tour from chicago

USA Tours from Chicago

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10 best USA tour packages from Chicago

Compiled by

Melissa USA travel expert at TourRadar

Rhythms of the Road (including Hammond)

Highlights of route 66, chicago to la, chicago to l.a, mackinac island (chicago, il to southfield, mi) (2024), heartland harmony, chicago to golden gate, chicago, niagara and new york end washington, chicago and niagara rot, mackinac island (chicago, il to southfield, mi) (2025).

• Coach / Bus
• Sightseeing
• Experience Graceland and Elvis Presley's custom jets
• Explore Chicago's landmarks and try deep-dish pizza
• Tour Nashville's Music Row and the Country Music Hall of Fame

“The tour took us exactly where we wanted to go. It was someone else doing the organising!”

• In-depth Cultural
• Visit the Grand Canyon's South Rim
• Enjoy live music in Branson's downtown
• Explore Chicago's iconic Route 66 start

“The experience was the best for everyone on our tour.”

• Witness the grandeur of Mount Rushmore
• Meet your group in Chicago for a welcome evening
• Tour Yellowstone's geysers and colorful wildlife

“It was a breathtaking tour. I loved that we stopped at so many national parks.”

• Discover Yellowstone's geothermal wonders
• Experience the entertainment of Las Vegas
• Marvel at Bryce Canyon's colorful spires

• Stay at the historic Grand Hotel
• Visit the world's largest Christmas store
• Explore Chicago's iconic architecture

• Watch the Legends Show in Branson
• Visit the National Cowboy Museum in OKC
• Tour the historic Route 66 Museum

• Marvel at the Grand Canyon's vistas
• See Mount Rushmore's iconic sculpture
• Tour Yellowstone's geothermal wonders

• Explore Millennium Park and The Loop
• See New York's famous sites and Times Square
• Visit Cleveland's Art Museum and Little Italy

• Enjoy dinner in Cleveland's vibrant Little Italy
• Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• Relax at the historic Grand Hotel's porch
• Tour Mackinac Island by horse-drawn carriage

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Tours From Chicago

1-day chicago to milwaukee public market and milwaukee art museum tour tour code : gol-chi-139.

Departure City : Chicago IL

Available Days : Tue, Wed, Fri & Sat

Highlights : Discover the mechanics behind how motorcycles work and learn about the iconic history of Harley-Davidson through a gallery of bikes from 1903 to the present. Visit Miller Brewery to learn about the beer production process and taste authentic beer. Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, one of the largest art museums in the United States

• Minimum 2 people

1-Day Chicago City Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-115

Available Days : Mon & Wed

Highlights : Welcome to the amazing city of Chicago. Check out the classical landmarks in Chicago while getting amazed by its post-modern architectures. Discover the stories behind the city’s most significant buildings such as Cloud Gate and Chicago Theatre. Take an in-depth tour of the city of Chicago and visit 360 Chicago for a full 360-degree panoramic view of Chicago from above. Explore Millenium Park and Grant Park. 

• Minimum of 2 guests required.
• we can provide door-to-door pickup and drop-off to hotels in downtown Chicago (hotels need to be located within 5 miles of the boarding point) Service Fee: $30/person.

1-Day Chicago to Holland Michigan Tulip Festival Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-142

Available Days : Special Dates

Highlights : [Safe travel] Vehicles are regularly disinfected throughout the journey, and professional drivers and guides provide considerate service, making travel more at ease. [Heart-warming service] The Chinese-speaking tour guide will lead the team throughout the journey, use the car comfortably, and start a comfortable journey. [Selected Attractions] Indulge in the sea of ​​tulips, take you to feel the windmill island in spring; stroll in the Holland Village, enjoy the European style; run in Sobetak, deeply search for the lost town of Singapore.

4-Day Chicago to Indianapolis, Chattanooga, Nashville and Great Smoky Mountains Sightseeing Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-123

Highlights : Here is the opportunity for you to go and explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Knoxville, Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, Dixie Stampede, Chattanooga, Nashville, Rock City, Ruby Falls, Tennessee, Indiana state Museum, Indiana state House, Mammoth Cave National Park,  and  more on this exciting Chicago Guided Bus Tour.

4-Day Chicago to Detroit, Milwaukee, Mackinac Island and Great Lakes Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-124

Available Days : Thursday

Highlights : Great Lakes Tour: Experience the breathtaking landscapes of three of the five Great Lakes, all located within the United States—Lake Michigan, the largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior, and Lake Huron, which boasts the longest shoreline among the Great Lakes. Four Lakeshore Cities: Visit Chicago, the third-largest city in the U.S.; Milwaukee, a major industrial hub; Green Bay, a port city on the St. Lawrence Seaway; and Sault Ste. Marie, one of Michigan's oldest cities, along with the picturesque Traverse City. Mackinac Island: Once listed among the world's ten most beautiful islands, Mackinac Island is a true gem of the Great Lakes, offering a unique fall experience with a horse-drawn carriage ride through the vibrant autumn colors. Other highlights include Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior, and the charming Holland Village. Amber Twin Falls: Known for their coppery hue, these waterfalls are a stunning sight, especially in the fall when surrounded by the red, yellow, and orange hues of the season.

• During maple season from 09/192024 to 10/10/2024, the hotel will charge an additional $60.00 per room per night. Minimum of 2 people to be operated. we can provide door-to-door pickup and drop-off to hotels in downtown Chicago (hotels need to be located within 5 miles of the boarding point) Service Fee: $30/person.  

4-Day Chicago to Detroit, Ontario, Toronto, Cleveland, Niagara Falls US and Canada Side Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-130

Highlights :  Visiting the Henry Ford Museum, exploring the past glory of Motor City, aka Detroit. Enjoy the Niagara Falls from both the Canadian and US side, be on the Skylon Tower and Maid of Mist. Enjoy the stunning view of Toronto and Lake Ontario by reaching the top of CN Tower.  Go to the holy land of Rock ‘n’ Roll- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum located at Cleveland. Note： 1. If you hold a U.S. or Canadian passport: You must bring a valid U.S. or Canadian passport. 2. If you hold a U.S. permanent resident ID or Canadian permanent resident ID: You must bring a valid passport and a U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID. Make sure your U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID is valid and carry it with you. 3.If you do not hold the above documents: Please prepare the corresponding travel visa in advance according to the instructions of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). For details, please click here

• Hotel breakfast.

5-Day Chicago to Cleveland, Millennium Park, Niagara Falls, Toronto and Detroit Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-133

Highlights : 1. See the master piece of design- Cloud Gate at Millennium Park 2. Enjoy the Niagara Falls from both the Canadian and US side, be on the Skylon Tower and Maid of Mist. 3. Enjoy the stunning view of Toronto and Lake Ontario by reaching the top of CN Tower.  4. Visiting the Henry Ford Museum, exploring the past glory of Motor City, aka Detroit. 5. Go to the holy land of Rock ‘n’ Roll- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum located at Cleveland.   Itinerary for departure schedule on 08/03: DAY1 Chicago - Detroit - London, Ontario DAY2 London, Ontario - Toronto  DAY3 Niagara Falls DAY4 Cleveland - Chicago DAY5 Chicago City Tour Note： 1. If you hold a U.S. or Canadian passport: You must bring a valid U.S. or Canadian passport. 2. If you hold a U.S. permanent resident ID or Canadian permanent resident ID: You must bring a valid passport and a U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID. Make sure your U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID is valid and carry it with you. 3.If you do not hold the above documents: Please prepare the corresponding travel visa in advance according to the instructions of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). For details, please click here

5-Day Chicago to Millennium Park, Milwaukee, Holland, Great Lakes and Chicago City Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-125

Available Days : Thu & Special Dates

Highlights : Five days to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the three major lakes in the Great Lakes region of the United States, all of which are located in Lake Michigan in the United States, Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, and Lake Huron, which has the longest shoreline among the Great Lakes. Famous cities along the five great lakes: Chicago, Milwaukee and Traverse City along Lake Michigan, Green Bay along Green Bay, and Sault Ste. Mackinac Island, which was once selected as one of the top ten most beautiful islands in the world and known as the treasure of the Great Lakes in North America; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Scenic Area with beautiful beaches.   Itinerary for departure schedule on Thursday: DAY1 Chicago - Green Bay - Escanaba DAY2 Lake Superior - Sault Ste. Marie - St Ignace DAY3 Mackinac Island - Traverse City DAY4 Holland - Chicago DAY5 Chicago City Tour

During the peak foliage season from September 18, 2024 - October 10, 2024, a surcharge of $60.00 per room per night will apply (mandatory value-added item).

5-Day Chicago to Indianapolis, Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, Chattanooga and Mammoth Cave National Park Tour Tour code : GOL-CHI-165

Available Days : Wed & Thu

Highlights : 1. Explore Motorsports Hall of Fame. 2. Be in the National Park with most visitors in US -- Great Smoky Mountains. 3. Southern dinner show Dixie Stampede featuring America’s civil war. 4. Tour in Lookout Mountain:  Rock City, Ruby Falls, Incline Railway. 5. Discover the stories behind the city’s most significant buildings such as Cloud Gate and Chicago Theatre. 6. Take an in-depth tour of the city of Chicago and visit 360 Chicago for a full 360-degree panoramic view of Chicago from above.7. Explore Millenium Park and Grant Park.   Itinerary for Thursday departures is as follows:DAY1 Chicago - Indianapolis - London, KYDAY2 London, KY - Great Smoky Mountains National Park - ChattanoogaDAY3 Chattanooga - Lookout MountainDAY4 Mammoth Cave National Park - Chicago DAY5 Chicago City Tour

6-Day Chicago to The Art Institute of Chicago, Grant Park, Niagara Falls, Old Fort Niagara, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto and CN Tower Tour (Free Airport Pickup) Tour code : GOL-CHI-171

Highlights : Take a wonderful photo in front of the famous Cloud Gate, also known as "The Bean"; take a Chicago Architecture Cruise to admire the city's skyline; board the 360° Chicago Observation Deck to overlook Chicago from the air Beautiful view of the city. [Classic Music Journey] Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame displays unparalleled depth and breadth of exhibits on classic rock, pop, and heavy metal music. [Natural Wonders of the World] Take the Horn Cruise to admire Niagara Falls from a water perspective, climb the Tianlong Tower to overlook the Falls from an aerial perspective, and check out the War Castle to learn about the past and present of the falls. [Charming Toronto] The CN Tower defines Toronto's skyline and is a famous Canadian landmark; Dundas Square is Toronto's famous commercial center and public square. [Car Culture in Detroit] Enter Detroit, the world's traditional automobile center, visit the Ford Motor Museum to explore the past glory of the automobile city, and check in at the headquarters of General Motors. Note： 1. If you hold a U.S. or Canadian passport: You must bring a valid U.S. or Canadian passport. 2. If you hold a U.S. permanent resident ID or Canadian permanent resident ID: You must bring a valid passport and a U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID. Make sure your U.S. or Canadian permanent resident ID is valid and carry it with you. 3.If you do not hold the above documents: Please prepare the corresponding travel visa in advance according to the instructions of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). For details, please click here

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The 17 best road trips from Chicago

Need a change of scenery? Load up the car and embark on one of the best road trips from Chicago.

No coast? No problem. Chicago can sometimes feel like a Midwest oasis, but there's plenty to see just a scenic road trip away. With summer quickly approaching, you can spend a few weekends sipping bourbon in Louisville, hiking  in Eau Claire or sunbathing in Door County. So if you're not sure where to start, check out our list of unique nearby destinations , load up the car, turn up "Life is a Highway" and hit the road—one of these routes from Chicago could quickly become your preferred weekend getaway . 

RECOMMENDED: The best day trips from Chicago

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Best road trips from Chicago

1.  st louis, mo.

Driving time from Chicago:  Four and a half hours

While beer, blues and BBQ are likely on the top of your St Louis bucket list (and rightfuly so), there's a lot more to discover in the Gateway to the West—like custard from Ted Drewes and a walk around Forest Park. There's also a ton to see on the five-hour drive from Chicago: Stop off in Springfield to see attractions like the Illinois State Capitol, or in Atlanta, IL to take a photo with Paul Bunyon holding a massive hotdog. 

