I haven't done a resolution check-in so far this year, but I just completed my goal of doing 20 hikes from my 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Chicago book, so I'm going to celebrate and show some pictures!
March
Wow, does this seem like a long time ago, but on March 29, Dave and I went out to Oak Brook to do a loop around the Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve.
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| Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve Loop - book hike #15 |
It was our first time leaving the house during legit home isolation time. It was a chilly hike, but it was so wonderful.
April
On April 4, we hit the fun ponds and rivers in Humboldt Park; the boat house was cool to see, and there was a lot of history in the area. Apparently the trails around there used to be pretty polluted, but there have been cleanup efforts and now plenty of water birds live in the area. Lots of families and dog walkers.
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| Humboldt Park Lagoon and Prairie River Loop - book hike #5 |
On Easter weekend, we drove to Indiana to say a quick outdoor hello to my mom and to take a hike on the Oak Ridge Prairie Loop. This was a neat walk around some oak woods and a big pond, but it was excessively muddy and some of the trails were impassable.
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| Oak Ridge Prairie Loop (Indiana) - book hike #46 |
This photo in my phone proves that we hiked the Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville on April 18, but I honestly don't remember much about this hike. I think the weather is getting nicer and we are happy to be outdoors, from our faces!
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| Greene Valley Forest Preserve Loop - book hike #16 |
The next hike, in Jackson Park on April 26, was probably the best hike of the spring. The loop around the Wooded Island was full of newly spiffed up trails, there were tons of families this time rather than patrolling gang members that we remember from our last visit 10+ years ago, and, the cherry blossoms were in bloom around the basin behind the Museum of Science and Industry!
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| Jackson Park Loop - book hike #6 |
May
Our first hike, on May 9, was to Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve in Lake County. This is newly reopened and goes by Fort Sheridan itself, the barracks-turned-homes, some really cool lake views, a cemetery, and a prairie. Definitely a highlight of May.
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| Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Hike - book hike #28 |
We visited my cousin on May 23 and visited the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site (book hike #53) for a hike, but I didn't take any pictures because I've been there before. The hike goes through industrial ruins and talks about the history of immigrants working the forges. It's really cool and very unique.
The Palos-Sag Valley Trail System in the south suburbs (Orland Park area) has a lot of hikes, and we visited Cap Sauers and Swallow Cliff Loop on May 24. There were absolutely gorgeous wildflowers.
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| Palos-Sag: Cap Sauers and Swallow Cliff Loop - book hike #8 |
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| Dick Young Forest Preserve Hike - book hike #14 |
Apparently I took literally no photographs of our hikes in June, and I didn't make notes on the calendar, either. Dave helped me out, though, with both his photos and his Google Maps history, so I can assure you that we visited these spots.
Ryerson Woods Hike (book hike #34) - we had done this hike before and re-did it on June 7. It's a unique, fun hike with a working farm and some historic log cabins. SUPER buggy, so wear long sleeves or spray yourself well.
Palos-Sag Valley Trail System: Country Lane Loop (book hike #9) - we visited this forest preserve on June 14, and I'm sorry to say we have no photos and I remember very little about it except that I think it was still super hard to find parking in the Palos-Sag hiking areas at this point. I hope they have opened them up by now.
South Lakefront Trail (book hike #11) - June 30 we rode Divvy bikes down to the 31st Street station, left them, and walked back. Pretty cool view of the city as you come around the bend at the Shedd Aquarium. The book talked about the view of Meigs Field and how you can still see the airport control tower, which I had never really noticed before. It reminded us that we want to get out there for a hike one of these days.
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| South Lakefront Trail - book hike #11 |
July
Around the Fourth of July, we visited my uncle down in Momence and went over to Bourbonnais for a hike at the Kankakee River State Park (book hike #54). It was a decently interesting hike, and there were lots and lots of people out, especially in the water. The hike is a lot longer than what's recommended in the book, you can pretty much stretch this one out for miles.
As Chicago-area museums and parks began to reopen in July, we decided to throw some money at the Chicago Botanic Garden for a visit on July 12.
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| Chicago Botanic Garden - book hike #2 |
It was good to be back in there, and the hike took us around to areas we'd never visited. But it was PACKED with people, much more so than I expected with timed entry.
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| Chicago Botanic Garden |
August
On August 23, we hiked in the Volo Bog Nature Area, which I had done before but Dave hasn't. It is a fairly long hike, but easy, and includes some neat boardwalks out into the bog.
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| Volo Bog State Natural Area Hike - book hike #36 |
We had never been out to the Indiana Dunes National Park, so on August 30 we decided to knock off two hikes from the list in the same area (and then hit 3 Floyds for some beer to go, naturally.)
The first was the Miller Woods Hike. The first half of the hike was really beautiful and interesting, with rolling hills and "interdunal lagoons." We were almost totally alone in this section and we really enjoyed it. Then it began to get super sandy, and you were going up and down these huge dunes, and it was tough going. I finally got to see the beach and Lake Michigan, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. Would recommend the first part of the hike though.
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| Indiana Dunes Miller Woods Hike - book hike #42 |
The second hike was in the Bailly Homestead, Chellberg Farm, and Little Calumet River Trails. This was a wild little hike that included a farm that was owned by a Scandinavian family in the area, a tomb-like cemetery in the woods, and some buildings from an original area trading settlement. Go to the cemetery around Halloween.
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| Indiana Dunes Bailly-Chellberg Hike - book hike #39 |
September
Our last hike was today (Sept. 4), out in Marengo in the Marengo Ridge area. This was a lovely, rolling covered trail that was fairly easy, but watch the roots on the ground. The glaciers in the area left some "erratic" boulders from Canada. We met a deer friend and saw some beautiful tall pines that seemed very out of place in Illinois indeed. Afterwards, of course, we visited my favorite you-pick farm, Valley Orchard, and had lunch at More Brewing.
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| Marengo Ridge Hike - book hike #32 |
These hikes have been a key aspect of mental health this year, both getting outside and getting some exercise. It's also good to have something to look forward to, even if you are only traveling locally.
I might not post any more photos of hikes this year, but I intend to continue doing them this summer and fall, and to complete the book next year!
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