Book Description
The perfect bring-along accessory for exploring Chicago like a native.
Walks include:
Millennium Park
The Loop
Magnificent Mile
Navy Pier
...And more!
Book Description
Chicago residents grab your boots and get outside! Using clear and entertaining narrative, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Chicago eliminates doubts about where to hike and what to expect when you get to the trailhead. To locate and assess the best hikes within a 60-mile radius of the Chicago area, this guide is indispensable. 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Chicago blows the lid off the myth that you can't have a great trek close to home. The Windy City may be an ever-expanding metropolis, but there are still plenty of thrilling hiking options. Choose among short and long hikes, hikes for children, hikes for dogs, hikes for birding, for wildflowers and for waterfalls, historic and scenic hikes, and many others.
Customer Reviews:
Great resource!.......2007-09-05
The title of the book caught my eye, and the book itself more than lived up to it! I live in downtown Chicago and was looking for hikes that could be done as day trips - the 60 hikes included are within this distance. The book makes it easy to search by type - for example, river hikes, lake hikes, hikes for wildlife viewing, hikes with children, and then also by distance (1-3 miles, 3-6 miles, and 6+ miles). Each hike has a trail map, directions, a full description, and key info at a glance (e.g. length, configuration, difficulty, scenery, facilities, and even exposure - shady, sunny etc.).
Book Description
This is your complete guide to the 100 most interesting and scenic day hiking trails in Illinois. No matter what part of the state you want to explore or how easy or hard a trek you want, this handy book will lead you to the right trail.
Hiking Illinois features the following:
• Detailed descriptions of 100 trails, including the length of trail, estimated time to hike it, and a difficulty rating
• 143 easy-to-read park and trail maps
• A map of each featured trail, with points of interest and trail distances
• Practical information on how to get to parks, the park hours, available facilities, permits and rules, and a contact address and phone number
• A convenient trail-finder grid, which provides a summary of each trail's features and location in the book
• A section on nearby points of interest, with contact phone numbers
Hiking Illinois makes it easy to enjoy self-guided tours of trails in 59 featured areas located throughout the state. The book brings to life the history, terrain, flora, and fauna of each area, and its listing of nearby recreational and sightseeing destinations ensures that you won't miss anything on your trip.
Hiking Illinois is part of America's Best Day Hiking Series from Human Kinetics.
Customer Reviews:
Hiking Illinois.....Top Notch!!.......2006-08-31
Bought this book about a month ago, and have since used it about 6 times for various hikes in Illinois. The book is well laid out, and so far has proven to be very accurate. There are detailed directions to trail heads that you would never find with out this book. Some of these trails are just spectacular, and the author has really done her homework. Trails are rated with diffuculty and facilities close buy in the beggining of the book, as well as a general map to help you find the area of interest. Each hike is described in detail and includes all pertanent information, including detailed directions, hours of operation, permits and rules, etc. This book has a wealth of information, and I intend to hike all 100 hikes in time. The best part of this book is the removable pages. The hikes are arranged so that you can tear out a page along a perforation and take it with you on your hike. The maps included are not exactly topo quality, but they do give you a general feeling for the layout of the trail, and you can use them as a general referance as you hike along. Each hike is contained on one or two pages, and there is no overlap between hikes. That means if you tear out a page, you will only have one hike on that page, and not an overlap to another hike. This is a very thoughtfull addition, as my pages tend to get a little mauled after 5 miles of sweat dripping on them. I have checked the accuracy of these maps, and have found them quite accurate in milage and directions. All in all I am very pleased with this book, and will use it for many years. Keep in mind, these are day hikes, and not intended as long trail hiking. While trails very in distance and milage, all of them can be completed in one day. Good trail guide.
Doc Holiday
Pretty sketchy, and the descriptions aren't all that accurat.......2005-03-12
I picked this up as an avid central illinois day hiker. I'd done probably a dozen of the hikes listed, and was amazed to see just how different an impression that the author had had compared to mine. I found many descriptions just simply inaccurate or misleading, and laughed out loud at some of the trails that she had marked as 4-5 boot's difficult (I found them to be very easy trails, and I'm not some superman).
The book consists of several sets of maps, the 'how to get there' maps are pretty good, but the trail maps are practically worthless. Don't rely on them to find your way around.
Several of the 'hikes' are very urbanized, including walking through cities. Not my idea of a hike, but I guess they count. All in all, I was moderately disapointed in this book. The plusses are there are some good ideas for hikes listed that you might not have found all in one spot, but the usefulness pretty much ends at getting you to the park.
Great book for planning your next outdoor adventure.......1997-10-11
This book is great for an outdoor enthusiast! It contains detailed descriptions of 100 trails located throughout Illinois, including a difficulty rating, estimated time required and trail length. A summary of this information is also displayed in a table, allowing users to easily identify a trail and locate it within the book. Each detailed entry includes directions to the site, rules and regulations, contract information, and maps of both the trails and the parks. In addition, other sites of interest which are located in the surrounding area are often listed at the end of each entry. Hiking Illinois offers very complete coverage and the author incorporates her experiences at the sites into her book.