2.  Eau Claire, WI

Driving time from Chicago:  Five hours

Folks head to the Chippewa Valley in northern Wisconsin for its rolling hills and colorful foliage (plus plenty of beer and cheese to smuggle back to Chicago), but there are some worthy sights along the road as well. Snap a selfie with Pinkie the Elephant in DeForest, WI and sample cranberry-flavored everything at the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center   in Warrens, WI. Once you're in Eau Claire, trade in the car for a kayak:  Riverside Bike & Skate   in downtown Eau Claire rents canoes and kayaks and has shuttles that will drive you upstream so you can hit the Chippewa River. 

3.  Traverse City, MI

The charming resort town of Traverse City, located at Michigan’s northern tip, offers plenty to do for nature enthusiasts. Clinch Park and Bryant Park have gorgeous, popular beaches while the more remote Haserot and North Bar Lake beaches offer the chance for a secluded getaway. You’re also within a stones throw of the coastal M-22, one of the most scenic drives in America, as well photo-ops at the Grand Traverse and Little Sable lighthouses. 

4.  Detroit, MI

Driving time from Chicago:  Four and a half hours

Despite what Blackhawks fans may chant, there is plenty about Detroit that doesn’t suck. You could easily spend a day or two on art alone, thanks to world-class museums like the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit ; powerful, immersive public art like the Heidelberg Project and colorful, whimsical folk art like Hamtramck Disneyland . Enjoy a leisurely morning browsing at Eastern Market showcasing dozens of artisan food producers, makers and crafters, and then check out the tempting restaurant and bar options nearby. On the way home, stop in neighboring Dearborn, home to the largest and most diverse Arab community in the U.S., for delicious food at spots like Al-Ameer , Sheeba and Shatila Bakery . 

5.  Galena, IL

Driving time from Chicago : Three hours

At the top of many Chicagoans city escape must-visit list is Galena, Illinois. This charming town just under three hours from the city is known for its history, 19th-century architecture and resorts. There are hundreds of unique and antique shops in the city center to add some vintage pizzazz to your living room. History buffs can head over to the  Ulysses S. Grant Home  to tour the city’s proudest attraction. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, stop into  Log Cabin Steakhouse , which has been in operation since 1937. During the third weekend of June, tourists and locals alike gather for the annual  Great Galena Balloon Race .

6.  Door County, WI

The road trip doesn't end when you reach Door County; There's plenty to navigate by car as you wander the series of small towns located on a beautiful 75-mile peninsula surrounded by Lake Michigan and Green Bay. There are also 53 public beaches, five state parks, and 300 miles of shoreline so get ready to put some miles on your car. Need a pit stop? Milwaukee is a little less than half way. 

7.  Louisville, KY

Kentucky’s largest city, located just across the Ohio River from southern Indiana, is steeped in bourbon and long on charm. The home of the old fashioned and mint julep embraces its role as the gateway to Bourbon Country. The city now has over 10 tourable distilleries, including   Evan Williams,   Angel’s Envy   and  Old Forester . If bourbon and honkytonk aren't for you, downtown Louisville has an incredible art scene and is booming with independent businesses and charming shops. 

Discover the best things to do in Louisville

8.  Madison, WI

Driving time from Chicago: Three hours

Sure the Midwest loves its college towns, but Madison's proximity to five surrounding lakes make it one of the more of the scenic ones. The abundance of waterways make kayaking, rafting and canoeing especially popular—you can book them directly through Madison Boats . For those averse to using their sea legs, there's the 16-acre Olbrich Botanical Gardens for all ages or the National Mustard Museum (yes, you read that correctly). It wouldn't be a trip to Wisconsin without trying blocks and blocks of cheese, so make sure to stop by the "Capital of Cheese" known as Fromagination in downtown Madison. 

9.  Cincinnati, OH

If Skyline Chili is not your bag, don’t worry—there’s a whole lot more to the Queen City than its most famous tourist foodstuff. Cincy has been undergoing a major glow-up over the past decade or so, from the ever-evolving Smale Riverfront Park, which offers lots to do and gorgeous views of the skyline and the Ohio River to the revitalization of the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. There, you'll find a number of must-visit spots, including the popular Rhinegeist Brewery, the vibrant Findlay Market , the stunning Music Hall and Washington Park , which sports a sweet playground and community events throughout the year. Plus, the Cincinnati Zoo is one of the best in the country, and the only place you can see Internet icon Fiona the Hippo in person. That in itself is worth the trip.

10.  Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, IL

Driving time from Chicago:  Six hours

Not going to make it to Napa this year? Opt for the just-as-beautiful Shawnee Hills Wine Trail instead. The 3 5-mile scenic drive meanders through Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois and features over 10  award-winning wineries in cute towns like Cobden, Alto Pass, and Pomona. If you need more than wine to prompt a trip, there's plenty of nature in the vicinity and the nearby town of Murphysboro is home to some of the finest BBQ in the Midwest at 17th Street Barbecue . 

11.  Bloomington, IN

Driving time from Chicago:  Four hours

This cozy college town offers some big-city amenities, but it's the surrounding hills, forests and lakes that make it special. A short itinerary could look like: Hike the Deam Wilderness trails ; s ee the Morgan-Monroe State Forest wildflowers; admire the Cedar Bluffs Nature Preserve limestone bluffs; g o fishing at the reservoir lakes. Just don't forget to leave room for a meal at  Feast Market & Cellar , a family-owned kitchen with a lovely corner porch where everything is made from scratch daily. 

12.  Saugatuck, MI

Driving time from Chicago:  Two and a half hours

This dreamy lakeside town (and next-door neighbor Douglas) has long been a favorite of Chicagoans looking to spend time on the water, whether it’s a boat on the Kalamazoo River or a relaxing day on one of the area’s six clean, inviting beaches. From hiking the Saugatuck Dunes to window shopping on Butler Street to enjoying dinner and drinks alfresco, there are many ways to get some much-needed fresh air here. It’s also one of the Midwest’s best queer-friendly vacation destinations, home to more than 100 LGBTQ-owned and friendly businesses. 

13.  Ann Arbor, MI

Driving time from Chicago:  Four hours

If you'd rather stick to less-crowded cities, skip Detroit and opt for Ann Arbor instead. Foodies and beer nerds will love this low-key vacation spot for its plethora of good restaurants and breweries. Home to the renowned University of Michigan, this city’s quaint downtown is full of unique shops, spots to eat and so much more (make sure Blank Slate Creamery is on your list). 

14.  Toledo, OH

The road from Chicago to Ohio is filled with worthwhile attractions, including Indiana Dunes State Park and the Hall of Heroes Super Hero Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. Once you arrive in Toledo, you'll be greeted with picturesque churches, wild urban parks, a trendy jazz culture and plenty of microbreweries to keep you busy. Just outside the city you'll also find fall-harvest overload in the way of apple and pumpkin farms where you can pick your own fruits and veggies and gorge on baked treats.

15.  Shipshewana, IN

Driving time from Chicago:  Two hours

OK, just hear us out. The heart of Indiana Amish country is a great option for a convenient road trip perfect for families, history buffs and, most of all, antiquers. The Shipshewana Trading Place Flea Market is a bargain-hunter’s dream—the largest flea market in the Midwest, with lively auctions Wednesday mornings. After a morning of browsing and bargaining, you’ll work up an appetite for some Amish home cooking, which you can even sample in a  literal Amish home . For outdoorsy types, nearby Mongo offers canoe and kayak rentals for a relaxing day on the water. 

16.  Des Moines, IA

Driving time from Chicago: Five hours

There's a surprising amount to explore over a weekend in Des Moines, from more than 20 breweries in the metro area to the six-mile Art Route , which showcases 87 public art pieces from sculptures to murals. But what really makes Des Moines worth visiting are its summer events, like the eclectic 80/35 music festival, and, of course, the festive juggernaut that is the Iowa State Fair , where you can get 69 different food-on-a-stick creations (nice). When you're heading back on I-80, don't miss the World's Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, truly a site to behold.

17.  Columbus, IN

Driving time from Chicago : Three and a half hours

In the heart of Southern Indiana, Columbus is an unexpected center for boundary-pushing architecture—in fact, the American Institute of Architects ranked the city sixth in the nation for architectural innovation. Roughly 70 different constructions sprinkled around the city and county make this city an architectural wonder. Take an  Architectural Highlights Tour  of more than 30 of Columbus' structures and learn how this city became the state's award-winning arts and design destination. Make another pit stop of striking constructions with a stroll through Mill Race Park , an 85-acre riverfront park near the city's center. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, stop by  Columbus Bar , the oldest bar and restaurant in town.

Need more travel inspiration?

The best weekend getaways from chicago for families.

Take a break from the city and find family-friendly activities throughout the Midwest on these weekend getaways.

The best places to go camping near Chicago

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Make a quick escape and spend a few nights amidst nature. 

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Cruises & Tours

Explore chicago by land, water or air.

Whether you’re in town for just one day or are a life-long resident, cruises and tours of Chicago are a great way to see the sights, discover something new, or treat yourself to an unforgettable experience.

From laid-back sightseeing cruises and elegant dining cruises to heart-pumping thrill rides to upscale private charters, Lake Michigan and Chicago River cruises departing from Navy Pier offer a memorable experience for all.

Our Cruises & Tours

City Cruises

Experience Chicago from the water! Enjoy a meal cruise with chef-prepared dishes, live DJ, and stunning views. Or, take a Seadog speedboat ride for an architecture tour or a lakefront speedboat adventure.

Tall Ship Windy

Tall Ship Windy at Navy Pier offers educational boat tours, storytelling, student trips, concert sails, and architectural tours. Enjoy the Chicago skyline aboard our tall ship!

Shoreline Sightseeing

Discover Chicago’s iconic architecture from our fleet of touring vessels and water taxis. Our guided tours offer captivating stories from knowledgeable guides. Choose your tour, relax, and enjoy the skyline!

Groups And Private Charters

Perfect for corporate outings and special occasions, group cruises and private charters offer unforgettable experiences for up to 800 guests.

Bicycle Tours

Bike & Roll Chicago allows guests to rent bicycles for a fun experience on the lakefront.

Cruise & Tour Types

Shoreline Architecture River Tours

Take Shoreline’s award-winning 75-minute Architecture River Tour to discover Chicago’s renowned landmarks as presented by our expert and entertaining guides. You’ll learn how Chicago rose...

City Cruises – Premier Dinner Cruise on Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan dinner cruises are the perfect setting for celebrating with friends, connecting with colleagues, or a romantic evening. Odyssey Lake Michigan dinner cruises are...

City Cruises – Premier Lunch Cruise on Lake Michigan

A two-hour Lake Michigan lunch cruise is the perfect way to enjoy time with family or the company of great friends. Retreat from a busy...

City Cruises – Signature Dinner Cruise on Lake Michigan

Celebrate a special occasion, host a group event or share a romantic evening aboard Spirit of Chicago. Great for parties of all sizes, a Spirit...

City Cruises – Spirit of Chicago Dinner Cruise

Catch the Chicago skyline at sunset during the most beautiful time of the year, and join us for a fun, laid-back, 2-hour cruise. Spirit's Lakefront...

City Cruises – Odyssey Lake Michigan Dinner Cruises

Odyssey Lake Michigan presents special prix fixe dinner cruises, offering guests the opportunity to try one of Chicago’s most unique dining experiences at an incredible...

City Cruises – Spirit of Chicago Brunch Cruises

Whether you’re a native Chicagoan, newcomer, or just visiting, a Spirit of Chicago brunch cruise is the perfect weekend outing. See well-known Chicago attractions from...

City Cruises – Signature Lunch Cruise on Lake Michigan

With the sunshine reflecting off the lakefront, there’s no better place to enjoy an afternoon in Chicago than aboard a lunch cruise. Departing from Navy...

City Cruises – Seadog River and Lake Architecture Tour

Enjoy Chicago’s iconic skyline with an exciting architecture cruise on the Chicago River. Departing from Navy Pier, this 75-minute narrated cruise is the best way...

City Cruises – Seadog Lakefront Speedboat Tour

Our Lakefront Speedboat Tour is the best way to view Chicago from the lake, combining an exciting speedboat ride along the shoreline with informative and...

City Cruises – Seadog Extreme Thrill Rides

With exhilarating high speeds and full 360° spins, this jet-propelled ride blasts off to start and splashes down to stop. Experience full throttle slalom runs,...

