Camping, Hiking

[Jenksismyhero]

So my GF and I decided this spring to become more out-doorsey and see this beautiful land we call the Midwest. I just "booked" a camping/hiking trip to Turkey Run in a couple of weeks and am looking for some input from anyone out there that's a big camper/hiker. My goal is to go camping at least one weekend out of every month so long as the weather is bearable. There's only a few stipulations:

 

1. the destination is within 3-6 hours of Chicago (so that we can leave on a Friday mid-day and get there in time to set up camp for the night)

2. we have a dog and she loves the outdoors so if possible the park needs to allow pets

3. we like to wind down by the fire with some brewskies, so alcohol must be permitted as well

 

I've heard that North Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin has some good trails. Anyone have any suggestions?Any other place to go with cool trails?

[StrangeSox]

We plan on spending a night or two camping at Starved Rock soon. You can't drink in the park, but there's a KOA right there.

Edited May 20, 2008 by StrangeSox

[Y2HH]

So my GF and I decided this spring to become more out-doorsey and see this beautiful land we call the Midwest. I just "booked" a camping/hiking trip to Turkey Run in a couple of weeks and am looking for some input from anyone out there that's a big camper/hiker. My goal is to go camping at least one weekend out of every month so long as the weather is bearable. There's only a few stipulations:

 

1. the destination is within 3-6 hours of Chicago (so that we can leave on a Friday mid-day and get there in time to set up camp for the night)

2. we have a dog and she loves the outdoors so if possible the park needs to allow pets

3. we like to wind down by the fire with some brewskies, so alcohol must be permitted as well

 

I've heard that North Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin has some good trails. Anyone have any suggestions?Any other place to go with cool trails?

 

I go camping/fishing/hiking/mountain biking at least 30 times a year, but I'm on the hardcore side of camping experience. For example, last year I went to the Boundary Waters for 10+ days with some friends.

 

Since you are somewhat new to the game, and are looking for places near Chicago, try a campground called Walnut Point in Oakland IL. I promise you'll love it. It has a denser forest than most IL campgrounds, a concession stand for snacks, and they even rent boats/paddleboats. It's right near Champaign, too, however they have drinking restrictions to keep the college kids out (meaning you can drink if you aren't an idiot) -- so it's pretty nice that you wouldn't have to ever deal with that.

 

There aren't very many "really good" places near/around Chicago, but speaking as someone that's been to almost all of them, Walnut Point is one of the very best.

 

Places like Bong suck, too many stupid college kids.

 

Oh, and if you are looking for something really fun to do with your GF and dogs, look into purchasing a handheld GPS and getting into Geocaching, it's really fun. It's like treasure hunting with geo-coordinates. There is a website dedicated to locating Geocaches by zip code, etc. You then put the coordinates given into your handheld and go hiking back to find these hidden treasures. They range from easy to find to very complex puzzle solving in order to find. www.geocaching.com -- it's something you can do rain or shine to pass the time and have a great time together. A geocache is usually an airtight/watertight container with various trinkets and a log book inside, the idea is to take something and leave something and sign the logbook with your families names/dogs names, etc...

 

I think you'd like it!

Edited May 20, 2008 by Y2HH

[NorthSideSox72]

So my GF and I decided this spring to become more out-doorsey and see this beautiful land we call the Midwest. I just "booked" a camping/hiking trip to Turkey Run in a couple of weeks and am looking for some input from anyone out there that's a big camper/hiker. My goal is to go camping at least one weekend out of every month so long as the weather is bearable. There's only a few stipulations:

 

1. the destination is within 3-6 hours of Chicago (so that we can leave on a Friday mid-day and get there in time to set up camp for the night)

2. we have a dog and she loves the outdoors so if possible the park needs to allow pets

3. we like to wind down by the fire with some brewskies, so alcohol must be permitted as well

 

I've heard that North Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin has some good trails. Anyone have any suggestions?Any other place to go with cool trails?

I could write a book on this. Here are some recommendations, based on the type of camping you mention...

 

--Kettle Moraine, either unit (North or South), are great. Both allow for all of your requests, the North unit is further from Chicago, but less crowded.

--Starved Rock, a few hours downstate, is also pretty ideal for car camping, though its pretty heavily used in summer.

