(McHenry, Illinois) — If you’re looking for a Midwestern getaway, here’s an article for you.
Maybe you’re in Chicago and are looking to get out of the city for a little, hopefully this spurs on some ideas for your next weekend adventure.
We were home-based in McHenry, but through this article we’ll stop by Volo and Crystal Lake, Illinois as well. As usual, we’ll go through our trip in chronological order to help you build out your travel itinerary.
1: Get Salty Skincare Studio (McHenry)
We never imagined taking our kids to a salt cave to play. Our minds have definitely been opened now, though. Get Salty Skincare Studio is a great place for mom or dad to get pampered for a while. It includes treatments like massage, an infrared sauna bed, O2 therapy, facials and more. While when you have a kid who absolutely LOVES sand (or in this case, salt), the salt cave is perfect for them. I experienced the sauna bed, which I loved. I got introduced to red light therapy in Scottsdale and enjoy that quite a bit. Rachel relaxed (as much as possible) during the O2 therapy. Bennett got curious and wanted to sit on her lap! The salt cave has healing properties too. It’s actually commonly used for families whose kiddos have a cold! Very fun and unique.
2: SweetPeas Emporium (McHenry)
If there was a way to measure deliciousness of desserts, SweetPeas Emporium would definitely win international awards. This cute sweet treets shop in McHenry is full of specialty cookies, chocolates, candies and more. It’s adorably decorated and should be featured in a Hallmark movie. We have dreams about these treats! Especially the cookies topped with Hershey’s bars and salt and the cream & sprinkles-filled sugar cookies!
3: Windhill Pancake Parlor (McHenry)
Have you ever had your breakfast delivered to you by train? I hadn’t. Until now! Windhill Pancake Parlor knows how to do it right with the seasonal themes. We came in early March, so St. Patrick’s Day and Easter were all around us! But the star of the show was the train circling the tracks, bringing your coffee and food out. My toddler loved this so much. Every time the train came he got so excited. Perfect place for families to visit, and the food is amazing! If your kiddo is a Mickey Mouse fan, get the Mickey pancake!
4: Volo Museum (Volo)
If you’re a movie buff, superhero fan, or just like cool cars – the Volo Museum is for you. Many of you know that Batman is my favorite character of all-time, so being able to see multiple Batmobiles made my day. But there’s so much more! There are five showrooms throughout the property where you can see all kinds of cars. Many of which were used in movies, or movies drew inspiration from them. The Terminator and Ford vs. Ferrari just being two examples. Bennett is a huge Lightning McQueen fan! So getting to see him and Mater made his day.
5: Jurassic Gardens (Volo)
If you’re looking to continue your fun-filled day – why not just stay on the property and check out Jurassic Gardens? This interactive dinosaur exhibit takes you past all kinds of dinosaur animatronics, with great photo ops and chances to learn for kids. At the end (for just $5) I had a machine make Bennett a Brontosaurus! This is now one of his favorite toys and he takes it everywhere.
6: Rita’s Ice (McHenry)
More commonly known on the East coast, Rita’s offers amazing Italian ice and frozen custard. Let’s be clear, frozen custard is very different (and superior, in my opinion) to ice cream! So anytime you can try some frozen custard, you should! I loved the ways you can fix the Italian ice with custard here. We tried the Sour Punch Kids watermelon and cotton candy Gelatis, along with a cookies n cream Blendini with cookie dough bits. Cathy works very hard to make these flavors fresh every day!
7: Whiskey Diablo (McHenry)
Arguably the trendiest spot in our visit, is Whiskey Diablo! A fresh take on Mexican cuisine can be found here, including the queso trio, tortas, the Diablo bowl and specialty margaritas. The top left photo is the hallway leading to the bathrooms, which I thought was so cool haha. Plus say “step aside” to the regular seating options (if you want) and choose the swing seats located by the windows! Also, you can get Crème brûlée served in a pineapple! How crazy is that? It’s not crazy, it’s delicious!
8: Urban Air (Crystal Lake)
When you have an adventurous toddler, you take every chance you can get to go to a trampoline park. I swear he would stay here all day if you let him. We headed to Urban Air in Crystal Lake! While it was snowy and windy outside, we had an absolute blast inside. From trampolines, a ball pit, a ropes course, slides and more – Urban Air was so much fun. Yes, daddy had to dust off the basketball “skills” a little and slam dunk a couple of times. Bennett cheered for me after. The photo shows me dunking on the lower hoop, but was able to dunk on the higher hoop as well. Just saying!
9: Tree House Play Cafe (McHenry)
I would love to see one of these Treehouse Play Cafes open in Peoria. There were so many kids and families having a blast, I think it would do so well. We are currently loving the idea of play cafes! Your kids get to play, and you get to drink coffee? What a deal! Remote workers can bring their laptops and work while their kids play, and it’s so much fun. Slides, obstacle courses and even a 3 and under section for the little kiddos are available here.
10: D.C. Cobbs (McHenry)
Right next to a “finger” of the Fox River is D.C. Cobbs. Known for its burgers, brews, appetizers and more – we really enjoyed our visit here. I ordered The Peasley which has corn salsa, chorizo and pepper jack cheese on top, along with a Cajun spice blend. Of course we had to try the cheese curds for an appetizer, as well as the mozzarella wedges which are delicious.
It was a 3-hour drive from Peoria to McHenry, so this is a great weekend getaway option for central Illinois families! It’s just over an hour away from downtown Chicago, as well.
We had so much fun and hope you enjoyed the list! What did we miss? Let me know in the comments or on social media.
Matt Sheehan Official 