City Cruises – Odyssey Lake Michigan Brunch Cruise

This two-hour brunch cruise on Odyssey Lake Michigan, departing from Navy Pier, is ideal for capping off an incredible weekend. Enjoy a delicious menu stocked...

City Cruises – Odyssey Lake Michigan Groups

Host a truly unforgettable event on Lake Michigan. Book your group aboard one of Odyssey's regularly scheduled lunch or dinner cruises, or have an event...

Shoreline Sightseeing Group Tours

Adventures are meant to be shared. Turn your next family gathering or corporate outing into an awesome adventure by booking with Shoreline. We offer special...

City Cruises – Chicago Elite Private Events

It's your yacht. Let our professional event planners create a custom event just for your group aboard the Chicago Elite. With two fully enClosed ,...

City Cruises – Seadog Groups

Planning a special outing for your group? Charter Seadog for an event everyone will enjoy! With the ability to travel both the lake and river,...

Shoreline Sightseeing Water Taxis

Shoreline Sightseeing’s water taxis are a great way to get around town. Starting in May and running through September, our water taxi service offers fast...

City Cruises – Spirit of Chicago Group Cruises

Host an event unlike any other in the city! Book your group aboard one of Spirit’s regularly scheduled lunch, brunch, cocktail or dinner cruises, or...

City Cruises – Premier Brunch Cruise on Lake Michigan

Experience the city’s most unique floating event venue! City Cruises offers all-inclusive packages, chef-prepared menus, full bar options, and entertainment customized to fit your needs—all...

City Cruises – Signature Brunch Cruise on Lake Michigan

Shoreline Skyline Lake Tours

Shoreline’s 40-minute Skyline Lake Tour offers a relaxing way to experience the panoramic of the city’s famed skyline as seen from majestic Lake Michigan. The...

Tall Ship Windy Chicago Skyline Sail

Tall Ship Windy is closed for the season and will reopen in May 2024. Visit the Tall Ship Windy website to stay up to date...

Tall Ship Windy Private Charters & Weddings in Chicago

A Beautiful Stage for Your Event Set sail on Windy for weddings, parties, corporate functions, reunions, church outings, tour groups, team building and more! Windy...

Amtrak Guide

By train travelers for train travelers, 20 best amtrak trips from chicago.

Chicago is one of the best cities for train travel. Sixteen Amtrak routes arrive and depart from Chicago Union Station , so there are many options for day, weekend or multiple-day getaways. Here are some of the best trip options listed in order of travel time so you can start planning your rail adventure. Destinations were selected based on convenient train departure times and unique things to see and do.

This website is reader supported and not affiliated with Amtrak. We may earn a small commission from links on this page . For current schedules, visit Amtrak.com,

For a day or overnight trip, travel to Milwaukee on the Hiawatha Amtrak route. Travel time is about 1.5 hours, and you’ll arrive near the Historic Third Ward neighborhood and the RiverWalk. There are several museums and a zoo to explore, including the Harley-Davidson Museum, which is in walking distance of the Amtrak station. You can also go to a sporting event, visit the many breweries or attend one of the city’s many festivals .

St. Joseph/Benton Harbor

Escape the city and experience Lake Michigan from the charming towns of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor via the Pere Marquettte Amtrak route. In addition to beaches and parks, explore the Sarett Nature Center , Silver Beach Carousel and wineries. This trip from Chicago is only two hours, but you’ll need to stay at least one night in Michigan as there is only one train each day.

Springfield

Book a trip on the Texas Eagle or Lincoln Service to visit Springfield , the Illinois capital. Major attractions here include the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum , Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Illinois State Museum and various other historic homes and parks. If you plan to do a day trip, you’ll have about six hours to explore if you choose the morning departure from Chicago and evening departure from Springfield.

Wisconsin Dells

A great destination for kids, the Wisconsin Dells is full of water parks , theme parks, wildlife parks and outdoor activities . It’s approximately a four-hour train ride from Chicago on the Empire Builder , with an arrival around dinnertime. Plan to stay two nights in order to have a full day to visit the local attractions. You can walk to several hotels and motels near the Amtrak station ( White Rose Inn s and Alpine Motel are two of the top-rated places to stay) or check out hotels with shuttles (verify service with the hotels before booking).

About 5.5 hours away from Chicago by train, St. Louis is known for the Gateway Arch , but there are many other things to see and do. Some of the top attractions include the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, Mississippi River and Busch Stadium. There are multiple trains to choose from each day, so a day trip is doable, but due to the longer travel time, you may want to stay overnight in St. Louis .

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Minneapolis and St. Paul are full of cultural attractions, sport venues and outdoor activities — including a  scenic bike trail  along the Mississippi River,  Chain of Lakes recreation  and a beautiful  urban park with a waterfall . If you don’t like cold weather, plan to visit between May and September, although the  Saint Paul Winter Carnival  is a historic event worth checking out. Travel time from Chicago is almost eight hours.

Niagara Falls

Visit the majestic Niagara Falls with a getaway on Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited route. This is an overnight trip with a morning arrival in Buffalo, New York. Roomettes and bedrooms are available for a more comfortable and private experience on the train. Travel time is 10 hours, and you’ll be sleeping most of that time.

On the return trip to Chicago, the Lake Shore Limited departs Buffalo around midnight, which means you can spend the day sightseeing and get back on the train same day instead of staying at a hotel.

You’ll need to rent a car or use a taxi or rideshare service to reach downtown Buffalo and the Niagara Falls area — both have hotels if you plan to stay overnight. An Enterprise rental car office is near the Amtrak station. Call ahead to confirm pickup from the Amtrak station. The falls are about a 40-minute drive away from the train station and 30 minutes from Enterprise. FlixBus also departs from downtown Buffalo and travels to the Niagara Falls State Park .

About 10.5 hours away from Chicago, Memphis is full of music and iconic places. It’s a party every night on Beale Street , and during the day you can visit Graceland, Sun Studio, the National Civil Rights Center and other tourist sites . When you aren’t sightseeing, eat the city’s famous barbecue or go on a top-rated food tour .

The Greenbrier Resort

Travel through the beautiful New River Gorge on the Cardinal route to reach The Greenbrier , a 1778 resort with casino. The Cardinal only operates three days each week, so you will need to stay more than one night, but there are plenty of activities to keep you busy. In addition to the casino, there is a spa, golf course, swimming pools, bike rentals, bowling alley, fishing, aerial adventure course and more. Travel time is about 17 hours from Chicago, and the White Sulphur Springs Amtrak Station is conveniently next to the resort, so you don’t have to rent a car.

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. is about 17 hours away from Chicago via the Capitol Limited route. The train departs Chicago around dinnertime and arrives at D.C. Union Station in early afternoon. At the station you can transfer to WMATA subway trains for easy access to museums , monuments and hotels. Taxi and rideshare cars are also options for getting around. Plan to stay in Washington D.C. at least one night before returning to Chicago. View top-rated hotels to find a place to stay.

New York City

Be a part of the city that never sleeps with trip to New York City . Travel time is between 19 and 20 hours on the Lake Shore Limited Amtrak route, with an arrival at the new Penn Station train hall in the evening. Penn Station has connections to the MTA subway and you can easily walk to the Empire State Building and Times Square . If you plan to see a Broadway Show, you’ll need to stay two nights in the city and use your first night to get settled at your hotel and see any attractions that aren’t at a scheduled time (in case there are train delays).

New Orleans

Plan a trip to New Orleans for amazing food, music and culture. The City of New Orleans train departs Chicago in the evening and arrives 20 hours later in the afternoon. The return train departs each day in the afternoon, so you could stay one night in New Orleans and have time to see some of the sights. Attractions to check out include the National World War II Museum , Garden District, French Quarter and historic cemeteries. There are also boat tours and streetcars for sightseeing.

Eat lobster, drink local craft beer and relive American Revolution history in Boston . The Freedom Trail is a must-do. Travel time is 21-22 hours to and from Boston’s South Station on the Lake Shore Limited route, with an evening departure from Chicago and evening arrival in Boston. You can also book your Amtrak ticket to the Back Bay Station, which is closer to Fenway Park and Copley Place shopping mall.

September and October are great months to visit, along with the summer months. Plan to stay two nights in the city, otherwise, you’ll basically only have one morning to see the sights before the daily early afternoon train back to Chicago.

Rocky Mountains

The California Zephyr is arguably the most scenic Amtrak route, especially the journey through the Rocky Mountains along the Colorado River (pictured above). There are multiple Amtrak stations in the Rockies with lodging and activities so you can enjoy time there before returning to Chicago.

If you love skiing, book your Amtrak ticket to Fraser/Winter Park (21-hour trip) and hit the slopes at the popular Winter Park Resort . Glenwood Springs (25 hours from Chicago and pictured top of page), is another great option with hotels and a hot springs pool in walking distance of the Amtrak station. There are also hiking trails, whitewater rafting, an amusement park and the Frontier Historical Museum to explore.

When the weather gets cold in Chicago, head to Texas on the Texas Eagle to explore Dallas or Austin . Dallas is 22 hours away from Chicago by train and Austin is 28. Both have surprisingly walkable areas near the Amtrak stations, light rail transit and rental car options.

In Dallas, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza , the site of his assassination and the Sixth Floor Museum are all in walking distance of the Dallas Amtrak Station . There are also many other museums and an aquarium nearby, or rent a car to reach the George W. Bush Presidential Library and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

For a vacation full of music, nightlife and outdoor recreation, travel to Austin. There are many parks along the Colorado River to explore, boat rentals and tours, kayaking, paddleboarding, festivals, and live entertainment on 6th Street .

Albuquerque

Albuquerque is 26 hours away from Chicago on the Southwest Chief . It’s New Mexico’s largest city, plus you’ll travel through mountains on the way there. Top attractions include Sandia Peak Tramway for gorgeous panoramic views, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center , National Museum of Nuclear Science and the Petroglyph National Monument . There’s also plenty of things to check out near the Amtrak station, including a zoo , botanic garden , Old Town Albuquerque , and trails along the Rio Grande River. Consider planning your trip around the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta , which is a major event in the fall.

Glacier National Park

Take Amtrak to Glacier National Park on the Empire Builder to see stunning landscapes and relax in a historic inn. There are four train stations near the park to choose from, each with unique lodging options. East Glacier Park is the first stop, about 30 hours away from Chicago, and you can walk to the Glacier Park Lodge from the station. Next is Essex Station, which is next to the historic Izaak Walton Inn . West Glacier Station is the third station near the park, with the West Glacier Village, the 1910 Belton Chalet and other lodges in walking distance. Or get off the train in Whitefish if you want to rent a car or stay in an area near restaurants.

Los Angeles

Travel to Los Angeles for a 43-hour, two-night trip on the entire length of the Southwest Chief Amtrak route. You’ll travel though mountains and deserts and arrive at the beautiful Los Angeles Union Station in the morning. There’s plenty to see and do in the city, including the Getty Center , Griffith Observatory , Hollywood Sign , Santa Monica Pier , theme parks, tours, shopping and beaches. If you don’t want to take Amtrak back to Chicago, there are plenty of direct flights to choose from.

Portland and Seattle

Last, but not least, is the full long-distance trip on the Empire Builder . You have the choice to travel from Chicago to either Portland or Seattle . Both options offer amazing scenery, with views of the Columbia River Gorge on the Portland route, or travel along Puget Sound and multiple rivers on the Seattle segment. You’ll also see the Rocky Mountains in Montana if you book your trip around the summer solstice. Total travel time is 46 hours, with two nights on the train. You can easily get a flight back to Chicago in Portland or Seattle to shorten the return trip.

More Information

• Amtrak’s 15 Long-Distance Routes
• 7 Essential Things to Pack for an Amtrak Trip
• Popular Amtrak destinations from Chicago

Top photo credit: Loco Steve/Flickr.com (California Zephyr train in Colorado)

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The 6 best chicago walking tours, according to reviews.

See the best Chi-Town has to offer – on your own two feet.

The 6 Best Chicago Walking Tours

Courtesy of Steven Sabourin | Inside Chicago

The Windy City is known for its interesting architecture, deep-dish pizza, specialty hot dogs and many loyal sports fans. However, getting a real feel for Chicago can be difficult if you only hit the main attractions or spend your entire trip in a single neighborhood. To gain a local's perspective, book a guided walking tour. Factoring in both traveler sentiment and expert opinion, U.S. News selected the following as the best walking tours available in Chicago.