Customer Reviews:
Useful guide.......2001-09-02
Excellent aid for beginning bikers and walkers as well. The maps are very helpful and it is a delight to know how much is actually right here in Cook County. Don't tear out pages though - then you can't find them when you want them the next time, and you will want to revisit some of these great locations once the book helps you discover them. My only concern is that it needs to be updated and I hope there will be a new edition coming out soon.
Helpful and thorough guide.......1999-05-25
This book provides a thorough guide to the hiking and biking trails available in Cook County. Some of this information is available nowhere else! I didn't realize how extensive the Forest Preserve trail system is until I checked this book. This one is going to stay in my car!
Average customer rating:
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Chicago (Frommer's Walking Tours)
Michael Uhl
Manufacturer: Frommer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0671885030 |
Book Description
Firsthand information on 59 Illinois trails actually hiked by the authors between March 1983 and May 1984.
By hiking more than 500 miles of trails the Zyznieuskis were able to provide accurate trail descriptions and detailed maps for trails located in state parks, conservation areas, nature preserves, municipal parks, not-for-profit organization parks, railroad rights-of-way, the Shawnee National Forest, conservation districts, and forest preserves. In addition to their trail descriptions and detailed maps, the authors offer suggestions on what to wear, what to take, and where to find additional information. Appendixes provide information on local weather, hiking organizations, and the rules and regulations for Illinois state parks and recreation areas.
Customer Reviews:
Some good hiking information with several shortcomings.......2004-01-22
Since I gave a 2-star rating, I don't want to leave the impression that this book is bad (it is not). To this end, let me start by stating some of the book's positive attributes and then describe some shortcomings.
First, this work contains a wide variety of hikes. A total of 69 destinations are described, and the distribution is relatively even throughout the state. Trail distances range from 3 to 57 miles, and I would put the average at around 10 miles. Difficulty ranges from flat bike trails in the Chicago area to steep mountain hikes in Shawnee National Forest. Each hike contains a map (more on this later), a good background on the area, and directions to the trailhead. With this wide variety of hikes to choose from, you will have no trouble finding a trail to suit your location and ability.
One should note that the author does not spend all 370 pages describing trails. 45 pages are devoted to an appendix containing Illinois state regulations on use of natural areas. I am not suggesting this is a good or bad use of space, but such a large addendum is unusual, and I thought it should be noted.
Unfortunately, I now need to move to some shortcomings this book possesses. I mentioned above the presence of a map with each hike. While this is true, the maps as presented may not be of much use on the trail. The "maps" are really nothing more than drawings. They fail to show contours, names of trails, significant structures (i.e. park office and toilets) and natural features, and sometimes even the trailhead! It can be a challenge to determine on the map which trail the author is describing.
Another significant shortcoming is the trail descriptions themselves. In fact, many of the "trail" descriptions do not describe a trail (i.e. route for walking), but rather a trail system. Further, no suggested route through the trail system is given. In my opinion, this is a significant problem. As readers, we rely on the author to direct us to a trail of interest. We need information about what can be seen on a specific route to determine if we want to hike that route. We view the author as the expert and rely on his recommendation as to which route would be of greatest interest. The author of this book either does not possess enough knowledge about the area to recommend a route or simply refuses to share that knowledge. This makes it very difficult to choose a trail to hike.
In conclusion, I cannot really recommend this book. In addition to the above, this book is now several years old, and trails do change over time. In lieu of this book, I suggest you consider purchasing "Hiking Illinois (America's Best Day Hiking Series)" by Susan L. Post. I have not personally read Post's book, but my familiarity with this work and with the America's Best Day Hiking Series (I have personally read several works in that series) combined with the positive review Post's book has obtained suggests to me that it is a superior work.
Good Info.......2002-04-22
To be fair, this was the first book on the subject that I have purchased so I really don't have much else to compare it to. I do have to say that with this book I found many trails I never knew were there. Some of them right in my backyard. This book gives a lot of background on the areas as well as contact information. This contact information I think is important to obtain good maps from the parks and districts where the trails are located. That leads me to the biggest problem I had with the book. The maps appear to be hand drawn sketches. This is fine in most instances but I can think of a few times when I would have killed for a good map :) Ah but that is part of the adventure isn't it. Anyway with this book you will find many trails in the state and overall I think it is a worthwhile purchase.
Average customer rating:
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A Guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District
Oak Park Historic Preservation Committee
Manufacturer: Village Of Oak Park, Illinois
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Wright, Frank Lloyd
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ASIN: 0226613259 |
Book Description
The Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District in suburban Oak Park, Illinois is home to a truly remarkable collection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century residential architecture. Within this seventy-eight block district lies the world's greatest concentration of residences designed by Prairie School architects. It includes twenty-six Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, as well as more than sixty buildings designed by members of the Prairie School, all of which are documented in this new Guide.
