Writer researching area (Chicago, Springfield, Des Plaines: farms, family friendly, trees)

[Charlie345]

Hi there,
I'm writing a fictional story which could involve scenes in wooded valleys somewhere surrounding Chicago. If anyone is familiar with the rural areas immediately surrounding the city, I'd appreciate some indication as to whether this is tenable or whether such terrain simply does not exist anywhere around that part of northern Illinois.
Thanks.
C

[Drover]

When you say "immediately surrounding the city" do you mean the city proper or the urbanized/metropolitan area? Because there aren't really any rural areas immediately surrounding the city itself, and certainly not of the "wooded valley" variety.

[chet everett]

In a technical sense there are some minor ravines and ancient sand dunes in places like Highland Park to the north of Chicago as well in NWI directly SE of Chicago.

There also low areas in the greater lower DesPlaines River Valley/ Morraine Kettle / Forest Preserves SW of Chicago between Willow Springs and Orland Park...

For stuff more dramatic than that you'd need to head out to Illinois River near Oregon Il or the greater Vermillion River basin around Streator or all the way out to Galena along the Mississippi...

[linicx]

The Illinois is the longest and arguably the largest river in the state with a width of one mile. It also slices the state in unequal portions from Alton Illinois to the Des Plaines River and the Port of Chicago. If you want a more rocky isolated feel, look in NW Illinois north of I-80. It is isolated enough to shelter a family friendly nudist camp.

On the other hand if you want almost 300 miles of tall tree-covered cllffs, high rolling hills, a protected Wetlands Refuge, lakes, and small streams, it's all part of the Illinois River Valley ecosystem, and the Mississippi Flyway. They say this flyway has 200,000 bird species. It is very rural with small towns and farms. There is some interesting WWII history in the Valley, too.

If you want nature hiking and waterfalls you go to parks at Starved Rock and Matteson.

In any case none of this is in the City of Chicago proper. The city is more likely part of the Illinois Plains where you find more corn, beans, and wind farms than large groves of trees and natural windbreaks.

The areas I mentioned above are probably between 100 to 200 miles to the center of Chicago. Cook County and Chicago, alone, is 1000 square miles or larger. The visible part of the IL River Valley begins south of I-80 not to far, and follow the course of the IL river to southeast of the Sanganois River. and almost to Springfield.

[Charlie345]

Okay, thanks to everyone who responded. That's very helpful, let's me know what I'm looking at. I'll have to review the options and decide from there whether its tenable to set the scenes there. Thanks!!

[Drover]

If the "wooded valley near a city" is a critical plot point but the northern Midwest location isn't, try shifting your focus to Pittsburgh or Cincinnati which are both essentially Appalachian cities. There are some parts of Pittsburgh proper that are set in hilly, wooded areas and have a bit of a hillbilly feel to them.

[linicx]

The closest wooded rural area around Chicago is probably Wisconsin.

[oddstray]

What about the forest preserves? If they still exist, would they do for a "wooded rural area"?