Inside Chicago – Open Your Eyes: Chicago's Underground Pedway & Other Secrets of the Loop

Price: Adults from $30; kids from $25 Duration: 2 hours

This tour takes you throughout the city's famous Pedway (an underground network of tunnels that connects more than 50 buildings) to see the details hidden in its architecture. During the 1.5-mile walk, you'll also see above-ground treasures, such as a Picasso statue and a 1920s-era church, plus venture into multiple buildings that connect to the Pedway. Throughout the tour, helpful guides share stories of the city. Reviewers call this tour informative and surprising.

Walks are offered at 2 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday, with an additional 10 a.m. tour on Fridays and Saturdays. Other public tours from Inside Chicago include tours of individual neighborhoods and a seasonal Christmas outing.

Check prices & availability on:

Chicago Food & City Tours – Gateway to the West Loop Food Tour

Price: Adults from $85; kids from $50 Duration: 3 hours

Chicago has long been considered one of America's best foodie destinations . To sample some of the city's best bites, consider this tour from Chicago Food & City Tours. Tastings rotate, but foods could include bites of burgers, pizza, craft beer and more. As you eat your way through the West Loop, guides share stories about the neighborhood's history and culture. Travelers advise coming hungry, as there are plenty of samples.

Availability changes seasonally, but tours generally start at 1 p.m. several days a week. Tourgoers who choose the alcohol package will enjoy three drink pairings with their food, at an additional cost. The company also offers tasty trips through Chinatown, an outing inspired by "The Bear" (an FX Original TV show) and other options.

Free Tours by Foot – Lincoln Park Blues and Gangster Tour

Price: Free Duration: 2 hours

Consider this milelong walk for an in-depth overview of Chicago's famous Lincoln Park neighborhood. Guides teach patrons about the history of the neighborhood and the city's infamous gangsters while making stops at DePaul University, the Red Lion Pub and Oz Park, among other landmarks. Patrons say this trip is informative, noting they loved seeing more of the area.

This tour is free, but you can decide to tip your guide however much you want at the end. Tour times and dates vary, and reservations are required. Free Tours by Foot also operates tours of Millennium Park , a ghost tour and tours of the Riverwalk , among other options.

Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts Tour

Price: Adults from $35; kids from $17 Duration: 2 hours

Patrons say this 1.5-mile guided walk is great fun, praising the guides who expertly mix humor and gruesome stories. Tourgoers will explore haunted locations and old crime scenes where some of the city's most famous misdeeds played out. Historians are your guides, so you will learn the real story behind shady deals and infamous Chicago gangsters like Al Capone.

Tours depart daily at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Children 6 and younger can tour for free. The company also offers a gangster-themed food tour.

Bobby's Bike Hike – Chinatown Food & Culture Walking Tour

Price: Adults from $75; kids from $65 Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours

Eat your way through Chinatown on this milelong tour with Bobby's Bike Hike. You'll sample delicacies that represent five different regions of China while guides share the history of Chinese culture in Chicago. Tea, spicy chili chicken, dim sum and baked goods are just some of the treats you may try during the trip. Patrons say the outing is full of incredible food and history.

Tours typically depart at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as a 4 p.m. time slot on Fridays. Bobby’s Bike Hike also offers Chicago outings via bike and kayak, plus tours through some of the top attractions in Miami .

Free Chicago Walking Tours – Riverwalk & North Loop Tour

This tour details Chicago's history from the late 1600s to the present day, discussing the Revolutionary War, 1915's Eastland disaster and everything in between. As you walk, you'll see the Chicago River, the Jewelers Building, Heald Square Monument, the Chicago Cultural Center, Daley Plaza and an array of other important landmarks. Reviewers appreciate the pace of this tour and its knowledgeable, thoughtful guides.

Tour schedules vary by month. Your only cost is what you decide to tip your guide at the end of the tour. Free Chicago Walking Tours also operates trips through Millennium Park and less touristy parts of the city.

You may also be interested in:

• The Best Chicago Tours
• The Best Day Trips from Chicago
• The Best Chicago Boat Tours
• The Best Hotels in Chicago
• The Top Romantic Getaways in Illinois

Tags: Chicago , Travel , Tours , Vacations

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Home » Travel Guides » United States » Illinois (IL) » 15 Best Day Trips from Chicago (by a Local, 2023)

15 Best Day Trips from Chicago (by a Local, 2023)

Lying on the shores of freezing Lake Michigan the city of Chicago is one of the most iconic cities in the United States of America. The settling for hit musical ‘Chicago’ and epic TV drama series ‘The Good Wife’, Chicago is a versatile and vibrant city that has a lot to explore.Once you have ticked off Navy Pier, Millennium Park and the Willis Tower it’s time to look a little further afield.

Being right in the heart of the USA means that Chicago makes for the perfect base for further exploration. From breweries to national parks, there’s many options to choose from.

I’m a Chicago local and have explored the surrounding area extensively, so I’m sure you’re gonna enjoy my selection of the best day trips from Chicago.

1. Michigan Wine Country

Giving the well known wine regions of Sonoma and Napa a run for their money, little ole Michigan is becoming a thriving hub for vineyards and wineries. Did you know that south west Michigan has over 20 different wineries? It’s making quite the statement.

After the hustle and bustle of Chicago a day spent meandering through the vineyards and of course having your fair share of taste testing, offers a welcome contrast and a real breath of fresh air too. Michigan is home to a different species of grape; hardier to the cold than those used across France and California Michigan’s wines are distinct and rather palatable.

I’d rent a car to explore the region and map out the wineries beforehand.

2. Milwaukee

Just like Chicago, Milwaukee too lies on the shores of Lake Michigan but provides a completely different lakeside ambiance. Milwaukee is a great day trip from Michigan that I’d suggest for all the family, there’s genuinely something for everyone.

Milwaukee will be high on the bucket list of all you bikers out there for it is the home of the Harley-Davidson Museum. The Milwaukee County Zoo and Discovery World are fantastic interactive and educational places to visit with kids and have plenty to keep the adults entertained too.

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an impressive artistic structure in its own right but should you stray inside you’ll find the works of Georgia O’Keeffe and many more.

Be sure to read my guide on Milwaukee to get an idea of what this city has to offer.

If you like to get into the great outdoors and get active as much as I do then a trip to Oglesby is certainly in order. A sleepy town nestled on the conference of the Vermillion River and the Illinois River, Oglesby has a wealth of hiking and biking trails to explore.

Saddling the space between Starved Rock State Park and Matthiessen State Park outdoor enthusiasts are spoiled for choice as to where to start on a day trip to Oglesby. Everything from hiking to kayaking, from pony trekking to rafting can be arranged in this quaint town.

Home to just over 3000 people, locals are keen to offer directions and share their favorite trails with visitors.

Located just west of Milwaukee is the charming city of Madison . Home to the Wisconsin State Capitol and the truly beautiful Olbrich Botanical Gardens a day trip to Madison is steady paced and full of cultural experiences. If you’re into art then I recommend visiting the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art .

It is possible to take a tour of the State Capitol and it’s highly recommended that you do gain insights into the political system of the USA and learn about the influential historical figures who once roamed the corridors and occupied the impressive office spaces.

With Lake Monona on one side and Lake Mendota on the other there’s no escaping the lakes of the mid-west when in Madison.

But who would want to, it’s the Great Lakes region after all…

5. Michigan City

Michigan City is a thriving city that too lies on the shores of Lake Michigan; on the south-eastern side, unlike Chicago that lies on the south-west shore. The Old Lighthouse Museum is a great way to spend an afternoon and is home to a great selection of exhibits featuring local history and maritime history too. There’s some fascinating, and heartbreaking, accounts of shipwrecks from yesteryear.

The Washington Park Zoo spans over 15-acres and is home to tigers and native grizzly bears too. If you fancied an overnight trip you could explore Michigan City on day one, then before heading back to Chicago on day two, I suggest you head to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

6. North Utica

There are very few true villages in Illinois but North Utica is one of them and is something of a hidden gem . Home to just 1,300 people this sleepy village has a lot to explore.

Nestled on the border of the Starved Rock National Park, and naturally a short distance from Matthiessen State Park too, North Utica is perfect for lovers of the great outdoors.

The Illinois River Winery is a popular spot to visit and a great opportunity to expand your cellar. For those interested in local history I would recommend the La Salle County Historical Society & Museum.

7. Lake Geneva

When looking for directions be sure to confirm to your GPS that you want directions to Lake Geneva WI, not Lake Geneva in Switzerland; you’d have more than a day trip from Chicago on your hands, that’s for sure.

Should you need to stretch your legs after the 1.5 hour drive from Chicago swing by neighboring Williams Bay. From here you can stroll the length of the lake’s shore without being disturbed in the slightest.

If you want a taste of the high life then make a beeline for Baker House, an exquisite Victorian mansion built back in 1885, they serve up a delightful selection of cocktails that provide the perfect accompaniment to the view.

8. St Louis

If you’re keen to tick off as many US states as possible then a trip to St Louis would see you cross Missouri off your list. St Louis is an exciting city home to the impressive, iconic Gateway Arch.

If you don’t suffer from claustrophobia then take a trip up and round the arch itself. Not for the faint hearted but the views are well worth the heart palpitations. With your feet firmly on the ground then you can head to the Missouri Botanical Gardens or Forest Park.

St Louis has its own Hard Rock Cafe which makes for a great lunch spot. That said, for the most authentic St Louis food you should head to the Soulard district and try out one of the many BBQ restaurants.

9. Apple River Canyon

Traversing 297-acres the Apple River Canyon is quaint by name and by nature. Providing a welcome calmness away from busy Chicago Apple River Canyon can be found in northwest of the state.

Featuring lush, green, rolling hills, creeks and criss crossing rivers aplenty Apple River Canyon is a great way to reconnect with nature and escape the city smoke.

There are five main trails through the park whose condition can vary across the seasons, be sure to read the updates at the visitors center before you head out.

Avid anglers should be on the lookout for trout and bass in the rivers; such a treat.

10. The Blaum Bros Distilling Co.

The town of Galena has a rich history when it comes to distilling spirits and brewing beers, it’s quite the boozy town in fact.

If you’re keen to sample some of the best booze being produced in the midwest then a visit to the Blaum Bros Distilling Co. is a great day trip from Chicago.

Strictly for over 21s only, during the tour of the distillery you’ll not only get to sample the brother’s gin, bourbon and legendary moonshine but also learn the creation process; from grain to glass and everything in between.

The team also shares some great cocktail making tips that should be noted down.

Tucked away on the conference of the Illinois River and Fox River Ottawa is best known as being the gateway to Starved Rock State Park but it’s certainly a destination in its own right. The Dayton Bluffs Preserve is a picturesque park featuring geological bluffs and resultantly mini waterfalls in the middle of the dense forest.

If you fancy a romantic dinner then I recommend to book yourself a candlelit table at Monte’s Riverside Inn. The Sunfield Restaurant serves up cracking American classics for lunch. Well deserved after a decent hike in the Dayton Bluffs.

12. Starved Rock State Park

Voted at the number 1 attraction in all of Illinois , Starved Rock State Park is a must-visit, a highlight of all the day trips from Chicago. The hiking trails are some of the best in all of the United States of America and although some are challenging overall this is a really accessible park.

Starved Rock State Park featured a whopping 18 canyons each distinct and beautiful in their own way. Some feature waterfalls , others are speckled with moss.

The bluffs and canyons have been created by glacial meltwater that has sliced through the landscape like a hot knife through butter.

A nature lover and geography geek’s paradise, Starved Rock State Park is not to be missed.

13. Grand Rapids

Falling on the east of Lake Michigan is Grand Rapids , undoubtedly one of the best cities to live in the USA. Increasingly popular and developing fast, Grand Rapids is a modern city home to a diverse set of communities and in turn a diverse range of cultures too.

Beer lovers will be in heaven in Grand Rapids, home to dozens of craft breweries you could easily spend a day trip from Chicago sampling some of the city’s innovative and award-winning brews.

The Frederik Meijer is a real gem, a sculpture garden that spans over 158-acres and often provides a backdrop for comedy shows and live music concerts.