--My fave weekender spot for car camping is the Yellow River State Forest in Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Its in the NE corner of the state, about 3 hours from Chi-town, and its just plain gorgeous. Its in the river bluffs near the Mississippi, in the driftless area, and parts of it have an almost Colorado-like feel. I did a weekend out there years ago with a reporter from the Trib, who was doing a feature on nearby camping destinations. Lots of hiking trails, streams with trophy trout fishing, and you can do pull-up car camping or camp in the backcountry. All in, amazingly, Iowa. Here is a link to the site for it.

--The Indiana Dunes state park is also fun, nearby, and has beaches. But it is also a bit crowded at times.

--Another great camping area which gets minimal traffic, has car camping in a few places, and has great hiking trails is Black River Falls. Its a state forest, and a state park. Here is some info on it. Really neat, pretty area.

 

I'd recommend Yellow River or Black River Falls.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Also, there are some nice camping and hiking opportunities around Oregon, Illinois, along the Rock River.

 

If you ever want info on more backcountry stuff too, let me know. I can give you a ton. As someone said earlier, in the midwest as a whole, Boundary Waters is one of the best. But you can actually get even better experiences, with less people, in Quetico Provincial Park, which is on the Canadian side. Also look into Isle Royal, Voyaguers, and Pictured Rocks. But those are all more than 6 hours' driving.

 

 

[Y2HH]

Also, there are some nice camping and hiking opportunities around Oregon, Illinois, along the Rock River.

 

If you ever want info on more backcountry stuff too, let me know. I can give you a ton. As someone said earlier, in the midwest as a whole, Boundary Waters is one of the best. But you can actually get even better experiences, with less people, in Quetico Provincial Park, which is on the Canadian side. Also look into Isle Royal, Voyaguers, and Pictured Rocks. But those are all more than 6 hours' driving.

 

Doubt he's ready for that yet.

[NorthSideSox72]

Doubt he's ready for that yet.

Probably not, but you never know. Car camping is like a gateway drug. Next thing you know, you're hiking some unmaintained trail through the wilderness in a foreign country for reasons you don't really understand.

 

[southsider2k5]

Turkey Run is a great place for camping and hiking, as is Indiana Dunes.

[Jenksismyhero]

Ok sweet, I'm gonna put a couple of these places on the list.

 

My GF actually grew up in Spring Valley, which is about 10 seconds from Starved Rock and Mattheson (sp?). We've hiked those a number of times.

 

Basically I'm an outdoorsey guy (grew up in the country down by Champaign) that used to go on camping trips all the time with my family and a few trips to Colorado and the Appalachian region with friends during college, but never really went out on his own. Someone else always had the tent, the tools, etc and I just stuck along for the ride. I bought a tent last week and decided I'm gonna go hardcore with it because I love to get out there (and I learned that after 4 years in the city, I miss open space and green things called trees).

 

I def want to get up to the boundary waters some day, but I doubt my gf would be into that. While I think I could definitely handle that kind of trip, I think she's had enough hiking/being unclean after one weekend. I've also tried to set up a trip with friends to go to Isle Royal. That place looks awesome.

[Y2HH]

Ok sweet, I'm gonna put a couple of these places on the list.

 

My GF actually grew up in Spring Valley, which is about 10 seconds from Starved Rock and Mattheson (sp?). We've hiked those a number of times.

 

Basically I'm an outdoorsey guy (grew up in the country down by Champaign) that used to go on camping trips all the time with my family and a few trips to Colorado and the Appalachian region with friends during college, but never really went out on his own. Someone else always had the tent, the tools, etc and I just stuck along for the ride. I bought a tent last week and decided I'm gonna go hardcore with it because I love to get out there (and I learned that after 4 years in the city, I miss open space and green things called trees).

 

I def want to get up to the boundary waters some day, but I doubt my gf would be into that. While I think I could definitely handle that kind of trip, I think she's had enough hiking/being unclean after one weekend. I've also tried to set up a trip with friends to go to Isle Royal. That place looks awesome.

