Plan a Visit
Directions to Shedd
Shedd is located at 1200 South Lake Shore Drive on Chicago’s Museum Campus. We can help you chart your course by plane, train, or automobile. By bus or by foot. We’ll get you going in the right direction.
Below you'll find a map of Chicago, zoomed in to the area around Shedd. The red pin is marking the location of Shedd. By clicking on it, you can get detailed directions from where you are to where we are.
Driving Directions
From Lake Shore Drive, exit at 18th Street. Follow Museum Campus Drive around Soldier Field. Signs will indicate visitor parking. Shedd is just north of the parking garage and the Field Museum.
Traffic Alerts: The Museum Campus is the site of concerts, marathons and other special events that can affect traffic and parking. Check our alerts when you plan your trip so that gettng here really is part of the fun.
Parking Hours and Rates
The Soldier Field north garage entrance is open from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The small parking lot east of the Field Museum is open from
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Parked cars can always leave after closing hours, but overnight parking is not allowed. Everyday parking rates for the Soldier Field north garage are $16 for the first four hours or $19 for up to 12 hours. Admission is occasionally on a cash-only basis. Parking rates typically are higher during sporting events, and garage access may be restricted to game ticketholders. Rates and hours for all lots and garages are subject to change without notice. All Museum Campus parking is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by Standard Parking. For the most current parking information, visit http://www.soldierfieldparking.com/.
On weekends, valet service is available to aquarium guests for $25. Take advantage of this service at the guest drop-off area on the south side of the aquarium, off Solidarity Drive. Subject to limited availability.
Cash-only special-event parking rates: The Soldier Field north garage and the lot east of the Field Museum raise the parking fee to $19 or more, cash only on the way in, when there's a game or other special event at the stadium or a concert on Northerly Island. Credit cards will not be accepted on those days. ATMs are available in the garage. When the cash-only special-event fee is in effect, it often also applies to all Museum Campus parking facilities, and meters on Solidarity Drive are bagged at the same time.
And here's the schedule of Bears games, which affect museum-goers' access to parking on the Museum Campus. Typically, several hours before a game, the Museum Campus parking facilities, except the lot adjacent to Adler Planetarium, close to the public to admit only game ticketholders. Any available parking at the Adler lot is $46 cash. Using public transportation is the best bet on these days:
Aug. 21, Aug. 28, Sept. 12, Sept. 27, Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and Dec. 26.
Parking for Buses
Parking fees in lots on and adjacent to the Museum Campus are $11 to $80, based on availability and type of vehicle. Please check parking fees before you visit. School, tour and charter buses may park in the lot adjacent to Adler Planetarium, managed by Standard Parking, 312-235-7724. Buses may also park free on Canal Street at Roosevelt Road, approximately one mile due west of the Museum Campus. Canal Street offers several restaurants and coffee shops where drivers can wait until called back for pickup. Buses cannot stage on Solidarity Drive or in the museum drop-off areas.
Cleaner air = cleaner water. For people and for fish, please turn off your engine. Illinois law limits idle times to 10 minutes for stationary diesel vehicles of more than 8,000 pounds.
For all transit information, go to http://www.yourcta.com/or call 312-836-7000.
The Museum Campus is served year-round by the CTA's #146 bus. Service hours are until 10:30 p.m. every day. For estimated arrival times, use the CTA's bus tracker online or by text messaging on your cellular phone. Useful bus stop IDs are 316 (Roosevelt and State eastbound) and 4595 (Solidarity Drive and Aquarium westbound). From May 29 through Labor Day (Sept. 6), the #130 bus also serves the Museum Campus between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.
Specific routes to Shedd Aquarium are:
From State Street downtown, North Michigan Avenue, or the north side of Chicago:
Board the southbound CTA bus #146 Marine-Michigan to the Museum Campus (daily) or board the Red or Orange Line CTA train toward the Loop and exit at the Roosevelt Road/Museum Campus station, where you can transfer to the #146 Museum Campus bus.
From O'Hare Airport:
Board the Blue Line CTA train and exit at Washington, where you can grab the southbound #146 bus on State Street.
From the south side of Chicago or from Midway Airport:
Board CTA bus #6 Jeffery Express (daily) and exit across from the Museum Campus or board the Orange Line CTA train toward the Loop and exit at the Roosevelt Road/Museum Campus station, where you can transfer to the
#146 Museum Campus bus.
From Ogilvie and Union Stations:
At Ogilvie, board the #130 Museum Campus bus southbound on Clinton at Washington. At Union Station, board the eastbound #130 Museum Campus bus on Monroe at Canal.
