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Jul 18, 2022 · There is a great variety of beautiful state parks near Chicago. With everything from lush forests to towering sand dunes, the area has much to offer nature-lovers and explorers. Here we have some of the best state parks near Chicago for your next adventure.
- Starved Rock State Park
- Volo Bog State Natural Area
- Chain O’ Lakes State Park
- Illinois Beach State Park
- Buffalo Rock State Park
- Matthiessen State Park
Location: 2678 E 875th Rd, Oglesby, IL 61348 Carved by eons of glacial runoff, Starved Rock State Park is a geological wonder with steep sandstone canyons, several of which have seasonal waterfalls. The park is an hour and a half drive southwest of Chicago and worlds away from the hubbub. Besides hiking, there is an excellent view from Lover’s Leap...
Location: 28478 Brandenburg Rd, Ingleside, IL 60041 If you have never seen a quaking bog, here’s your chance—Volo Bog State Natural Area is about an hour northwest of downtown Chicago. Initially, the bog was a deep 50-acre lake formed long ago when a gigantic residual chunk of glacier ice became embedded in the landscape. The lake, with poor draina...
Location: James Rd, Spring Grove, IL 60081 Head about 60 miles northwest of Chicago, and you are in the area of Illinois that is home to the highest concentration of lakes. The Chain O’ Lakes State Park is in the middle and is a series of 15 connected kettle lakes formed by calving ice blocks when glaciers retreated eons earlier. With 6,500 acres o...
Location: 1 Lake Front Dr, Zion, IL 60099 Head an hour north along the Michigan shoreline, and you’ll run right into Illinois Beach State Park, the only remaining beach ridge shoreline in the state. For those of you who don’t know what a beach ridge is, it’s a wave-swept deposit of sand that makes a ridge that runs parallel to the shore. The park’s...
Location: 1300 N 27th Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 An hour and a half southwest of Chicago, you’ll find the compact Buffalo Rock State Park—it may be small, but it packs a mighty punch. The park is a bluff with a sheer and jagged sandstone dropoff with a magnificent panoramic view of the Illinois River. It’s named Buffalo Rock because it’s thought that the...
Location: 2500 IL-178, Oglesby, IL 61348 Matthiessen State Park is in the same part of the state as Starved Rock State Park; it is about 15 minutes further south as the crow flies, making it an hour and 45 minutes southwest from the Windy City. Picking between two parks is difficult, each as visually beautiful as the other—it might be best to plan ...
Illinois state parks feature some of the most unique landscapes in America, including the Lake Michigan shore at Illinois Beach; the river bluff vistas above the mighty Mississippi at Mississippi Palisades; the famed canyons and waterfalls at Starved Rock; the rare plants on the hill prairies of Jim Edgar Panther Creek;
- Alexandra Owens
- Starved Rock State Park. Where: LaSalle County, Illinois. What to Expect: One of the Midwest’s most popular parks, ancient glaciers formed Starved Rock’s namesake 125-foot butte which hangs precipitously over the Illinois River.
- Indiana Dunes National Park. Where: Porter County, Indiana. What to Expect: One of the most ecologically diverse preserves in the nation with over 15,000 acres of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers and forests, Indiana Dunes boasts unusual features like oaks growing right out of the sand.
- Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Where: Wisconsin. What to Expect: And now for something completely different: a massive, prehistoric trail. Harkening back to a time some 15,000 years ago when an ice sheet covered much of North America, this route traces ancient sedimentary formations such as kames (sand mounds) and eskers (long, winding ridges) and provides fascinating insight into glacial history.
- Moraine Hills State Park. Where: McHenry County, Illinois. What to Expect: Surrounding 48-acre Lake Defiance, one of the few glacial lakes in Illinois that remains largely undeveloped, Moraine Hills State Park immerses visitors in the area’s woodlands, wetlands and abundant wildlife.
- Illinois Beach State Park. If you love sparsely populated beaches, bird watching, and tromping around valleys of bursting wildflowers, Zion’s Illinois Beach State Park is one of the closest to Chicago and only a short Metra ride away.
- Indiana Dunes State Park. Midwesterners are proud that part of our beloved shoreline Indiana Dunes was named a National Park in 2019, and Hoosiers still claim Indiana Dunes State Park, the 2,000 acre park situated alongside its federally managed neighbor.
- Kettle Moraine State Forest. Covering over 50,000 acres of southwestern Wisconsin, Kettle Moraine State Forest is just over two hours by car from Chicago and offers some of the hilliest hiking and trail running routes in the region.
- Warren Dunes State Park. Though Warren Dunes State Park offers an easily accessible beach with food trucks, kayaking, hang gliding and more, there is more to this nearly 2,000-acre Michigan state park than just the water.
Feb 2, 2022 · Forget about skyscrapers, paved sidewalks, and honking cars, and go to one of these state parks in and near Chicago where the smog won't get you. These little pockets of nature will help you unwind and get a fresh breath of air.
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With a plethora of state parks near Chicago, adventure seekers can indulge in hiking, camping, fishing, and more, all within a few hours’ drive from the city. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take you on a journey through some of the best state parks near Chicago, where you can recharge your batteries and immerse yourself in the beauty of ...