 

You can launch into the first few lakes of the Boundary Waters (Lake 1-4), without issue and without having to portage, however, these lakes tend to be tourist filled. If you could get her to go there, she'd enjoy it...and if she was bothered by being unclean, jump in the lake and wash off...nothing much too it! Since it's so close to the launch, you could take less than a few hours to get back out if she wanted to call it quits...I highly recommend seeing it someday.

 

I've got so much camping equipment over the years it's not even funny. If there was one bit of advice I could give, do *not* buy on the cheap. Pay high once, or pay low many times when it comes to this stuff.

 

And a good, well-fit pair of hiking boots is an absolute necessity. Like I said in my previous post, if some of you haven't, look into Geocaching, you'd enjoy it...and it'd make your many hikes meaningful since there is a means to the end aside from scenery and exercise!

 

 

[Leonard Zelig]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. It is very nice and about 5-6 hours from Chicago.

[Y2HH]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. It is very nice and about 5-6 hours from Chicago.

 

Not a fan of Eastern side of Shawnee, it's like a hillbilly ghetto scattered throughout portions of the forest (since it's smattered across small dispersed sections of private land.) If I was going to head all the way down to Shawnee, I'd continue on and hit the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky (directly south of Shawnee)...talk about nice. It's a stretch of national forest land surrounded by Barkley/Kentucky Lakes that stretches all the way down into Tennessee. Offers everything from offroading, to camping/hiking/fishing...excellent place. I like it far more than most of Shawnee.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Y2HH

[mreye]

Just an FYI...You can drink in any state park in Indiana except The Dunes. Illinois is about the opposite. We camped behind a bar near Starved Rock just because of this. We actually had a good time. Yes, camping is about drinking beer.

[Y2HH]

Just an FYI...You can drink in any state park in Indiana except The Dunes. Illinois is about the opposite. We camped behind a bar near Starved Rock just because of this. We actually had a good time. Yes, camping is about drinking beer.

 

You can drink in a lot of IL state parks, they just usually have restrictions as to which campsites allow it...and if it's completely banned, I've still done it. We drank all weekend at Shabbona Lake, where it's completely banned, and the ranger was hanging out with us for a while when we were doing it. For the most part, they'll leave you alone unless you're being a drunk noise making tard that has to cause a commotion for no reason. IE, most of the college kids that go to these types of places.

[Jenksismyhero]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. It is very nice and about 5-6 hours from Chicago.

 

 

I've done Garden of the Gods (very cool) and Cave-In-Rock (over in 5 min). Garden of the Gods was really pretty out on the bluffs in Aug-Sept when the leaves are changing.

 

Problem is there are so many scary people down there. You feel like you warped into another world. Not judgin, just sayin!

[Jenksismyhero]

Ha, I found this thread from nearly 7 years ago. Damn I've been around here for a while

 

On to the next upgrade: a camper. We've got an almost 3 year old now and a dog and i'm trying to sell my wife on getting a pop up camper. I want to take a 10-12 day trek west (dakotas, grand teton, yellowstone, or some variation of that) in August/September. We could go stay in cabins/lodges, but for a little more we can get a used pop up camper, stay in campgrounds wherever we please (but still have the car for some freedom away from the campsite), and really ramp up the road trips for the next few years.

 

Anyone have experience with pop up campers? Worth it? A nightmare? We went to the RV show in Rosemont this year and got a feel for what the newest models have, but i'm looking more 2005-2010ish. Basically $3-5k at most. And something I can tow with my Escape (3,500 lb max).

[Iwritecode]

Ha, I found this thread from nearly 7 years ago. Damn I've been around here for a while

 

On to the next upgrade: a camper. We've got an almost 3 year old now and a dog and i'm trying to sell my wife on getting a pop up camper. I want to take a 10-12 day trek west (dakotas, grand teton, yellowstone, or some variation of that) in August/September. We could go stay in cabins/lodges, but for a little more we can get a used pop up camper, stay in campgrounds wherever we please (but still have the car for some freedom away from the campsite), and really ramp up the road trips for the next few years.

 

Anyone have experience with pop up campers? Worth it? A nightmare? We went to the RV show in Rosemont this year and got a feel for what the newest models have, but i'm looking more 2005-2010ish. Basically $3-5k at most. And something I can tow with my Escape (3,500 lb max).

