Pokémon GoFest Chicago 2026: Day 1
Day 1 of Chicago GoFest had me excited enough that I had trouble sleeping. After how much fun I had during the Miami Safari Zone, I couldn’t contain my excitement at the idea of going to an event that I had been told repeatedly was significantly bigger. Best of all, the event was in Chicago, the city I grew up in. And as I mentioned in my last post as well as countless others though the years, Chicago is a train city. Riding trains is one of my favorite things to do on the planet. And without a car, trains were my transportation of choice. Let’s take a look at what I did and saw on Day 1.
Before I could walk around Chicago for Gofest I had to travel from the suburbs where I was staying. Normally traveling 50 miles in a day to catch Pokémon would be a tall order, but not when I had access to good transportation options. I traveled to Chicago on the Union Pacific North Line. Not the same one I traveled on on the day before. And as an extra treat, I got a picture of the entrance to the Great Lakes Navy base. The train station I got on at shares its name. And I got to hear all sorts of music and march orders while I sat waiting for my train.
Riding the Union Pacific North Line
On the Union Pacific North Line, I got a couple photos while the train rushed by. It was difficult at times to get clear images because I found out after the fact that I was on an express train. Some of the best stations to get pictures at rushed by too fast for me to even realize I had missed them. Even then I still got a couple good shots.
Notably the Union Pacific North Line travels along Lake Michigan which is dotted with many wealthy towns and cities. And so when it is not GoFest, perhaps I’ll return to this part of Illinois for a series of adventures. There is a lot to see and do on the North Shore of Illinois.
As for the photos I did get, I managed to get a picture of the “canyon” the train runs through to avoid crossing streets for a time. And as you can see in several other photos, there are plenty of railroad bridges too. This allows the train to travel quickly between stations rather than run at reduced speed through highly populated areas. I have talked about this in other posts, but as this is a Pokémon Go Centric one, I’ll move on.
Riding the Purple and Red Lines
Did I mention I like trains? Well, to save money and to go to where the GoFest venue was, I got off the Union Pacific North Line in Evanston and transferred to the Purple CTA Line at Davis Street. This place was different from how I remembered. I used to ride the train to Main Street when I was younger. But there were several new buildings and some clear infrastructure upgrades.
Anyway, I took pictures on the train all the way until I reached Howard Street which is one of the busiest CTA Stations on the entire L System. That isn’t just because three L Lines (usually) end here. Specifically the Purple, Yellow, and Red Lines all reach their end at this station. And they are all heavily trafficked parts of the system bringing people from several northern suburbs towards the city. The Red Line specifically is one of the two subway trains in Chicago and this one takes people to the Cubs and the White Sox among other major places in the city.
Once I transferred onto the Red Line, I stopped taking pictures for a bit. Not only was it crowded on the train, but since I was now in the city, I ran into other trainers there for GoFest. And notably the group I met was from Los Angeles and one of their group leaders, an Ambassador was among them. I made new friends and started catching plenty of Pokémon. Which is a perfect lead into the next section.
Go Fest Day 1
All right, I have talked about trains plenty, let’s turn the focus back towards Pokémon Go. Here are some pictures I took around Chicago as I explored the city for GoFest Day 1.First I went to the main meetup area which was near North Ave and Clybourn Ave. There was plenty to see and do there as well as clear evidence that GoFest was spreading all over Chicago. It left me wondering what people walking around the city for other reasons thought.
Next I went over to Grant Park and the Buckingham Fountain there. Unfortunately not everything was set up yet for GoFest and I did not have a park experience for that day anyway. Which meant that the place was almost empty. All the Pokestops and Gyms had been removed to only be visible to those with park passes. I’ll be showing what that was like on Day 3 which is when I paid for the park ticket.
I also explored the area around the Field Museum but did not get a chance to go inside. The exhibits were sold out in regards to Pokémon Go and besides, I could reach everything I needed for GoFest outside. I had a blast during Day 1 of GoFest Chicago 2026. But I was eager for day 2 as I bid farewell to my new friends and headed back north.
Heading Home
I took some more pictures of Chicago infrastructure on my way home. Oh and a sign about Rick Ross performing. Because when people sometimes call you that (like me) when you see the genuine article, you take a photo for the sake of irony. I want to draw special attention to the station at Clark and Lake. I’ll be using this station frequently during Go Fest. All four days I traveled through this station at least once. For Day 1, that was because I needed to make my way back to the Mayfair Milwaukee North Line Station to get back to the suburbs.
And despite this post being a lot more about trains than Pokémon Go, don’t assume that I didn’t spend hours upon hours playing. It just happens that its impossible to take pictures and catch Pokémon at the same time. And when it got hot in the middle of the day, switching between phone apps was a great way to drain my phone battery. You will see that during all four days, I took most of my pictures while not actively catching Pokémon.
Day 1 was a blast and I couldn’t wait to spend even more time in the city of Chicago. Don’t forget to check out Day 0, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.