Things to Do in Elmhurst

New Traditions Riding Academy's head instructor Martha Thompson-Hoyt and her staff of instructors improve the rein-handling abilities of aspiring riders and accomplished champions. The full-service riding academy offers group lessons, which provide learning and bonding opportunities for families and friends in addition to private lessons that help students achieve personal goals and weeklong camp programs, which completely immerse riders in the equine experience. All students are required to wear long pants, helmets, and hard-soled boots with a half-inch heel to ensure safety and looking fetching atop hoofed beasts.

Custom-built mountain bikes and hand-built wheelsets may be Richard’s Bikes’ specialty, but cyclists have frequented the store since 1910 to find road, cross-country, and freeride accessories. Staff pack more than 100 years of combined biking experience into the well-oiled gears that power their minds and match customers with premade bikes and equipment from manufacturers including GT, Schwinn, Mongoose, LeMond, and Klein. Richard’s carries a wide selection of helmets and protective gear, cycling apparel, and bike parts of all kinds.

PGA Class A instructor Mike Erwin has a resumé that sparkles with such gems as time spent working with PGA professionals, as well as a quarter century spent teaching the fundamentals of golf. During each of his lessons, Erwin focuses on the three core components of the swing: grip, posture, and impact position, drilling students in basic skills to build consistent, top-notch performance on the course. Lessons infuse old-school fundamentals with sophisticated technology, recording sessions with 3-D K-Vest apparatuses or digital V1 swing analysis that allows pupils to monitor their posture and correct common mistakes such as improper positions that cause loss of power instead of hitting it with the club. In addition to mentoring players one-on-one, Erwin fosters early development of fair play and concentration with junior golf classes and hones driving distances with winter golf skill seminars.

Dedicated to advancing the economic, professional, and cultural well-being of the northern suburb, Lincolnwood Chamber of Commerce & Industry fosters a sense of community and civic pride through a host of activities and programs. The annual home and garden show—replete with booths of goods and services set up by area businesses—provides guests with the resources and tools needed to landscape yards or renovate aging blanket forts, while the Lincolnwood Wine Expo includes tastings and seminars centered around all things wine related.

The delighted squeals of playing children reverberate off of Little Monkey Bizness’s brightly hued walls, imbuing the space with an atmosphere of joyful energy throughout the day. The indoor play space welcomes youngsters age 8 and under to scurry in for hours of unstructured play on its well-maintained equipment, and an art room keeps imaginations fired up. A separate space for babies grants kids aged 6 months to 1 year a safe space where they can practice their crawling skills. Private party rooms facilitate rousing renditions of "Happy Birthday," and an onsite café keeps tummies from grumbling thanks to a collection of kid-friendly snacks and adult-friendly coffee.

In the winter, it looks as though an alien spacecraft has touched down at Links & Tees Golf Facility. Within this futuristic structure—actually an inflatable golf dome whose three layers trap heat—PGA professionals teach lessons and golfers practice their snow-clearing swings. This impressive indoor facility—along with an outdoor driving range that boasts more than 50 hitting stations, a 10,000-square foot putting green, and a 5,000-square foot chipping green—has repeatedly landed Links & Tees among Golf Range Magazine's Top 100 Golf Practice Facilities.

After warming up at the range, golfers can take to the tees and bentgrass fairways of a nine-hole executive course, where three ponds snatch up balls and a smattering of sand bunkers tempt hungry golfers to stop and dig for clams. They can also head for Putter’s Peak, an 18-hole miniature-golf course where tiki statues line fairways, the rumble of a Lilliputian waterfall fills the air, and putters must venture into the dark depths of a cave. After either a miniature or executive round of golf, visitors can pull off the plate armor that protects against mis-aimed balls, put down their clubs, and pick up a hot dog or pizza at the 4,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par-27 course
• Length of 1,709 yards
• Course rating of 35.5
• Slope rating of 113
• Link to course layout