Depending on your preference you can either walk then drink, or drink then walk during a day trip to Sawyer. Home to a number of great craft brewing companies, namely the Greenbush Brewing Co and the Journeyman Distillery, Sawyer is a bit of a haven for small-scale liquor houses. I’ve had to pleasure of visiting and had a great (tipsy) experience.

Wine lovers shouldn’t miss a chance to visit and learn about the winemaking process at Round Barn Winery that lies just outside Sawyer township. You’ve got to earn your booze so before you take your place at the bar perhaps spend a morning exploring the Warren Dunes State Park and swish your toes between the soft, creamy sand. What better way to work up a thirst?

15. Indianapolis

If you’re an avid city slicker then a day trip to Indianapolis from Chicago will certainly keep the city vibes in check. Engine enthusiasts may be interested in visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the world’s largest racetrack; pretty impressive.

The White River State Park in the heart of Indianapolis is a lovely, calm way to spend an afternoon. Featuring water features, gardens and more you can explore the park however you choose. Throughout the park there are vendors offering bicycles for hire and gondola rides too.

Should you be feeling a little more adventurous then hire a Segway and whizz around the smooth paved paths, great fun.

Check out my guide on Indianapolis .

15 Best Day Trips from Chicago (by a Local, 2023):

• Michigan Wine Country
• Michigan City
• North Utica
• Lake Geneva
• Apple River Canyon
• The Blaum Bros Distilling Co.
• Starved Rock State Park
• Grand Rapids
• Indianapolis

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Harris-Walz to kick off 'Road to Chicago' bus tour from Pittsburgh Sunday

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz will kick off a bus tour from Pittsburgh Sunday, stopping in multiple Western Pennsylvania spots.

The tour, dubbed "on the Road to Chicago," comes the day before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago, the Harris-Walz campaign told USA TODAY Wednesday.

The candidates' spouses Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz will join them on the tour, the first time all four are campaigning together. The group will focus on meeting voters in their communities, stopping at volunteer canvass events and local retailers.

This will be Harris' eighth visit to Pennsylvania this year. The tour is scheduled after Harris is expected to make her first policy-centered speech in Raleigh, North Carolina Friday.

More: Coach Walz's primetime debut: Four takeaways from the first Harris-Walz rally

Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state

Pennsylvania provides 19 electoral votes (one less than it did in 2020). It was one of a handful of states that switched its vote from Donald Trump in 2016 to the Democratic Party in 2020.

In 2016, Trump won the state by less than 50,000 votes, beating Hillary Clinton with 48.6% of the vote compared to 47.9% of the vote for Clinton.

In 2020, President Joe Biden won 50% of the votes, beating Trump who won 48.8% of the vote.

Harris has already made several campaign stops in Pennsylvania, including her first appearance with running mate Walz. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was another top contender for vice president.

When is the Democratic National Convention?

Harris' western Pennsylvania tour comes as many others in the party are headed to Chicago for the DNC.

The DNC is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 19 through Thursday Aug. 22.

Country star Luke Bryan's tour truck gets stuck under downtown bridge ahead of Chicago show

One of Luke Bryan's tour semi-trucks appears to have gotten stuck under a bridge in Chicago ahead of his show at Wrigley Field. ( Christopher Norton )

CHICAGO - An equipment semi-truck from country star Luke Bryan's tour got stuck under a bridge in downtown Chicago ahead of his show at Wrigley Field this weekend.

A bystander captured images of the stuck semi-truck Saturday morning under a bridge at Irving and DuSable Lake Shore Drive and shared them on Reddit . 

Bryan is set to perform at Wrigley Field on Aug. 25 as part of his "Mind of a Country Boy Tour," which features special guests Bailey Zimmerman, Tracy Lawrence, and Chayce Beckham.

Tickets are still available for the show. For more details, follow this link . 

This incident is not the first time one of Bryan's tour trucks has made headlines. 

Back in 2017, an equipment truck from his tour struck an overpass on a Long Island parkway, according to a report from the Associated Press . The incident happened hours after his performance at Jones Beach Theatre.

No injuries were reported in that incident. 

The truck that became stuck in Chicago remained at the scene for several hours. It is unclear if this will impact Bryan's performance on Sunday.

This is a developing story and we'll bring more details as they become available. 

An equipment semi-truck from country star Luke Bryan's tour got stuck under a bridge in downtown Chicago ahead of his show at Wrigley Field this weekend. (Photos courtesy of Christopher Norton)

Music and Concerts | Review: It’s the Out of This World tour, and…

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Music and concerts | review: it’s the out of this world tour, and that’s what missy elliott delivers.

Pretty remarkable, considering the 53-year-old artist revealed late in the concert that she battled a migraine before hitting the stage and, during the same brief speech, claimed the headache prevented her from being at her best. If true, the breakneck pace and lyrical control she maintained were even more impressive. Elliott also deserves credit for truth in advertising. Dubbed Out of This World: The Experience, the jaunt — which culminates with the Chicago dates — lived up to the lofty promises implied by its name.

The highly visual event presented a series of environments — outer-space galaxies, inner-city streets, rural cornfields, underwater regions, loud circuses, celebratory parades — that Elliott, a squad of 20 dancers, a hype man and a narrator/jester navigated with vibrant flair, panache and color. Did everything make sense or seamlessly connect? No, and nothing suffered because of it. Indeed, the opposite was true. The wild, imaginative leaps only elevated the sense of wonder and delight.

True to her history, Elliott promoted the allure of unlimited possibility and unrestricted creativity. Those facets encompassed a fascinating assembly of inventive costumes. Glitter-encrusted tracksuits, umbrella hats, fluorescent faux-fur trim, graffiti-scrawled jackets, blonde wigs, arm-length gloves, a coat with exaggerated puffy bags and a long train that any bride would envy: Designer fashion shows have nothing on Elliott or her entourage.

Even when sporting a wraparound visor over her eyes or a variation on a motorcycle helmet on her head, Elliott channeled her emotions in the form of glowing smiles that no accessory or dim lighting could conceal. The rapper radiated pure joy and indomitable confidence. She embraced every moment, and carried herself not as a contented legend but as a visionary still eager to prove her merit.

Since hip hop evolves at such a rapid clip, and because Elliott last dropped a full-length LP in 2005, it’s easy to forget the outsized impact she registered on contemporary music and style in the late ’90s and early aughts. That influence began before she issued her first album. Following an initial stint in an all-women group, she took on songwriting and production roles for several leading R&B talents, including Aaliyah, who she remembered from the stage Thursday. Elliott leveraged her behind-the-scenes success to land her own record imprint on a major label — an unheard-of feat during a male-dominant era.

Beginning with her 1997 “Supa Dupa Fly” record, the Virginia native spent the next decade redefining hip hop and breaking glass ceilings. Her singles, albums and videos seemed to emanate from a distant universe. She exploded creative boundaries, advanced avante garde elements, welcomed humor and espoused feminine, sex-positive and healthy body-image concepts largely absent from the mainstream. Elliott dared to be different and, by extension, gave everyone permission to be comfortable with their own identity.

Though the solo records stopped arriving nearly two decades ago as Elliott contended with Graves’ disease, she continued collaborating with contemporaries and adding to a stacked legacy. An array of Grammy, MTV and BET awards preceded a high-profile outing at the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. The phenom also known as “Misdemeanor” later became the only female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She replicated that accomplishment last year with her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

That honor often implies the feted artist is ready to settle into the victory-lap phase of their career. Elliott gave no such indication such a thought crossed her mind. Save for one short DJ interlude, the concert unfolded akin to a thrilling roller coaster that feels like it lasts for just a few dozen seconds before coming to a halt. And then, all you want to do is ride it again. No matter when or where you looked onstage, movement ensued. Out in the audience, where LED bracelets — handed to patrons at the entrances — pulsed in sync to select beats.

Elliott and company barely allowed anyone time to process what they saw before another track started or a different setting emerged. A large, curved backdrop screen handled a bottomless grab bag of multimedia visuals that referenced lyrics, advanced loose narratives or nodded to the past. Five ovular lighting rigs doubled as video screens that often projected live footage. A variety of risers, lifts and props provided depth and surprise. For “Gossip Folks,” Elliott floated above the crowd on a circular platform. On “Beep Me 911,” she spun on the mobile equivalent of an ottoman.

Those marked the rare occasions where Elliott appeared somewhat contained. Aside from standing off to the side and admiring the efforts of a Chicago footwork crew that supplied an apt prelude to a cover of “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” she remained in constant motion. Elliott bounded, pranced, strolled, strutted, swayed, shook, swung, stepped. Her vigor mirrored the feverish transitions at hand. She abbreviated a majority of songs. Though focusing on snippets tends to give material short shrift, Elliott used the approach to her advantage by underlining her strident swagger and crafty phrasing.

Syllabic and smooth, crisp and clear, rolled and rhymed: Elliott’s deliveries landed as direct hits to the hips and head. Distinct from a wide swath of younger rappers she influenced, Elliott relied on skill — not bared skin. She wore pants for the entire show and refrained from now-ubiquitous twerking, going as far as sending up the contagious “WTF (Where They From)” as a thinly veiled dig at the cheapening and co-opting of techniques she helped standardize.

Elliott put on a clinic not just with her choreographed interactions with the tireless dance team, but with hypnotic flow that juggled clever onomatopoeia, backwards lines, off-balance rhythms, sing-spoken passages and hyper-speed shifts. She fully backed the braggadocio of cuts like “I’m Really Hot,” “She’s a Bitch” and “Cool Off.” On “Sock It 2 Me,” “One Minute Man” and “Meltdown,” she flipped the traditional script of erotic fantasies to that of a woman’s perspective.

To amplify the party atmosphere and pay homage to her roots, Elliott brought three of her longtime friends — Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Ciara — along as openers and, later, as guests at the end of the show. Yet Elliott required no further assistance. Visions of her as a space cadet, queen of an underworld and leader of men functioned on an entirely different, and superior, wavelength. Ditto her subtle blending of cues from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Mad Max” and familiar theme parks to help orchestrate refreshingly original, whirlwind adventure through the world’s coolest club.

Long may her freak flag fly.

Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.

Setlist from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on Aug. 22: “Throw It Back” “Cool Off” “We Run This” “4 My People” “Sock It 2 Me” “I’m Really Hot” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” “I’m Better” “She’s a Bitch” “Gossip Folks” “All N My Grill” “Get Ur Freak On” “Lick Shots” “One Minute Man” “Hot Boyz” “Beep Me 911” “DripDemeanor” “Meltdown” “Bad Man” “Ching-A-Ling” “WTF (Where They From)” “Work It” “Pass That Dutch” “Up Jumps Da Boogie” (Timbaland & Magoo cover) “Touch It” (Busta Rhymes cover) “Lose Control”

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Swiftie from N.H. skips Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in London to attend DNC in Chicago instead

Siena schaier, 18, an incoming first-year student at the university of new hampshire, said the choice was “incredibly difficult.”.

Siena Schaier had tickets to see Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” Tuesday night in London. Attending the concert was supposed to be a high school graduation gift from her parents.

But the 18-year-old from Durham, N.H., decided to skip the superstar’s final night on stage at Wembley Stadium and head to Chicago instead for the Democratic National Convention , which began Monday.

“It was definitely an incredibly difficult decision,” she said, “but ultimately I knew that, if I want my voice to be heard and I want to make a change, this is one of the first steps to doing that.”

Schaier said she is a big fan of Swift, but her passion for politics won out, especially as she considered her long-term goals. (Don’t worry: She found friends willing to take the tickets off her hands.)

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Schaier said she discovered her love for politics while participating in the US Senate page program a few summers ago in Washington, D.C., where she and fellow high school students spent about a month working on the Senate floor.

“I would sit there, and I would listen to the Republicans talk,” she said, “and I just had such an awakening, where I just didn’t like what they were saying, and I knew I wanted to make a change.”

Schaier, who will begin studying political science at the University of New Hampshire this fall, said she wants to run for a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2026. She asked a leader with the New Hampshire Young Democrats about how to lay the groundwork for such a campaign, and they suggested she pursue an internship to gain some on-the-ground perspective in 2024.

