Hiawatha With Kids: A Trip Plan for Every Stop
If you live anywhere near Chicago and want to try a train with a small child, this is the one. Ninety minutes, no reservations, up to seven trains a day, and at the far end a lakefront with a science museum where kids can board a real schooner, a children's museum, and frozen custard. The Hiawatha was the first train I took my daughter on after my mom died, because it was short enough that I could not fail at it. We did not fail. Below is every stop and what to do when you get off.
By Kelsey Lizee Cecil. Checked against the Hiawatha timetable and each attraction in October 2026. Hours change; read the "know before you go" notes.If you only have one day
- With a toddler: Chicago to Milwaukee and back.Ride up on a morning train, the free Hop streetcar to the lakefront, Betty Brinn Children's Museum, custard, and a mid-afternoon train home. The ride itself is the attraction. Jump to Milwaukee.
- Ages 4 to 8: Discovery World.Board the schooner, touch the sturgeon, and run the lakefront path. Lunch at the Public Market. Jump to Milwaukee.
- The big one: a Milwaukee night.Train up, the Public Museum's butterflies, Discovery World, a Brewers game, and the morning train back. Start in Chicago.
Read this before you go
Three things to know. First, the Hiawatha is unreserved: buy a ticket, walk on, sit anywhere. Second, the Borealis to St. Paul runs the same tracks once a day and stops at the same stations, and its tickets are reserved, so do not mix them up. Third, since the spring of 2025 the Horizon cars are gone and the trains use borrowed equipment, so what you ride can vary. Alerts are on the Hiawatha page on Amtrak (opens in a new tab).
Tickets, seats, bathrooms, strollers and what to pack are all in our Hiawatha parent guide. This page is the fun part: where to get off and what to do when you do.
Stop 1 of 5CHIEvery train; up to 7 a day each way including the Borealis
Chicago Union Station
The Great Hall at Union Station has a skylight the size of a tennis court, marble stairs that were in a famous movie, and benches long enough to lie down on. It is where every Midwest train starts, and it is one block from the river, where the architecture boats leave, and a 15-minute walk from Maggie Daley Park's climbing walls and slides.
Stand in the middle of the Great Hall and look straight up. Then walk to the river and watch a train cross the bridge from below.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the Great Hall, restrooms, a food court, a staffed counter and the Metropolitan Lounge.
- 5 minThe Chicago Riverwalk, with the architecture boats and ice cream stands.
- 15 minMaggie Daley Park's play garden, with giant slides and a climbing wall, free, and the ice ribbon in winter.
- 15 minMillennium Park and the Bean.
- 10 minWillis Tower Skydeck, with the glass ledge, for kids who are not afraid of heights.
Half a day between trains
- Riverwalk and an architecture boat (90 minutes).
- Maggie Daley Park play garden (1 hour).
- Back through the Great Hall.
Make it a full day
A Chicago weekend: the Field Museum's Sue, Shedd Aquarium, the Children's Museum at Navy Pier, and the L as a ride. Union Station is the starting point for all of it.
Snack stop: The food court inside the station; the Riverwalk stands in summer.
Out the window: Leaving Chicago northbound you pass the rail yards, then the suburbs, then Wisconsin in about an hour.
Union Station has checked baggage and a Metropolitan Lounge. The Hiawatha is unreserved: buy a ticket, walk on.
Stop 2 of 5GLNEvery train, plus Metraour honest take: ride on
Glenview
A suburban platform shared with Metra. Pleasant, but the reason to ride the Hiawatha is Milwaukee, and Glenview is 20 minutes out of Chicago. The Kohl Children's Museum is a cab ride away, and it is excellent.
The Kohl Children's Museum's water room and its real grocery store, if you cab there.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform with shelters, shared with Metra.
- at stopKohl Children's Museum, 10 minutes by cab, for ages 0 to 8.
- 10 minDowntown Glenview's cafes.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard, unless the Kohl Museum is the plan.
Make it a full day
Kohl Children's Museum day by cab, then back.
Snack stop: Downtown Glenview cafes.
Out the window: Suburbs and forest preserves.
Stop 3 of 5SVTEvery trainour honest take: ride on
Sturtevant
A modern station outside Racine, in the fields. Racine's downtown and its lakefront zoo need a bus or a cab. For a kids' day, ride on to Milwaukee.
If you get off, Racine Zoo on the lakefront is free-ish (small admission) and has giraffes.
Right off the platform
- at stopA modern station with a waiting room and restrooms.
