Downers Grove Travel and Things to Do Guide

Welcome to Cvent's Meeting and Event Guide to Downers Grove, a city guide for meeting professionals. A fantastic destination that balances economic strength with warm hometown charm (as well as offers a super convenient setting just 22 miles west of Chicago), the Village of Downers Grove is a wonderful place for business and meeting travel. Home to about 3,000 businesses, Downers Grove is an unmatched location for national chains and local retailers; in fact, such large companies as FTD.com Flower and Gift Shop, Advocate Health Care, PNC Bank, JPMorganChase and Sanford LP (the maker of Sharpie markers) call Downers Grove home for corporate and divisional headquarters. Beyond its strong business climate, Downers Grove is known for its award-winning schools and parkland, historic sites, fabulous recreational options, and welcoming downtown lined with restaurants, shops and pedestrian-friendly places.
It's easy to get to – and around – this Chicago suburb. Downers Grove is located less than 20 miles from the second-busiest airport in the U.S., the major North American travel hub of O'Hare International Airport. Business travelers flying in via Chicago Midway International Airport (Chicago's second-largest airport, behind O'Hare) find themselves just over 20 miles from Downers Grove. Both airports provide direct access to Chicago via CTA Train service. Metra rail and PACE bus systems both operate in Downers Grove connecting visitors to downtown Chicago. The four-route Grove Commuter Shuttle provides Monday through Friday rush hour service to Downers Grove's two Metra stations.
Downers Grove's convenience extends far beyond its strategic near-Chicago location; the Village also offers a number of conveniently located meeting venues ranging from traditional spaces to unique gathering spots. Boasting 35,000 square feet of function space, including 20,000 square feet approved by the International Association of Conference Centers, the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel & Conference Center Chicago-Downers Grove features a picturesque setting near the Morton Arboretum and just 30 minutes from Chicago. Meeting spaces at the 250-room hotel include 21 breakout rooms and two amphitheaters, as well as the stunning 9,500-square-foot Esplanade Lakes Ballroom, a unique round room enclosed by glass windows with panoramic Morton Arboretum views.
Downers Grove's unique venues – perfect for group gatherings or a group hangout after a meeting – range from cultural attractions to recreation-rich parkland. Groups can travel back in time at the Downers Grove Museum, or hold a private event at the museum's four-acre park, complete with a gazebo, gardens, walkways and open space. Nestled beneath the Tivoli Theatre – one of the nation's first theaters built to show "talkies" – Tivoli Bowl boasts 12 lanes of group bowling fun, as well as four party rooms and game room entertainment. Creative groups can bond over artistic endeavors at the Village's Glazed Expressions BYOB paint-it-yourself pottery studio, or at Gallery's Choice, an art and gift gallery with a hands-on focus and a full range of group project opportunities.
If it's fresh air you're after, consider holding a group outing at the Downers Grove Golf Club, a nine-hole, par 36 course located on the site of the nation's first golf course. If you'd rather hit the clubhouse rather than the links, the club offers an event-friendly clubhouse with two private gathering rooms. Nature and walking trails await at the 150-acre Lyman Woods site, which features serene oak woods, prairie and marsh habitats, as well as exciting team-building workshops that combine cooperative games with wilderness skill challenges. Groups can duke it out on the many sport courts and fields at the 50-acre McCollum Park, play the 18-hole miniature golf course there or just enjoy a picnic at rentable park pavilions sprinkled throughout the town. Visit Doerhoefer Park for tennis, pickleball, basketball, baseball/softball and football, soccer and lacrosse on a synthetic turf field. The park also features play ADA accessible playgrounds for tots and children. A smaller park pavilion, and popular fishing pond, walking path and boat launch await at the charming Patriots Park.