That’s how she found out about The Blue Lab , a Boston-based political incubator partnering with the New Hampshire Democratic Party to support the coordinated campaign for Democratic candidates running in various races. She’s getting paid $15 per hour as an associate. She also was selected to put her page skills to use at the DNC in Chicago. That work includes supporting delegates who may need assistance during the events, such as by fetching water or snacks or holding seats.

“But really the main purpose of the page program for the DNC is to give young people who are interested in politics the opportunity to be on the floor during such an exciting time of the year,” she said.

Schaier said she was looking forward to former president Barack Obama’s speech Tuesday night.

“I’ve never seen him speak live, and I’m just so excited. People have been comparing the energy of this election to his election back in 2008, and I’m really excited to hear him speak in the arena,” said Schaier, who was a toddler when Obama won his first presidential term.

Schaier said she also was excited to hear vice presidential candidate Tim Walz on Wednesday, but she wouldn’t be able to stay to hear from Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Thursday. She would be moving into her college dorm that day.

Schaier said she aims to promote political engagement and voter registration among her peers at UNH and hopes to build a career in politics thereafter, perhaps by supporting federal officeholders or becoming one herself.

“I think young people seeing other young people being super passionate about this will make them more passionate,” she said. “We just need to keep speaking out and using our voices.”

Dive deeper

• Democrats gather in Chicago with newfound unity behind Kamala Harris
• Analysis: The DNC will mark one final humiliation for Joe Biden
• The DNC might feature a lot of white pantsuits. It’s not just fashion.

This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @reporterporter .

Election Updates: Harris and Walz Tour Pennsylvania Ahead of Convention

Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, embarked on a bus tour of the critical battleground state a day before Democrats open their national convention in Chicago.

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Simon J. Levien Michael Gold and Jazmine Ulloa

Here’s the latest on the presidential race.

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, rallied volunteers during a bus tour in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that could decide November’s election. Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz, along with their spouses, greeted supporters in Pittsburgh before a stop in Rochester, where Ms. Harris thanked volunteers for their efforts.

Both campaigns are focusing intently on Pennsylvania. Former President Donald J. Trump — who won the state by a slim margin in 2016 but lost it to President Biden in 2020 — visited Wilkes-Barre on Saturday , attacking Democratic policies as “fascist” and calling illegal immigrants “savage monsters.” Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, will also be in Pennsylvania on Monday, making separate campaign stops in York and Philadelphia.

Here’s what else to know:

Democratic convention: Delegates and party leaders will begin to fete Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz as the Democratic Party’s nominees on Monday, when the convention’s first day will include a speech by Mr. Biden . The party on Sunday announced the themes for each of the convention’s four nights .

Republican messaging: Mr. Vance suggested in an interview on Fox News that he didn’t believe the recent polls showing Ms. Harris ahead or newly competitive in swing states, and said putting her in charge of inflation policy would be like “giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy.” Two prominent Republicans, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, expressed frustration with the campaign’s focus on personal attacks on Ms. Harris. “Every day we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president and what she would do as president is a good day for her and a bad day for us,” Mr. Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Walz goes home: Mr. Walz represented the Democratic ticket at a rally in his native Nebraska on Saturday, playing up his roots as the Harris campaign courts rural, working-class and moderate voters. Although solidly Republican, Nebraska is one of two states (along with Maine) that award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. The state’s Second District, which encompasses Omaha and is known as Nebraska’s blue dot, is a swing region that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and Mr. Biden in 2020.

More helicopter fallout: Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, threatened to sue Mr. Trump if the former president continued to say falsely that they once nearly died together in a helicopter ride. Mr. Trump has not spoken about the helicopter incident since Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman who, like Mr. Brown, is Black, said he took a rocky helicopter ride with Mr. Trump in 1990 and speculated that the former president might have confused the two men. Mr. Brown said he wanted to make sure that Mr. Trump stayed quiet.

Swing states back in play: Four diverse swing states that seemed to be drifting toward Mr. Trump when Mr. Biden was in the race are now in play for Democrats, according to polling from The New York Times and Siena College . In Arizona, Ms. Harris has established a four-percentage-point lead on Mr. Trump, the surveys found, while she leads by two points in North Carolina; Mr. Trump has a one-point lead in Nevada and a four-point lead in Georgia.

Nicholas Nehamas

Reporting from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago

Democrats unveil their convention platform, with familiar themes.

Democrats released their party platform on Sunday, unveiling a document that offers plenty of political comfort food for a newly energized party ahead of its convention in Chicago.

As a sign of what Democrats believe will mobilize their forces — and the head-spinning transformation that has remade their presidential ticket — the document mentions former President Donald J. Trump’s name 150 times.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the new nominee who has brought her party back together after a bruising internal fight over President Biden’s candidacy, is mentioned by name just 32 times.

The platform seems intended to avoid stirring any controversy that could derail that fresh feeling of unity.

At the top of the list of issues that could threaten the party’s cohesiveness is the war in Gaza. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are descending on Chicago, and roughly 30 delegates representing the Democratic primary voters who opposed Mr. Biden, mostly in protest over Gaza, will attend the convention, which begins on Monday.

The platform repeats a traditional Democratic message supporting Israel, condemning the brutal Oct. 7 assault by Hamas and backing “an immediate and lasting cease-fire deal” that will return hostages still being held by the terrorist group and address “the displacement and death of so many innocent people in Gaza.”

Democrats will vote to approve the platform on Monday evening. It was passed by the party’s platform committee, a group of party insiders, with wider input from “community leaders from coalitions across the Democratic Party,” according to the Democratic National Committee.

On other issues, the platform represents a predictable collection of Democratic policy priorities, including calls to make investments in infrastructure and manufacturing; to cut taxes on working families while making big corporations and the wealthy “finally pay their fair share”; and to fight climate change.

Another section addresses efforts to lower costs on everyday items like food, housing and health care, in similar terms to the economic agenda that Ms. Harris rolled out last week . And there are also calls to protect abortion rights, restore democratic norms and combat gun violence.

On the other side, Mr. Trump took a direct hand this summer in reshaping — and shrinking the size — of the Republican platform, which focuses more on his own priorities than on a traditional laundry list of policies.

The Democratic platform says that Mr. Trump’s vision for the country is one of “revenge and retribution,” a reflection of the party’s attempt to make the 2024 election a referendum on the former president.

And demonstrating the dramatically changed circumstances of the race since Ms. Harris took over the ticket, the party’s former presumptive nominee, Mr. Biden, is mentioned by name 287 times.

The platform also contains 19 references to his “second term.”

Lisa Lerer , Reid J. Epstein , Shane Goldmacher and Chris Cameron contributed reporting.

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Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Nicholas Nehamas

Rebecca Davis O’Brien reported from Pittsburgh, and Nicholas Nehamas reported from Washington.

Harris and Walz venture into less-friendly terrain to court Pennsylvania voters.

Before their convention this week that will signal the final sprint to November, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, headed out on a brief bus tour on Sunday to fire up voters in perhaps the most crucial battleground state in the 2024 election.

As they toured western Pennsylvania, their play for support beyond the state’s more liberal cities was apparent at the team’s first stop, a field office in Rochester, Pa., in the largely conservative Beaver County: Ms. Harris picked up a volunteer’s cellphone to speak with a resident from Erie, a northwestern city in one of the state’s swingiest counties, which Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 but Joseph R. Biden Jr. won four years later.

“I love Erie,” Ms. Harris said. “At some point we’ll get to Erie.”

Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz were joined on the outing by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, traveling in two new campaign buses from the Pittsburgh airport, where they arrived on Air Force Two to greet a small group of supporters.

The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas are the two main drivers of Democratic support in Pennsylvania, a state whose 19 electoral votes could decide the presidency. Recent polling shows a neck-and-neck race there between Ms. Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, with some surveys showing Ms. Harris gaining a narrow edge recently.

Mr. Trump is also increasing his presence in Pennsylvania: On Saturday he held a rally in Wilkes-Barre and another is set in York on Monday, while Senator JD Vance of Ohio, his running mate, campaigns in Philadelphia.

Both candidates have used their trips in the state to make attacks.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters outside the Rochester campaign office on Sunday, Ms. Harris appeared to suggest that Mr. Trump was a “coward” — just a day after he had called her a “radical” and a “lunatic” in Wilkes-Barre.

“Over the last several years there’s been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,” Ms. Harris said — though she did not name Mr. Trump. “Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”

President Biden often preferred to campaign in Philadelphia, by far the state’s largest metro area. The city is easily reached from Washington and close to his home state of Delaware, nestled in friendly territory surrounded by counties he carried in 2020 .

Outside Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh sits, western Pennsylvania is less hospitable to Democrats, and Ms. Harris’s visit there suggests she may branch out more than Mr. Biden did.

“God bless them, they need to,” Nancy Cannon, a retired teacher who showed up at the Pittsburgh airport, said of the campaign’s planned visits. She described a landscape of Trump supporters, where she knew of Democrats who were afraid to put out their own lawn signs. “Maybe they would feel more supported,” she said, if Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz showed up.

Ms. Cannon said Ms. Harris’s swift ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket had given a jolt of energy to her family and friends. “I love Joe. But I am happier to see a younger person. I feel like this is an Obama moment.”

The trip points to the Democratic hopes that Mr. Walz can help the party reach working-class voters outside the big cities. The suburbs and small towns surrounding Pittsburgh resemble areas in Minnesota where Mr. Walz has performed well in his previous races.

One campaign stop on Sunday was also a clear effort to tap into Mr. Walz’s personal history: a football practice at Aliquippa High School in a former steel town with many Black residents that has struggled economically for decades. Mr. Walz’s own experience as a high school football coach has been a touchstone of the campaign so far, with Ms. Harris occasionally referring to him as “Coach Walz.”

Mr. Walz told the team he “remembered every single call” from his team’s state football championship. He and Ms. Harris were joined at the event by Jerome Bettis, the Hall of Fame running back who won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Bettis, nicknamed The Bus, was a surprise, if appropriately named, addition to the Harris-Walz motor coach tour, which also made short stops at a nearby firehouse, a Sheetz gas station and Primanti Bros., a beloved chain of sandwich shops founded in Pittsburgh.

“The way you win elections in Pennsylvania is literally going everywhere,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who is from the Pittsburgh area. “Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, but all the small communities in between.”

Mr. Davis also said that Ms. Harris would find a welcome audience in the working-class region for the economic agenda she rolled out last week that focused on lowering the costs of everyday life and cutting taxes for working families.

Conor Lamb, a Democrat who once represented a congressional district outside Pittsburgh, said Mr. Biden had become well known to many Pennsylvania voters, thanks to his decades of service as a senator in neighboring Delaware, an advantage Ms. Harris does not possess.

Mr. Lamb said that the bus tour reflected the fact that Democrats had learned their lesson from Mrs. Clinton losing the state after focusing most of her campaign on the major cities.

“You can’t just do Philly and Pittsburgh and rely on social media,” Mr. Lamb said.

And he agreed that Ms. Harris’s economic plans would be popular in places like Rochester, a small town once known for its glassmaking factories that sits in his old district.

“Some of the things that she laid out in that speech — the child tax credit, extending health care subsidies — all that kind of stuff is just universal,” Mr. Lamb said. “That should do as well in Rochester as it does in the heart of the city of Pittsburgh. And I’ve felt in the past that Democrats were a little bit afraid to go on the offense in those areas.”

Vice President Kamala suggested that former President Donald J. Trump was a “coward” during a stop on her campaign bus tour through western Pennsylvania on Sunday. Without naming Trump, Harris said that some people believe “the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,” a point of view she labeled a “perversion.” And she countered that “the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”

Ken Bensinger

Social media influencers will have guest spots, and choice seats, at the Democrats’ convention.

A speaking slot at a national party’s nominating convention is among the most coveted prizes in American politics, offering veteran officeholders and up-and-comers alike the chance to speak to — and be seen by — an entire nation.

At the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago, five of those rare slots will go to a group that most likely would be unfamiliar to previous convention planners: social media influencers.

Convention officials said each night would include at least one influencer. The speakers are Deja Foxx, Nabela Noor, Carlos Eduardo Espina, Olivia Julianna and John Russell, a group of millennial and Gen Z influencers who, collectively, have well over 24 million social media followers.

They will speak on the same podium as President Biden; the Democratic nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota; and party luminaries, including two former presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, among others.

