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California Weather Comes to Tinley Forest Perserve Near Chicago in March, 2012!

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , on March 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Everyone in Chicago is remarking how unusually warm the weather is this march. We are experiencing 80 degree F  days and sun, sun, sun. Not your usually March fare for us Northerners. But this Sunday. my man and I took advantage of the lovely weather and grabbed our bikes for our first bike ride of the season…at Tinley Creek Forest Preserves. Tinley Creek has a paved bike trail and the Red loop is about 9 miles. You can add a route to other nearby Forest Preserves for a longer ride or you can bike a portion of the loop for a shorter ride if you need to.

We did the full loop and my odometer showed we did a reasonably long ride for our maiden voyage: 10.88 miles. Not bad and  nice way to warm up the body after the winter!

BMX biking at Tinley Creek Forest Preserves. Image by J. Porys.

The Red loop was our bike trail. About 9 miles for the entire loop at Tinley Creek Forest Preserves. Image by J. Porys.

The wind in my hair, the path is clear, I take my first ride of the year at Tinley Creek! Image by J. Porys.

Buds on the trees, a slow moving stream, green grass growing tall and proud. It feels like California, but it's Chicago in March! Image by J. Porys.

Tinley's bike trail crosses a few sturdy bridge, I slant into the curves of the path. Image by J. Porys.

Clear blue skies with a hint of clouds in Tinley gives us a scenic ride. Image by Sue Shekut.

I hope off my bike to take more pics! (and let my glut muscles catch a break from the bike seat!) My photographer boyfriend does his best to capture the scene form his angle. Image by Sue Shekut.

As the sun sets, it sends shards of light into this forest, making it look almost haunted! Image by Sue Shekut.

Total Miles biked = 10.88 by the time we reached our car. Image by Sue Shekut

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Kankakee River State Park Puts Great Hiking and Clean, Clear Water on the Map

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Nature and Stress, tagged , , , , , , on September 22, 2010| 6 Comments »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Recently I was reading Backpacker magazine’s top lists of hikes around the U.S. They  listed 3 of the top hiking places in Chicago: The Chicago Lakefront, Starved Rock and Kankakee River State Park.  The lakefront is more of an outdoor mall these days than an actual hiking path, but it is a well known Chicago route so I give Backpacker that much. But I was surprised that they did not mention any of the fantastic hiking paths in the rest of the Chicago Area: Tinley Park, Herrick Lake, Palos, Waterfall Glen, Sag Valley, and about 30 more. If you get out of Chicago proper, there are scores of really quiet, well maintained forests, meadows and trails.  I’ve been to Starved Rock a number of times, but had not yet to Kankakee. So, to verify Backpackers recommendation, my man and I bundled up our hiking gear and headed for Kankakee River State Park this past weekend!

Kankakee River. Image by Sue Shekut

The park’s trail system stretches for miles along both sides of the river. Hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails are on the river’s north side, while horse and snowmobile trails can be found on the south.

Kankakee River State Park Map. Image by Sue Shekut

On Sunday, we walked from a boat launch area on the West side of the park, over a suspension bridge, along a picnic area and then to Rock Creek trail where we climbed along the creek.

Kankakee Rock Creek Trail marker. Image by Sue Shekut

The 3-mile route along Rock Creek gives you a great view of limestone canyons and a smallish frothy waterfall. The park offers a bicycle trail that begins at Davis Creek Area and travels 10.5 miles of trails in the form of a linear trail along the river and with a loop in the west end of the park.

View from Rock Creek Trail, Kankakee. Image by Sue Shekut

This region is fairly flat with some nice hike-able cliffs and a few look out points along the river. But the Rock Creek Trail had some really steep paths along the way affording interesting lookouts of the clean clear water below.

Jason taking pics at Rock Creek Trail overlook, Kankakee. Image by Sue Shekut

On our way around the Rock Creek Trail we found a really lovely grove of pine trees. Walking into the trees we felt that special hush I often feel when I am in the presence of a grove of trees. It felt like a church or sacred space.

Pine forest along the trail in Kankakee. Image by Sue Shekut

No matter where we hiked, we could see through the water at every point!  That water is clean–at least to the naked eye–and it’s  a pleasure to be able to see such clear water in a local river.

Super clear water in Kankakee River! Image by Sue Shekut

At this point we had hiked about 7 miles and then got a bit lost finding our way back to our car which added another 2 miles to our hike. We took a wrong turn at fork in the trail and ended up by the stables.

Kankakee River Stables rents horses. Image by Sue Shekut

All told, according to my handy pedometer, we hiked 10 miles and still had another half of the park to explore on another day.

For directions, info on equestrian trials, biking, hiking, etc. click here.

A beautiful spot to relax in Kankakee River State Park. Image by Sue Shekut

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