in the area and I almost always see other people using it when I drive past. The only things that are not allowed on these hills are sleds with metal runners and snowboards. Another great hill in the area is the sled hill at Lakewood Winter Sports Area, off Fairfield Road in Wauconda, which is lighted and open daily until 9pm. If you are into cross-country skiing, you can also do that on the groomed trails at both of these forest preserves. The Lakewood Forest Preserve also has marked snowmobile trails.

Recently I found out that January is National Ice Skating Month. Now, mind you I am not a good ice skater as I have only done it several times. The above mentioned Forest Preserves as well as Independence Grove, offers outdoor ice skating. At Independence Grove, the designated skating area is located on the southern end of the lake, west of the main recreation area. If you prefer skating indoors, RinkSide Sports inside Gurnee Mills Mall is the perfect place. I recently stopped in and did some ice skating, mini golf and played some arcade games. RinkSide offers so much to do, that when you get cold from skating you can warm up by playing laser tag or try any of their other activities. Check out my experience at RinkSide in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GlUk2atx6k.

My wife and I also enjoy going to the Lincolnshire Marriott Theatre for one of their amazing Broadway shows or musicals. You can see the stage from any seat, making this a great venue to watch a play. Currently, the musical, Guys and Dolls is playing through March 27th but they also have these shows upcoming 42nd Street, SHOUT!, For The Boys, and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. They even have a children’s theatre and the next show is; How Can You Run With a Shell On Your Back?, which starts March 3.

Another great place to watch Broadway performances is the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan. This is a magnificent theatre in general and has a lot of history. Some of the upcoming shows are Skinnygirl Night Out – A Conversation with Bethenny Frankel, star of “The Real Housewives of New York” which is this Friday, January 28th. On February 5th it is The Temptations and February 7th is Riverdance – The Farewell Tour. Be sure to check out our website http://www.lakecounty.org for all shows and events happening throughout Lake County. Hope to see you out and exploring our great area!

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