Pokémon Go Fest Chicago 2026: Day 2
After how exciting day 1 of Chicago GoFest was, I was even more eager to return to Chicago for Day 2. And on the first day I learned about a place to do raids that I hadn’t checked out at all on the first day. And so I traveled back towards the same train station as day 1 and headed towards the city. I got on the Union Pacific North Line at Great Lakes like the day before. And I decided not to take duplicate pictures.
During Day 1 of GoFest, I took pictures of stations while on the Union Pacific North Line. So this time I got photos of the nature around those stations. Oh and I got a photo of Ravinia Park. Its pretty neat that there is a park right next to a train station. Especially one that hosts music festivals. Maybe foreshadowing a future adventure. But who knows?
I also noticed a bike trail following the tracks. I will most certainly be exploring that in the future. But only after I finish exploring the Des Plaines River Trail first. And that is going to be a long undertaking of its own. Oh and look at the art on some of those buildings. I saw a lot more that I wasn’t able to get pictures of. There was a ton of pretty art to look at on this train ride.
Lincoln Park
I rode the CTA Purple Line again, but didn’t take pictures. Instead, I want to focus on the main event of Day 2. The pictures above are of Lincoln Park. Not the band and also not the zoo next door that has a similar name. Lincoln Park Chicago I quickly learned was the place to do raids for Go Fest. I’m fairly certain this is one of the best places to play Pokémon Go in general within the Chicago city limits.
As a large park that draws tons of tourists every year there was a lot to see and do at this park. And I intend to do an Exploring the World post for this park one day. But for now I want to showcase that there are several paths that loop around Lincoln Park. And if the weather turns poor, there are several bridges and even a large art piece that will block the sky out.
If you want to come here not for Pokémon Go, there were tons of animals to look at here. And of course plants. All sorts of tress grow around Lincoln Park. And I stood under quite a few as I went from raid to raid to protect myself from both rain and the sun. Yes I dealt with both extremes during Go Fest Day 2. This was my favorite area in Chicago for the event and I came here several more times throughout the weekend.
After Day 2
I intended to be in Chicago early in the morning for Day 3. Which as I mentioned in earlier parts of this adventure was the big day for me. So instead of heading back to the suburbs, I had made prior plans to stay with family who lived a lot closer just for that night. I still took the CTA Blue Line around as I traveled towards where I was staying though. And as my battery was almost dead, I was using my portable to charge. And it doesn’t play nice if I am playing Pokémon Go at the same time.
In addition to riding the train, I also went to Lou Malnatis Pizzeria which has my favorite deep dish pizza on the planet. And although I rarely do this, I did the cringy thing and took a picture of my food. But due to not being good at doing that, the picture looks like crap. The food was amazing though.
Don’t forget to check out Day 0, Day 1, Day 3, and Day 4. There was plenty of adventure to be had each and every day.