Hi,

I am looking for some location within a 7 hour drive of Chicago (day hike). The trip would be at the end of May or beginning of July. This would be a long weekend getaway (3-4 days). Any recommendations?

-Eileen

Southern Illinois is beautiful. Shawnee Nat'l Forest area. Waterfalls, etc.

7 hr drive from Chicago opens up a lot of options. This basically includes the entires states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa & Ohio, most of Lower Michigan and the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Wisconsin has some nice state park & accessible hiking areas - I believe mostly in the LaCrosse & Eau Claire areas.

about 4 hours north in wisconsin is kettle moraine state park, which has some nice trails (also good mountain biking too). if you go about 8 hours north to the western upper peninsula of michigan, i love the porcupine mountains.

Devil's Lake State park in Wisconsin has some beautiful trails. Peninsula Park is Door County is nice, too.

Although maybe not as exotic and some of the other suggestions, I feel a world away at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. It's only a couple of hours from you. There are rustic cabins that are available for something different, and also a lodge. Two days would be plenty of time, though. They also have a very good Sunday brunch at the lodge.

Peninsula Park in Door County and Kettle Moraine (both previously mentioned) are very nice but extremely popular and near populous areas. If your idea of going on a Lake vacation is Lake Geneva, then these may fit the bill.

If however, you want to avoid "mini-Chicago" you need to go farther.

How about Ashland/Bayfield/Apostle Islands/Madeline Island on Lake Superior. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in the central Northern part of Wisconsin is nice as well. The UP is nice as well, Porcupine Mountains and the Superior lake shore.

Kentucky has some great state parks with really nice hiking - they have a website I'm sure you could find easily doing a search. Mammouth Caves (which is actually a National Park) is in KY as well, which is a great underground hike if you haven't done it before.

For a day trip, I second the Starved Rock suggestion-it has a nice lodge and is a beautiful area. Who knew we had cliffs in northeastern Illinois!

I always love the idea of hiking - but am not sure I have the attention span to hike for more than a couple of hours. Is there something I should be looking at while hiking (besides poison ivy?). Do you generally try to identify plants, look for wildlife (we're probably too noisy)? Any tips from veteran hikers?

Identify plants, watch the daily thermonuclear reaction up in the sky, have sex, wonder about it all, That's what keeps us occupied while hiking.

slipper,

To me, hiking is about the journey. Not the destination...unless of course there is a cool waterfall or something as the destination.

I appreciate the flowers, terrain, mushrooms (observation of), birds, you name it. I am an outdoorsy kind of guy though. I also have appreciation for the exercise of it all. Sequoia has the right idea as well!

The Superior Hiking Trail along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Duluth is a gem. Here's what the Superior Hiking Trail Association has to say about it: "The Superior Hiking Trail is a 205-mile long footpath that follows the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. It begins just north of Two Harbors, MN, and ends just before the Canadian border. The trail has 30 trailheads and 81 backcountry campsites making it ideal for both day hikes and backpacking. There are no fees, reservations or permits required to hike or backpack on the trail." www.shta.org.

There are lots of waterfalls, rocky cliffs, and views of Lake Superior. Probably cooler for a summer hike than most other places because (of course) it's pretty far north, and because Lake Superior cools the breezes.

Check out Hocking Hills, in Southeastern Ohio. Breathtaking scenery and great trails. Lots of neat cabins at which to stay.

http://www.hockinghills.com/welcome.htm