Chicago is a dog-friendly city and offers many activities for visitors who bring their dogs. We live in the suburbs and we enjoy going to the city on the weekend. Summer is our favorite time to visit. Here are our Top 5 Summer Favorite Things To Do In Dog-Friendly Chicago


1. Cruise Chicago With Your Dog : Seeing Chicago’s architecture on a cruise with your dog is PAWsome. It’s one of our favorite annual Summer tradition. The canine cruise is offered by Mercury Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline, which runs from July-September. The cruise is only on Sundays at 10:00am. 
We shared our boat rides on 2 blog posts: Cruising The City and Take Your Dog On A Boat Ride. You can also check Sugar’s Canine Cruise Video.

*For our local fans/readers and to those who plan to visit Chicago with their dog, check our 8/4/14 post. We are giving away a family 4 pack tickets (2 humans/2dogs). Tickets provided by Mercury Cruises.*


2. Walk: Lots of great places and parks to walk your dog in Chicago. Here are our

4 Favorite Places To Walk Your Dog In Chicago

1) Oz Park is located in Lincoln Park. The park was named Oz Park in honor of Lyman Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Dorothy and Toto statue is made by artist John Kearney. For more photos of the park, check our previous post, The Oz Park.
2) Lincoln Park is a huge park and lies along the Chicago lakefront. Many paths for you to walk your dog and enjoy the beautiful Chicago Lakefront. Also, there are a lot of open, flat grassy areas for you and your dog to rest/relax.

3) Lakefront Trail: It’s 18 miles of paved paths along Lake Michigan. You will have a PAWsome time walking your dog while enjoying Chicago’s skyline.
4) Riverwalk: It’s our favorite walk. You get to enjoy Chicago’s magnificent architecture with your dog. Along the Riverwalk, there are cafes and restaurants that are dog-friendly. You can check our previous post: Golden Walk At Dog-Friendly Chicago Riverwalk

3. Summer Dining: There are many great places to eat in Chicago. We were told that if a restaurant has an outdoor dining, it’s dog-friendly. Here are our 3 favorites places to eat after cruising the city with Mercury Cruises.
1) O’Briens is located at the Riverwalk. A short walk from Mercury’s docking area.
2) Harry Caray’s Tavern is located in dog-friendly Navy Pier. You can take the Shoreline water taxi to Navy Pier. Be prepared to be full. Harry Caray is known to serve large portions of food.

3) Chez Moi is located in Lincoln Park by Oz Park. They have a delicious Sunday brunch and wonderful service.

4. Outdoor Markets/Exhibits/Festival
1) Unlike in the suburbs, many Chicago farmer’s market are dog-friendly. The Green City Market, located in Lincoln Park, is dog-friendly. You can shop for great organic produce, have a meal from local chef and enjoy the Chicago scenery with your dog.
2) Chicago always has special Summer outdoor exhibits. Last year, we enjoyed the Giant Chia Heads along the Chicago Cultural Mile. This year, Chicago is featuring WrigleyField100 Centennial Seats along the Mag mile. We had fun exploring the centennial seats and Sugar had a pawsome time posing at each of the 50displays/100seats.

3) Many Chicago Festivals are dog-friendly and have a dedicated area for dogs. Most of these events help raise funds for local shelters/rescues. Recently, the West Fest Chicago had great success incorporating Pet Fest in their program.

5. Outdoor Movie/Plays: Many Chicago parks have set-up outdoor Movies In The Park and Shakespeare In The Park. Some of the parks are dog-friendly.

Chicago is a great city to visit with your dog.