I hate it when someone acknowledges that Chicago is a wonderful place for architecture, art, music, and food but whines that it’s too difficult to access outdoor adventure or natural beauty here. Sure, we’re not Denver or Seattle or even Minneapolis in that respect. But on top of living next to a watery wilderness in the form of Lake Michigan, we’ve got something many of our peer cities lack: easy access to car-free camping.
The advantages of the train-and-bike combo as an urban escape strategy were obvious during a ridiculously easy camping excursion I took over Memorial Day weekend to Illinois Beach State Park, located just south of the Wisconsin border. Instead of joining the exodus on the Edens Expressway, I pedaled my touring bike, loaded with saddlebags and camping gear, a few minutes from my Uptown home to the Ravenswood station on Metra’s Union Pacific North Line. After an hour or so of relaxing, reading, and snacking (you can also drink booze on the train if you like), I arrived in Zion, where it was only a couple of miles to the park. The whole trip took about an hour and 40 minutes—about the same as if I’d driven there in traffic, without all the stress.
The Blue Water route’s New Buffalo stop would be handy for accessing the beaches of Harbor Country as well as Warren Dunes State Park, 11 miles north along the coast, plus many inland campgrounds across the mitten-shaped lower Michigan peninsula.
