Top attractions in Illinois
19 national parks, ski areas, museums, landmarks and natural wonders in Illinois, each with when to go, where to stay and what’s nearby. Ranked by how many people look them up and how many visit.
The 19 top attractions in Illinois
An even mix of how many people read about each place and, where it’s counted, how many visit.
Brookfield Zoo🐾 Zoo & aquarium · in Brookfield, IL18Kreaders a year7
Lincoln Home National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · in Springfield, IL124Kvisitors 20258
Abraham Lincoln: The Man📍 Landmark · in Chicago, IL9.9Kreaders a year9
Carthage Jail🏛 Museum · in Carthage Township, IL9.1Kreaders a year10🏞Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument🏞 National Monument · in Springfield, IL8.8Kreaders a year11
Balbo Monument📍 Landmark · in Chicago, IL8.4Kreaders a year12🕳Burrows Cave🕳 Cave · in Olney Township, IL8Kreaders a year13
Chicago Botanic Garden🌸 Garden · in Northfield Township, IL7.7Kreaders a year14
Cave-in-Rock State Park🕳 Cave · 1 mi from Cave-In-Rock, IL6.6Kreaders a year15
Humboldt Park🌸 Garden · in Chicago, IL6.6Kreaders a year16
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery📍 Landmark · in Jackson Township, IL6.2Kreaders a year17
Pullman National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · in Chicago, IL22Kvisitors 202518
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · in Dixon Township, IL5.1Kreaders a year19
New Philadelphia National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · 4 mi from Barry, IL4Kreaders a yearPhoto credits
Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Art Institute of Chicago: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · American Football House: BanjoZebra, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles Mound: Skye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Adler Planetarium: Adler Planetarium, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Best to visit in October
Places with a real season where October is one of the best months: mild weather and, where the Park Service counts visitors, quieter than average.
🏛 Museum · in Chicago, ILBarack Obama Presidential Center214K readers
🏛 Museum · in Chicago, ILArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors (2015) · 127K readers
📍 Landmark · in Urbana, ILAmerican Football House39K readers
🏛 Museum · in Chicago, ILAdler Planetarium550K visitors (2015) · 23K readers🐾 Zoo & aquarium · in Brookfield, ILBrookfield Zoo18K readers🏛 National Historic Site · in Springfield, ILLincoln Home National Historic Site124K visitors (2025) · 21K readers📍 Landmark · in Chicago, ILAbraham Lincoln: The Man9.9K readers🏛 Museum · in Carthage Township, ILCarthage Jail9.1K readersPhoto credits
Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Art Institute of Chicago: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0 · American Football House: BanjoZebra, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adler Planetarium: Adler Planetarium, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brookfield Zoo: InNuce, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lincoln Home National Historic Site: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Abraham Lincoln: The Man: AndrewHorne, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carthage Jail: Nyttend, Public domain
By type
Attractions in nearby states
Every attraction in Illinois
19 attractions
Barack Obama Presidential Center🏛 Museum · in Chicago, IL214Kreaders a year2Art Institute of Chicago🏛 Museum · in Chicago, IL1.5Mvisitors 20153American Football House📍 Landmark · in Urbana, IL39Kreaders a year4
Charles Mound⛰ Mountain · in Scales Mound Township, IL24Kreaders a year5Adler Planetarium🏛 Museum · in Chicago, IL550Kvisitors 20156Brookfield Zoo🐾 Zoo & aquarium · in Brookfield, IL18Kreaders a year7Lincoln Home National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · in Springfield, IL124Kvisitors 20258Abraham Lincoln: The Man📍 Landmark · in Chicago, IL9.9Kreaders a year9Carthage Jail🏛 Museum · in Carthage Township, IL9.1Kreaders a year10🏞Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument🏞 National Monument · in Springfield, IL8.8Kreaders a year11Balbo Monument📍 Landmark · in Chicago, IL8.4Kreaders a year12🕳Burrows Cave🕳 Cave · in Olney Township, IL8Kreaders a year13Chicago Botanic Garden🌸 Garden · in Northfield Township, IL7.7Kreaders a year14Cave-in-Rock State Park🕳 Cave · 1 mi from Cave-In-Rock, IL6.6Kreaders a year15Humboldt Park🌸 Garden · in Chicago, IL6.6Kreaders a year16Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery📍 Landmark · in Jackson Township, IL6.2Kreaders a year17Pullman National Historical Park🏞 National Historical Park · in Chicago, IL22Kvisitors 202518Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · in Dixon Township, IL5.1Kreaders a year19New Philadelphia National Historic Site🏛 National Historic Site · 4 mi from Barry, IL4Kreaders a yearHow we rank: an even mix of how many people read about each place on Wikipedia (a typical month, so one viral week can’t sway it) and, where it’s counted, how many visit (National Park Service for park units, else Wikidata, last 5 years). Places without a visitor count rank on readers alone. Closed, destroyed and private places stay listed but aren’t ranked. Sources: National Park Service · OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia · photos via Wikimedia Commons.
Attractions in Illinois
What are the top attractions in Illinois?
Barack Obama Presidential Center, Art Institute of Chicago, American Football House, Charles Mound and Adler Planetarium, ranked by how many people read about them and, where counted, how many visit.
What is the most visited attraction in Illinois?
Lincoln Home National Historic Site, with about 123,544 visitors in 2025 (National Park Service).
How many national parks are in Illinois?
None. Illinois has 5 other National Park Service sites.
Where should I go in Illinois in October?
Barack Obama Presidential Center, Art Institute of Chicago and American Football House: October is one of their best months, with mild weather.