 

We've had two. One that was basically bare-bones with no extras and one that was like a deluxe model (it had heat/AC, pull out slide, an extra storage trunk in the front, dual propane tanks, a refrigerator and a screen room that attached to the awning.

 

We loved them both and traveled all over the place with our kids. We eventually decided to go permanent at a campground near our house and upgraded to hard-side 31 ft travel trailer. Just last year we bought a 42 ft fifth wheel.

 

The worst thing about pop-ups is the set-up/tear down. Cranking the top up, sliding the beds out, securing the canvas over them, etc... It's even worse in the rain. Just something to think about.

 

For your price range, you might want to look into a hybrid. It's a hard-sided trailer with fold out beds on each end. It's sort of the best of both worlds. You can find them in all sorts of lengths. Not sure what the weight would be on them though.

 

My advice is to look at as many floorplans as you can and try to imagine actually staying in them. Where is everyone going to sleep? Where does everything get stored during the day? Do I have to climb over a table to get to the bed at night? How much room do you have when the couch is folded down into a bed? If you look at used ones, check the calking on the roof to see how well it was maintained. Water damage can be hard to see and really expensive to repair.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Iwritecode

[Jenksismyhero]

My original plan was to get a light travel trailer like one of the hybrids but I think i'd be really pushing it with my Escape. I'm sort of stuck in the medium sized pop-up zone unless we upgrade the car.

 

Did yours have a porta potty in it? If so, was it worth the upcharge to the more premium models? Seems like that extra 3 feet and the portapotty is where the price point jumps (along with the a/c, electric lift, etc.)

[StrangeSox]

My wife and I are considering something similar in the next year or two but thought I'd be a good idea to rent one for a trip first to make sure it's a good fit.

[StrangeSox]

As far as trips, go to Yosemite. Everyone should go to Yosemite.

 

The payoff at Yosemite Point last weekend after hiking up from the valley:

[southsider2k5]

The smokies were awesome. We hit both Clingman's Dome, plus the pull off at the state line. Awesome. Gatlinburg wasn't much more than a tourist slut of a town, but the surrounding parks and such were incredible.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

The smokies were awesome. We hit both Clingman's Dome, plus the pull off at the state line. Awesome. Gatlinburg wasn't much more than a tourist slut of a town, but the surrounding parks and such were incredible.

I think that's the town bill Bryson talks about in a walk in the woods. Coming upon it after more than a week on the trail and cut off from civilisation must be surreal.

 

 

 

[Y2HH]

I'm heading out to the Smoky Mountains in July...looking forward too it.

[southsider2k5]

I think that's the town bill Bryson talks about in a walk in the woods. Coming upon it after more than a week on the trail and cut off from civilisation must be surreal.

 

If you have ever been to Niagara Falls, it is like the town of Niagara on tourist steroids. I'd be happy to never see it again. The kids loved it, I hated it.

 

The rest of it was incredible. The mountains were amazing, as were the views and the hikes. I am really glad we got a cabin on one of the mountains just outside of town instead of staying on that strip.

 

The one thing I didn't get was how busy it was. Even driving through the park there was always a dozen cars backed up on the road. All of the pulloffs were always overflowing with cars.

[Iwritecode]

My original plan was to get a light travel trailer like one of the hybrids but I think i'd be really pushing it with my Escape. I'm sort of stuck in the medium sized pop-up zone unless we upgrade the car.

 

Did yours have a porta potty in it? If so, was it worth the upcharge to the more premium models? Seems like that extra 3 feet and the portapotty is where the price point jumps (along with the a/c, electric lift, etc.)

 

OK, I started looking at the weights and you are correct. You should probably should stick with a pop-up.

 

We didn't have a porta potty in either of our pop-ups. We always stayed at campgrounds with bathhouses so it was never a problem for us. Then we never had to worry about stopping at the dump stations on the way out either. We did have a small portable one that we used in the middle of the night a few times.

 

Our second pop-up was laid out like this:

 

 

The only difference was that we had a storage cabinet instead of the porta potty. The slide adds a little weight but it really makes a difference in the interior space. When we had extra people we could fold the dinette down into a bed and we were still able to walk through the camper without stepping on anyone.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Iwritecode