- at stopRacine's downtown, the zoo and the lakefront, 15 minutes by cab or bus.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Racine day by cab: the zoo, kringle from a bakery, and North Beach.
Snack stop: None at the station.
Out the window: Flat farmland, the first Wisconsin barns.
Stop 4 of 5MKAEvery trainour honest take: ride on
Milwaukee Airport
A platform by the airport with a shuttle to the terminal. Useful for flights, nothing else.
Planes landing low over the tracks.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and a shuttle bus to Mitchell Airport.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Planes.
Stop 5 of 5MKEEvery train
Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Ninety minutes from Chicago and the single best first train ride in the Midwest. The station is downtown, a 10-minute walk from the river, 15 from a lakefront with a science museum full of real boats and a children's museum, and 10 from the Public Market with its cheese and custard. The Milwaukee Public Museum has a butterfly room and a streets-of-old-Milwaukee walk that kids adore.
Discovery World on the lakefront: the real schooner you can board, the fish you can touch, and the lake out every window. Then frozen custard.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe Intermodal Station: a waiting room, restrooms, a cafe and a staffed counter.
- 10 minThe Milwaukee Riverwalk and the Public Market, with cheese curds and custard.
- 15 minDiscovery World on the lakefront: science, aquariums, the S/V Denis Sullivan schooner (admission; check hours).
- 15 minBetty Brinn Children's Museum, 929 E Wisconsin Ave on the lakefront, ages 0 to 10 (admission; it plans to move to a bigger building in the coming years, so check the address).
- 15 minMilwaukee Public Museum: the butterfly wing and the Streets of Old Milwaukee.
- 10 minThe Hop streetcar, free, from the station to the lakefront and the Third Ward.
Half a day between trains
- The Hop streetcar to the lakefront (15 minutes).
- Discovery World or Betty Brinn (2 hours).
- Public Market for lunch and custard, then the train.
Make it a full day
Discovery World in the morning, Public Market lunch, Betty Brinn or the Public Museum's butterflies in the afternoon, custard at Leon's or Kopp's by cab, and the evening train home. Or stay for the Brewers.
Snack stop: Milwaukee Public Market, and frozen custard anywhere; Kopp's and Leon's are the classics.
Out the window: The last minutes into Milwaukee run along the Menomonee Valley with the brewery and the ballpark on the left.
The Hop streetcar is free. Discovery World and Betty Brinn are both on the lakefront within a few minutes of each other.
Short is the whole point
A train trip with a two-year-old does not need to be epic. It needs to be ninety minutes with a window seat and a bag of pretzels, and a lake at the end. The Hiawatha gave me that when I needed it, and it gives it to thousands of families every week. Go on a Saturday morning. Sit on the right. Order the custard.
Next in this series: the Borealis, which continues from Milwaukee across Wisconsin to St. Paul, and the Wolverine to Michigan. Every route is on the Train Trips With Your Kids page.
Hiawatha trips with kids: questions parents ask
How long is the Hiawatha from Chicago to Milwaukee?
About 1 hour 29 minutes, with up to seven trains a day each way on weekdays and slightly fewer on weekends. The first weekday train leaves Chicago at 6:10am and the last at 11:25pm.
Do kids pay on the Hiawatha?
Kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult fare, and one child under 2 rides free on each adult's lap. Tickets are unreserved, so you can take any train that day.
What is the best thing to do in Milwaukee with kids off the train?
The lakefront. Take the free Hop streetcar from the station to Discovery World and Betty Brinn Children's Museum, which sit a few minutes apart, then the Public Market for lunch and custard.
Is there food on the Hiawatha?
Usually a small cafe with snacks and drinks, though equipment has varied since 2025. Bring snacks; it is only ninety minutes. Both stations have food.
Can we bring a stroller on the Hiawatha?
Yes. Fold it and stow it in the luggage rack or at the end of the car, or keep it open in the accessible area if it is free. Boarding is level in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Which Hiawatha stops should we skip with kids?
Glenview, Sturtevant and the airport stop are platforms for commuters and flyers. The trip is Chicago and Milwaukee.
Sources and how I checked
- Amtrak Hiawatha timetable, August 2026 revision, and Amtrak station pages
- Discovery World, Betty Brinn Children's Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum: hours and admission as posted October 2026; Betty Brinn's relocation plans per February 2026 announcements
- The Hop streetcar schedule, Milwaukee Public Market
- Great American Stations and Wikipedia station articles for addresses and station history, cross-checked with Amtrak
Hours, prices and bus routes change. I update this page when they do; if you spot something out of date, tell me.