“This feels very affirming,” said Ms. Foxx, 24, a reproductive rights activist from Arizona who worked on Ms. Harris’s first presidential campaign. She’ll speak about abortion rights on Monday night in a program that will also feature Mr. Biden. “I don’t take it lightly that I’m speaking on the same night as the president of the United States,” she said.

These speakers represent a significant shift for the convention and underscore the Democratic Party’s efforts to speak to voters whose news diet exists outside traditional media. Last month, a conservative influencer, the actress and model Amber Rose, spoke on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

The speaker roster at conventions tends to mix elected officials with entertainment figures and regular citizens who can speak to particular policy issues. The Republicans’ convention last month featured a number of people the party called “Everyday Americans,” who discussed topics including immigration, inflation and crime.

A study by the Pew Research Center last year found that almost half of Americans get some of their news from social media and that a third of adults under 30 get their news from TikTok.

To help chase those potential voters, the D.N.C. has, for the first time, granted credentials to more than 200 influencers, offering them the kind of wide-ranging access to events and people traditionally provided only to the press. It’s also giving them a special “creator platform” within the convention venue in Chicago, the United Center: a special V.I.P. box directly above the arena floor.

Providing influencers time onstage gives them the chance to repost clips of their speeches to their own social media accounts as well as the feeds of other influencers watching the show, all in pursuit of the modern media era’s most valuable prize of all: virality.

“ Content creators are a vehicle to reach new audiences, not just through their content, but through their unique ability to speak authentically to their own communities,” said Emily Soong, a spokeswoman for the convention.

Ms. Foxx said she was first approached by organizers a few weeks ago and has since worked with a campaign speechwriter to hone her presentation. “I was pretty nervous but now I’m feeling really ready,” she said. “I’ve been running through my speech every day.”

The lineup on Tuesday night will include Ms. Noor, a Muslim American known for her makeup tutorials, cooking videos and frank talk about her challenging journey to motherhood. With more than 11 million followers spread across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, she will speak on a night whose theme, “A Bold Vision for America’s Future,” is meant to draw contrasts between the Harris-Walz ticket and their Republican rivals, Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

For Wednesday’s program, Mr. Espina, the son of Latin American immigrants who has amassed a huge following on TikTok with his videos about news, politics, food and soccer, will talk about immigration. Although he normally posts in Spanish, he is expected to deliver his remarks in English.

That night will also include Ms. Julianna, who has called herself “a plus-size queer Latina from rural Southeast Texas” and gained a following from her involvement in Gen-Z for Change , a youth-oriented political activism group. Her top issues include climate change and, like Ms. Foxx, abortion access.

“Peer to peer organizing is one of the most powerful tools we have in our democracy,” said Ms. Julianna, whose speech topic will be “freedom.” For years I’ve spoken directly to my fellow young Americans through my social media pages, knocking doors for Democratic candidates, and rallying for fundamental freedoms across the country.”

During the convention’s final night, which organizers are describing, thematically, as a narrative about how the 2024 election is a fight “for our future,” Mr. Russell, a self-described “dirtbag journalist” will have a chance to speak.

Based in West Virginia, he worked on rural policy and engagement for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign in 2020, ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and has built a following on his progressive coverage of the industrial Midwest and his strong support of labor unions. In his social media bios, he describes himself as “biased for the working class.”

Maggie Astor

Spotted on the streets of downtown Chicago as Democrats gather for their convention: huge circular decals on the sidewalk, of the sort that marked six-foot distances early in the pandemic, with a QR code and big lettering that reads “Are You a Disappointed Dem?” The fine print says they’re paid for by American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign.

Jazmine Ulloa and Chris Cameron

Jazmine Ulloa reported from Washington, and Chris Cameron reported from Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky.

Vance defends his unsubstantiated claims about immigration and crime.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, on Friday defended his past unsubstantiated claims about immigration in which he suggested that early waves of Italian, Irish and German immigration led to higher crime and interethnic conflict, by citing the movie “Gangs of New York.”

At a campaign event before the Milwaukee Police Association, Mr. Vance was asked about the comments — which have resurfaced in recent days — from a 2021 interview with the far-right podcaster Jack Murphy, and whether he would have prescribed the kind of mass deportations then that he and former President Donald J. Trump have made central to their platform now.

Mr. Vance mostly skirted the question on removals, but he stood by his comments on crime and ethnic and interethnic conflict, pointing to the Martin Scorsese film that depicts gang violence between Irish migrants and nativist Protestant Americans.

“Well, first of all, I also said there were a lot of benefits to that wave of immigration, but has anybody ever seen the movie ‘Gangs of New York’? That’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.”

Later, he added: “What happens when you have massive amounts of illegal immigration? It actually starts to create ethnic conflict. It creates higher crime rates.”

Asked to provide evidence for the claims, a campaign spokeswoman pointed to a report from an anti-immigration think tank that argues crimes committed by immigrants are underestimated because many crimes go unreported, and to a rise in violence in Minnesota that the authorities have attributed to a rivalry between East African gangs in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Since the nation’s founding, nativist politicians and anti-immigrant activists have sought to conflate immigration with crime. But historians and criminologists say there are no empirical studies to support claims like those made by Mr. Vance. The studies that do exist have repeatedly concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. A 2023 study by researchers at Stanford, Princeton and other major institutions found that, since 1880, immigrants have not been more likely to be imprisoned than people born in the United States. And as immigration into the United States has increased, crime has decreased in recent years.

Tyler Anbinder, a historian who wrote the book “City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York,” and served as a historical adviser for the movie “Gangs of New York,” said immigrants in New York during the film’s time period and since have not committed crime disproportionate to their population numbers and have almost always been arrested at lower rates than natives.

“Immigrants are so happy to be in America,” Mr. Anbinder said, adding that one of the main reasons immigrants commit less crimes than natives is “because they don’t want to be deported.”

Alex R. Piquero, a criminology professor at University of Miami and a former director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, said Mr. Vance was also wrong to raise concerns about “ethnic enclaves.” Immigrants — regardless of the time period or ethnic background — tend to cluster in neighborhoods where they have relatives, know others who can speak their native language and can feel secure in their new environment.

“What’s very peculiar about these statements is that those ethnic enclaves do not breed crime,” he said of Mr. Vance’s stance, adding that “they actually serve as a protective buffer from crime.”

In his remarks, Mr. Vance also argued for a return to early 20th-century thinking when he said the United States was “welcoming country to immigrants” but Americans realized that the nation “could only take so many people,” arguing that deportations would benefit the country.

“I think that will promote assimilation and a common American culture that’s in the best interest of everybody,” he said.

But in arguing that more immigrants lead to higher crime and ethnic conflict, historians said, Mr. Vance was echoing arguments that American nativists have used since at least the 19th century to classify and marginalize some demographic groups as racially inferior, genetically predisposed to crime and unable to be assimilated.

Those negative stereotypes and misconceptions — once centered on certain Europeans but more recently focused on Mexicans and Latino migrants — have fueled prejudice and led to more extreme treatment of immigrants by government officials, police, the courts and the press.

In “Gangs of New York,” the most ruthless killer is the nativist who disdains immigrants, Mr. Anbinder said. But Mr. Vance appears to associate the Irish immigrants in the movie with the violence, he added.

“Throughout American history, those who fear or hate immigrants have always wanted to speak of them and scapegoat them as bringing crime to America,” Mr. Anbinder said. “What Vance is doing is not much different now.”

Anushka Patil

Harris, Walz and their spouses gave brief remarks to campaign workers and joined phone banking efforts during a stop in Rochester, in Beaver County, on their way through western Pennsylvania. “Hopefully I’ll see you in Erie at some point,” Harris told one person on the phone. Gwen Walz told volunteers that she loved the state — “I think I might want to spend a lot of time here,” she quipped.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota walked a line of supporters for several minutes here in Pittsburgh, shaking hands and taking selfies, then boarded one of the new campaign buses waiting for them without making remarks. This will be quite an unmistakable caravan through western Pennsylvania.

Air Force Two has pulled up to the hangar here in Pittsburgh, emerging from the low fog and the pouring rain that set in moments after the plane landed. The rain was brief, however, and the sun has returned.

A small crowd of supporters has gathered here at the Pittsburgh airport, where Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz will land, speak, and set off in two new campaign buses for an afternoon of small campaign stops around western Pennsylvania. Outside Pittsburgh and the rest of Allegheny County, this is Republican territory. But the trip suggests that Democrats feel they can pick up support here, particularly with Walz on the ticket.

Neil Vigdor

A campaign adviser for Cornel West, the long-shot independent presidential candidate, said that West’s team would be going to court to fight his disqualification from the ballot in Michigan, where state election officials said his nominating paperwork had several omissions. The adviser, Edwin DeJesus, said the oversights, flagged by a former Michigan Democratic Party chairman, were “trivial technicalities” raised in “a desperate move by the D.N.C. and their affiliates.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago told ABC News that city officials were ready for the convention and that he expected pro-Palestinian protests to remain peaceful. “This is a party that can handle protest and protecting the First Amendment right, which is fundamental to our democracy, while also strengthening our democracy and speaking to the future of our country,” he said.

Maya C. Miller

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Donald Trump’s campaign should focus far more on Kamala Harris’s policy choices — like backtracking on her opposition to fracking — rather than personal attacks about her race, gender and intelligence.

“I don’t look at Vice President Harris as a lunatic,” Graham said. “A nightmare for Harris is to defend her policy choices. Every day we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president and what she would do as president is a good day for her and a bad day for us.”

Graham also walked back a previous criticism of the G.O.P. policy platform, which excluded a national abortion ban for the first time in 40 years. Instead of standing behind his assertion that Republicans would be “net losers” if they weakened their support for such a ban, Graham tried to downplay the role that abortion and reproductive rights — widely seen as winning issues for Democrats — would play in the election.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" that she thought people were “reading too much into” Kamala Harris’s proposal to ban price gouging . “I think it speaks to Kamala Harris’s values, that she wants consumers to keep more money in their pockets,” she said, adding: “We know we have to have business growth in this country, small-business growth, big-business growth, for good-paying jobs. But we also know that you can’t gouge and hurt the American consumer just to pad your bottom line, and I think there’s a balance there.”

Whitmer said she would not “second-guess” Kamala Harris’s curt response to pro-Palestinian protesters at a recent rally in Detroit. Harris told the demonstrators: “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.” Convention organizers are preparing for mass demonstrations this week in Chicago.

“I can tell you this: Kamala Harris cares about every person,” Whitmer said. “You can both want peace in the region and a cessation of violence, and the return of hostages. We are a country that continually falls into these false choices. You can do both, and I think that’s why we need a leader like her.”

JD Vance, who has been leaning into the claim that Harris has controlled the Biden administration from the start, told Shannon Bream on Fox News: “The most absurd thing that Kamala says at her rallies is, ‘On Day 1, I’m going to tackle the food and housing affordability crisis in this country.’ Shannon, Day 1 for Kamala Harris was three and a half years ago.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, said on ABC’s “This Week” that she was “comfortable” with adding $1.7 trillion to the federal deficit through Vice President Harris’s new economic proposal, because Congress could close the budget gap by letting Donald Trump’s 2017 tax breaks expire. “What we need to do is get rid of Trump tax cuts for the wealthy,” Duckworth said. “We need to go after the wealthiest of Americans who don’t pay their fair share.” Harris has promised to provide up to $25,000 for first-time home buyers, cancel student debt, extend the child tax credit and cut taxes on service workers’ tips.

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will deliver a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, according to a statement from its organizers. The statement did not specify on what night she would speak. Former President Barack Obama is also expected to give remarks.

Fox News asked Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a co-chair of the Harris campaign, whether Kamala Harris’s proposal to ban price gouging was “communist in nature.” He responded: “Presidents of both parties have tried to use the power of the F.T.C. to rein in high prices at the pump, high prices at grocery stores. I think picking this one proposal of the many she’s put out misses the broader point, which is that Vice President Harris is continuing the work of President Biden in reducing costs faced by working Americans.”

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, suggested on Fox News that he didn’t believe the recent polls showing Kamala Harris ahead or newly competitive in swing states because polls overestimated support for Democrats in 2016 and 2020. (He didn’t mention the 2022 midterms, when the opposite was true .)

Vance said on Fox News: “Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policy, it’s like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy. The American people are much smarter than that. They don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris represents a fresh start. She is more of the same.”

Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has criticized Trump but is now supporting him , expressed frustration that Trump was attacking Harris’s intelligence instead of her economic proposals. “Almost any other Republican candidate would be winning this race by 10 points,” he said on CNN. “If you stick to the issues, if you stick to what matters, this should be an easy race for Donald Trump. It really should.”

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said on CNN's “State of the Union” that he believed Vice President Kamala Harris had “energized the party in a way that I haven’t seen certainly since ’08.” He added: “I’ve been to every convention since I was able to vote, and I can say I’ve not felt this kind of energy and electricity at any convention other than the one for Barack Obama.”

Pritzker said he wasn’t worried about a repeat of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, where ideological divisions split the party and the police attacked protesters. He said the party had “coalesced” around its candidate in a way it hadn’t in 1968, and he said of pro-Palestinian protesters: “If there are troublemakers, they’re going to get arrested and they’re going to get convicted. But the fact is that the vast majority of people who are protesting, and we’ve seen this before, are peaceful protesters. They want to have their voices heard. They’re going to be heard, no doubt about it, and we’re going to protect them.”

Here are the themes for the Democratic convention.

Democrats will raise the curtain on their national convention on Monday in Chicago, punctuating weeks of extraordinary volatility in the presidential race that included a reset at the top of the party’s ticket.

Vice President Kamala Harris clinched the party’s nomination this month in a virtual roll call held after President Biden had withdrawn from the race. She then selected Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate.

On Sunday, the party revealed the themes for each of the four nights of the convention:

Monday : “For the People” — President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, are scheduled to speak on the opening night of the convention, one that party officials said would focus on the record of the Biden-Harris administration and the president’s decades of public service. Organizers said the program would lean into a narrative that Mr. Biden has put the American people’s interest ahead of his own. On July 21, he became the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 not to seek a second term.

Tuesday: “A Bold Vision for America’s Future” — Democrats will seek to draw a contrast between what they said was the party’s optimism and the drumbeat from Republicans who say that the country’s best days are behind it. They will also try to make former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, take ownership of Project 2025, a right-wing playbook for reshaping the federal government that the Republican ticket has sought to distance itself from.

Wednesday: “A Fight for Our Freedoms” — Mr. Walz will formally accept the Democratic nomination for vice president on the penultimate night of the convention, when the party will argue that Mr. Trump, if elected, would continue to strip away fundamental rights.

Thursday : “For Our Future” — Ms. Harris will accept the party’s nomination, becoming the second woman, and the first woman of color, to lead the Democratic ticket, and Democrats will seek to cast Mr. Trump as a danger to the nation whose second term would be even more extreme than his first.

An earlier version of this article misstated the day that President Biden dropped out of the race. It was July 21, not July 23.

How we handle corrections

Simon J. Levien and Michael Gold

Simon J. Levien reported from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Michael Gold reported from New York.

Urged to focus on the economy, Trump leans into attacks on Harris.

Former President Donald J. Trump in a campaign speech on Saturday bounced among complaints about the economy and immigration, wide-ranging digressions and a number of personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, including jabs at her appearance and her laugh.

At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Mr. Trump swung from talking points on inflation and criticisms of Democratic policy as “fascist” and “Marxist” to calling illegal immigrants “savage monsters” and saying that rising sea levels would create more beachfront property.

Mr. Trump blamed Ms. Harris for high prices, in what was effectively an inversion of her remarks at her rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday, where she said Mr. Trump’s proposed import tariffs would amount to a “Trump tax” on groceries. The former president argued that she had placed a “Kamala Harris inflation tax” on average Americans over the course of her term as vice president and that, if elected, he would lower prices on consumer goods, just as she has said she would do.

“Yesterday, she got up, she started ranting and raving,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. Harris’s explanation of her economic agenda in North Carolina. He mocked her remarks that, he said, suggested he would tax “every single thing that was ever invented.”

Mr. Trump’s advisers have urged him to emphasize his economic policy plans, which, according to polling, many voters trust more than Ms. Harris’s , and some Republicans have hoped he would leave behind his characteristic personal attacks, including his frequent insults of Ms. Harris’s intelligence and appearance.

But at two events earlier this week — a speech in Asheville, N.C., and a news conference in Bedminster, N.J. — both billed as opportunities to discuss the economy, Mr. Trump veered into personal attacks against Ms. Harris, which he said he was “entitled” to do .

Mr. Trump opened his rally in Pennsylvania, his final one before the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago on Monday, by addressing inflation and the economy. But he quickly said, “You don’t mind if I go off teleprompter for a second, do you?” adding of Ms. Harris, “Joe Biden hates her.”

He went on to attack Ms. Harris for having a “crazy” laugh and said that he was “much better looking than her,” a line that drew cheers from the thousands of rallygoers gathered in the Mohegan Sun Arena.

In a statement, a Harris campaign spokesman, Joseph Costello, said that Mr. Trump was trying to distract from his “dangerous” agenda by resorting “to lies, name-calling and confused rants.”

Mr. Trump also said that Democrats would be hosting a “rigged convention” next week because of Ms. Harris’s entry into the race after a primary season in which millions of voters cast their votes for President Biden. Mr. Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed the vice president, who moved quickly to unite delegates behind her.

Mr. Trump repeated his campaign promise to increase oil and gas production, and then attacked Ms. Harris for calling for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, during her 2020 presidential campaign.

Ms. Harris’s campaign has said that she no longer supports such a ban. Pennsylvania, a large producer of natural gas, could see an economic benefit from increased fracking even as the process risks air and water pollution. And Mr. Trump’s calls to “drill, baby, drill” were particularly salient in Wilkes-Barre, in a region of northeast Pennsylvania that was historically defined by anthracite coal mining.

Mr. Trump also continued his effort to try to peel off American Jews, a substantial majority of whom are liberal, from the Democratic Party. He claimed that Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, was not chosen as Ms. Harris’s running mate because of his religion.

“They turned him down because he’s Jewish,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “I don’t think he’s a good person.”

As Ms. Harris was choosing her running mate, Mr. Shapiro faced a pressure campaign from activists who considered him too sympathetic to Israel. Mr. Shapiro has rejected the idea that his religious identity played into Ms. Harris’s decision.

Still, Mr. Trump, who during his presidency was accused of emboldening white supremacists, invoked the Holocaust as he warned of broad antisemitism in America and insisted, as he has before, that Jews who vote for Democrats “should have their head examined.”

Both Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris are particularly focused on Pennsylvania, a swing state with the potential to decide the election. Mr. Trump won the state by a slim margin in 2016, but he lost it to Mr. Biden in 2020.

Both campaigns are holding events in the state in the coming days. On Sunday, Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, will embark on a bus tour of western Pennsylvania. On Monday, Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, will make separate campaign stops in York, Pa., and Philadelphia.

Heather Knight and Shawn Hubler

Reporting from San Francisco and Sacramento

Willie Brown to Donald Trump: Mention my name again and get sued.

Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, had a message for former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday afternoon: Keep my name out of your mouth or get sued.

He stood with his longtime lawyer, Joe Cotchett, on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco, outside John’s Grill, the Saturday spot on Mr. Brown’s lunchtime rotation, and told reporters that he would sue Mr. Trump for slander and defamation if he repeated his concocted helicopter story one more time.

“He’s never brought a lawsuit in his life,” Mr. Cotchett said of Mr. Brown. “But you know who’s pushing him to it? A guy by the name of Trump.”

Mr. Trump and Mr. Brown have been verbally sparring since Mr. Trump falsely claimed at a news conference on Aug. 8 at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida that he had once nearly died in a helicopter ride with Mr. Brown .

Mr. Trump also said that Mr. Brown, who dated Vice President Kamala Harris in 1994 and 1995, said “terrible things” about Ms. Harris just before they almost plummeted to their deaths.

“He was not a fan of hers very much, at that point,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Brown promptly called the tale a lie — saying he had never ridden in a helicopter with Mr. Trump and had never told him disparaging things about Ms. Harris. In fact, he repeatedly told reporters that he respected her and desperately hoped that she would beat the man with whom he had never ridden in a helicopter.

Mr. Trump repeated his claims on his social media site, Truth Social, and threatened to sue The New York Times for reporting that the helicopter story was made up. “Now Willie Brown doesn’t remember?” Trump wrote.

That’s when Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman and state senator, said he had taken a rocky helicopter ride with Mr. Trump in 1990 and speculated that the former president might have confused him with Mr. Brown. Both California politicians are Black.

Mr. Trump has not spoken about the helicopter incident since Mr. Holden came forward. But Mr. Brown and Mr. Cotchett said they wanted to make sure that he stayed quiet.

Asked whether he wanted an apology from Mr. Trump, Mr. Brown said he would rather not hear from him at all.

“No, I don’t want his apology,” Mr. Brown said. “I don’t want him to mention my name.”

When asked to comment, a spokesman for Mr. Trump pointed to the former president’s threat to sue The Times but did not address what Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Holden on Saturday applauded Mr. Brown’s legal threat.

“If he’s propagating a lie, he should be held accountable,” Mr. Holden said of Mr. Trump in a telephone interview on Saturday from his home in Los Angeles. “I’m 95 years old, and Willie is 90, and he made the assumption we wouldn’t be here anymore, and nobody would challenge it. Well, we’re alive and well.”

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

Jazmine Ulloa

Reporting from La Vista, Neb.

Tim Walz plays up his Nebraska roots at a rally near Omaha.

Cinnamon rolls and chili. The Yale of the Midwest. A runza.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, back home in Nebraska on Saturday, delivered his usual appeals to joy and freedom, along with some jabs at former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. But this time, he added a flex of his Nebraska roots and his knowledge of the state’s culture.

Mr. Walz spoke of growing up in the tiny village of Butte, graduating from Chadron State College — “the Yale of the Midwest,” he said to laughs — and serving in the state’s Army National Guard, in which he enlisted at 17. He was introduced by one of his former high school students in the state and had former Butte classmates in the audience.

“We have a slogan here — Nebraska, it is not for everyone,” he told a boisterous audience at a theater in La Vista, Neb., a suburb of Omaha. “Well, it certainly ain’t for Donald Trump, I’ll tell you that much.”

The stop in his home state offered Mr. Walz another chance to reach rural, working-class and moderate voters, as he and Vice President Kamala Harris cast themselves as fighters for the middle class.

Nebraska is one of two states (along with Maine) that award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. A presidential candidate can lose the state and still earn electoral votes there.

Nebraska is solidly Republican, but its Second District, which encompasses Omaha and is known as Nebraska’s blue dot, is a swing region that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020. Mr. Biden won it with 56.4 percent of the vote .

In the spring, Nebraska Republicans, under pressure from Mr. Trump; the state’s governor, Jim Pillen; and conservative activists, renewed an effort to move to a “winner-take-all” system in presidential elections. State legislators overwhelmingly voted against the proposal.

“It is not just symbolic,” Pete Festersen, the president of the Omaha City Council, said of Mr. Walz’s stop in the state. “It shows they can compete through the Midwest and certainly for our electoral vote and that can make a difference this election.”

Mr. Vance is expected at a fund-raiser in Omaha this month.

In a statement, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, criticized Mr. Walz’s platform and record, saying that Mr. Walz and Ms. Harris had “nothing to offer the American people other than their radical, Communist ideas.”

Mr. Walz was born in West Point , a rural town of roughly 3,500 people northwest of Omaha, and spent much of his younger days in Butte and Valentine, Neb. His mother was a community activist and his father a public school administrator, and he became a high school teacher and coach in Nebraska after a year of teaching in China. He met his wife, Gwen, also a teacher, at the Nebraska school, and the two moved to her native Minnesota in 1996.

Onstage, Mr. Walz joked that Mr. Vance would probably call a runza — a bread pocket filled with beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, and a regional specialty — “a Hot Pocket.” He said his parents and the communities he grew up in taught him to “show generosity towards your neighbor,” to “work for the common good” and that chili and cinnamon rolls — a sweet and spicy favorite in Nebraska — is a good combination.

He pledged that a Harris administration would cut taxes — and “not for the billionaires” — lower the cost for rent and prescription drugs and work to give families relief from medical debt. He argued that it was the Harris-Walz campaign that embodied small-town values.

“As we are running on these values, let’s take them to the White House,” he said.