[inahga]

> You can find pretty much anything there, the only thing I struggled with is I like the outdoors and there isn't good hiking (but Chicago actually has really good birdwatching in the city).

Lincoln Park north is not what I would call "good hiking", but I think it's nice for those who like the outdoors. Good for daytime walks, large beaches, dog beach, bird sanctuary, some small natural areas, lakefront trail (paved).

For good hiking, yes you'll have to drive out of the city.

[Kon-Peki]

You don’t have to go too far out of the city - more than 10% of the county land area is forest preserve. Inside the city, the far northwest side (along the river) and the far south side (big marsh/beaubien woods) are probably the best bets.

I know that the wooded section between the IC tracks and LSD from 47th street up to Oakwood/Pershing is a hiking trail very popular with birdwatchers. You can keep walking up to the 31st street beach parking lot, but I think it might technically be trespassing ;)

Naturally, if you want really good hiking, there is a daily train from Union Station that stops at the front gate to Glacier National Park. You can also take the South Shore train eastwards - there are 3 stops adjacent to the Indiana Dunes (both the state and national parks).

[inahga]

Thanks for the tips!

[tdb7893]

I liked to bike the lake there, the lakefront in Chicago is pretty underestimated by people who don't live there. For hiking there's the dunes or Starved Rock but those are super busy a lot of the year (and at this point I've been to both a million times). I ended up needing to drive at least like 2.5 hours into Wisconsin for long hikes, which is a longer drive than I want for just a day trip. That means for the outdoors I up mostly just went birding in parks in the city, generally Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary or Jackson Park, which were really nice but not the same vibe as a good hike (there are some birding groups that will meet around the city that were nice to go with).