History, Fun Converge at Wheaton's Cantigny Park

Nature, history and entertainment come together at Wheaton’s Cantigny Park.

The 500-acre park is host to an award-winning golf course, big band concerts, tag monarch butterflies, classes, afternoon teas, Civil War reenactments, and a wide variety of special programs and events.

Besides the vast formal gardens and picnic and camping grounds, Cantigny, located at 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, offers two history-rich museums: the Robert R. McCormick Museum and the  Cantigny First Division Museum.

Cantigny Golf, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, opened for play in 1989 and that same year Golf Digest magazine named it the “Best New Public Course in America.” The 300-acre Cantigny Golf complex includes 27 scenic holes, the year-round Cantigny Golf Academy, the 9-hole Cantigny Youth Links and a full-service clubhouse with dining and banquet facilities.

Actor Gary Sinise is a regular at the park, annually performing with his Lieutenant Dan Band for the Rockin' for the Troops concert.

Gardens and grounds hours are 9 a.m. to sunset Nov. 1 through April 30, and 7 a.m. to sunset May 1 through Oct. 31. The park is closed in January.

Hours for the museums are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. In May through October, they are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. They are closed Mondays and January.

Cantigny Park and Museums are closed Monday through Thursday in February.

The daily parking fees are $5 per car from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through April. Twilight parking fees are $2 per car from 7 to 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m. May 1 through Oct. 31, and from 9 to 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Nov. 1 through April 30.

For more information about Cantigny Park, call (630) 668.5161 or visit www.cantigny.org.