Internationally famous as the birthplace of the Prairie style, Oak Park is less well-known for other historically significant types of well-preserved architecture, ranging from the simple farm houses of its early settlers to the grand estates of Chicago's industrial giants. In addition to their architectural merit, these structures provide an important context for understanding and appreciating the work of the Prairie School. The district as a whole encapsulates the major trends in residential American architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
This guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District includes five walking tours of this architecturally fascinating area. It features one hundred eighteen structures, an illustrated guide to architectural styles, architects' biographies, and detailed maps. With well over a hundred splendid black and white photographs, this elegantly produced guide is an indispensable reference for tourists, students, and aficionados world-wide.
A Guide to Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School Historic District was produced by the Oak Park Historic Preservation Committee.
Amazon.com
Big cities like Chicago are impressive and intimidating. You can sample the goods, taxiing about to The Second City club and the Art Institute of Chicago, and get a piecemeal feel for the city, or you can put leather to asphalt and make Chicago yours. Walks in Chicago spells out 11 walking tours--past landmark architecture and historic homes, through ethnic neighborhoods, along lakefront paths--that make for rewarding outings for both tourists and residents.
The walks are theme-oriented. The Loop is for architecture hounds. From Sears Tower (the nation's tallest building) to Harold Washington Library Center (world's largest municipal library), this 2-3 hour stroll encompasses Chicago's financial, cultural, and governmental downtown heart, playground to the country's most gifted architects. Or take a different Loop route for the Sculpture Tour, passing works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, and 18 more. The Magnificent Mile is totally urban, full of skyscrapers, shopping centers, hotels, mansions, and commercial giants, while the Gold Coast trail takes you down tree-shaded stretches of historic luxury homes along Lake Michigan. There are directions (including local transit) for each walk, good maps, and rest stop suggestions for coffee and a snack. It's a slim book, easy to pop in a back pocket, and it offers personal, tactile introductions to a great city. --Stephanie Gold
Book Description
10 Great Walking Tours Through the Most Colorful Neighborhoods in Chicago
Follow Frommer's for an up-close-and-personal look at Chicago. Discover the landmark architecture, ethnic neighborhoods, historic homes, and spectacular lakefront that make the Second City second to none.
LET FROMMER'S TAKE YOU TO:
- The Loop, an open-air showroom of architectural innovation and contemporary sculpture, from the Sears Tower to works by Picasso, Calder, and Miró
- The Magnificent Mile, lined with sleek skyscrapers and elegant shopping centers
- The glittering Gold Coast, a tree-shaded stretch of historic homes along Lake Michigan
- Oak Park, home to Frank Lloyd Wright's early architectural achievements
With easy-to-use directions and maps-and the best places to take a break along the way
Customer Reviews:
What DuPage Hikers Need.......2003-09-30
"Hiking and Biking in DuPage County, Illinois" is mostly a reference book. Located 25 miles west of Chicago in the midst of suburbia, DuPage County might not be where great hiking is expected, but Jim Hochgesang shows otherwise.
Hochgesang outlines the best features and reach of the Illinois Prairie Path, a 55+ mile network of almost paved paths within the forest preserves. It has the kind of information you'd find in pamphlets. The differences are that he writes well and it is all in one book. No need with to fumble through a satchel of flyers when you've got this book.
The IPP is a biker's dream, and many people use it to commute, circumventing traffic and enjoying the gorgeous northern Illinois outdoors. The forks and branches can take a traveler through some beautiful scenery and within blocks of most important western suburban locales.
He details the history of the paths, and the landmarks worth seeing. He gives us the gray tree frog in Waterfall Glen, Graue Mill at Fullersburg Woods, and Salt Creek in the Northeast Forest Preserve. He takes mile-by-mile down wooded lanes, and tells us the mileage for each link of the route.
A special chapter is devoted to the verdant Morton Arboretum, a treasure located in Lisle, Ill.
It needs an update, but the maps are still accurate. Many areas have seen changes, including the Arboretum, whose entrance area underwent a significant overhaul in the summer of 2003.
I have used it successfully to plan long bike trips and runs. If you run or bike, or like a leisurely autumn walk, and are thinking of finding out what DuPage offers, buy this book.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
Good way to get acquainted with DuPage County.......2000-12-07
I moved to DuPage County 3 years ago. Having lived in Alaska, I enjoyed scenic hiking. However, it seems that no one knew anything about hiking or bike trails in the area with the exception of a few forest preserves.
Mr. Hochgesang's book has a thorough list of places to hike and bike in DuPage county. Mr. Hochgesang also gives various other pieces of useful information such as maps, parking areas, facilities, what you might see on a particular hike, area history, etc.
The book has 23 sections, each describing at least one place and the various trails (some sections describe several if they are close to each other). The book is slightly outdated, with the information being from around 1994. Despite this, it is still an excellent book to get acquainted with the various parks, forest preserves, and trailes in DuPage County, Illinois.
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