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Old 07-22-2015, 09:11 PM
 
66 posts, read 117,975 times
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Somme Prairie Grove and the adjacent Somme Woods might be worth a try. According to its web site, Somme Prairie Grove is accessible by walking from the Northbrook Metra station. I haven't been there myself despite having driven past it many times.

Somme Prairie Grove: How To Get There
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Chicago
4,688 posts, read 10,112,824 times
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Could take metra to Zion and hike trails in Illinois Beach State Park. Never taken the train there, but it seems close enough.
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:48 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
1,421 posts, read 1,637,885 times
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Blue line to O'Hare.

Board plane

Fly to Denver

Bus to Boulder

Walk 1 mile to mountains.

$$$ Profit?
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Old 07-23-2015, 10:51 AM
 
66 posts, read 117,975 times
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If you don't mind sharing a trail with bikes and joggers, you could try the Des Plaines River Trail. It's a short distance east on Miner St from the Des Plaines Metra stop, just across the river.
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Old 07-26-2015, 09:49 AM
 
Location: In the heights
37,160 posts, read 39,451,107 times
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I'm surprised this isn't a viable option in Chicago. Do none of the metra lines have a stop within the Cook County Forest Preserves?
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Old 07-26-2015, 11:02 AM
 
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There are plenty of places to take hikes or long walks in the western suburbs. You can also go to Morton arboreteum and its beautiful. Go to Blackwell forest preserve or Herrick Lake. Of course its flat there.

The empire building train goes to the west coast but makes stops in Wisconsin along the way. I think one of the stops is Wisconsin Dells. There may be others. I don't know how you would get around once off the train though.
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Old 07-26-2015, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Edmonds, WA
8,975 posts, read 10,222,689 times
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I know you don't want to go to the Indiana Dunes, but you could always take the Amtrak up to New Buffalo or St. Joseph Michigan. That's under 2.5 hours and plenty of hiking around there. Unfortunately Weko Beach and Warren Dunes aren't very accessible via public transportation but there are plenty of smaller parks like Silver Beach in St. Joe which is literally right next to the Amtrak station.
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Old 07-26-2015, 03:39 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,421,872 times
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Default No they do not...

Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler View Post
I'm surprised this isn't a viable option in Chicago. Do none of the metra lines have a stop within the Cook County Forest Preserves?
...and there should be no real support for this.

The primary purpose of the Metra system is to ferry commuters to workplaces. The vast majority of resources are dedicated toward the "live in the suburbs / work in the Loop" scenario, a significantly smaller amount of resources are devoted to the reverse commute because that reduces the pressure that otherwise results in clogged roadways and employees being reliant on personal vehicles. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the majority of profitable ridership for CTA and Pace buses similarly are devoted to getting workers to employment sites.

The handful of suburban transit users that currently utilize rail or bus for recreational purposes may someday increase, but the relative expenditures required to extend the infrastructure to things like the Forest Preserves, and the subsequent negative consequences on the maintenance of both the transit facilities as well as the Forest Preserves themselves, which are grossly neglected due to decades of fiscal mismanagement cannot be overstated...

The US is not Europe or Japan. There is no tradition of heading to Zermat or Mt. Fuji via rail, even in places like Colorado the operation of such rail facilities has been for tourism and is a rather fascination look at how US firms largely were not interested in this specialized need -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manito...s_Peak_Railway
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Old 07-26-2015, 03:46 PM
 
431 posts, read 450,097 times
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The new rail in Minneapolis has a stop at Fort Snelling State Park and one across the street from a park with a waterfall. I don't think it would be that weird to have a shuttle bus to the Forest Preserves. I just don't think it would be very popular.
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Old 07-26-2015, 07:15 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh (via Chicago, via Pittsburgh)
3,887 posts, read 5,525,157 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caverunner17 View Post

Blue line to O'Hare.- $5 round trip

Board plane

Fly to Denver- $160 round trip (found on spirit)

Bus to Boulder- $10 round trip via RTD I believe

Walk 1 mile to mountains. $0... I actually think it could be less than a mile walk to hiking areas

$$$ Profit?
$175? not too shabby. Obviously not a day trip. But it could be a reasonably priced long weekend.
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