Bike To Camp Giant City State Park & Shaunee National Forest, IL

Like many Chicagoans I do not own a car. During the winter of 2010 I researched camping destinations that could be reached via bus & or Amtrak originating in Chicago. One of my destinations this summer was Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois. Using Amtrak departing Chicago Union Station I was able to purchase a ticket costing about $36.00 and $10.00 each way for myself and bike respectively. Arriving in Carbondale IL in about 5 hours I was off the train and toured the SIU farms. After the farm tour, I began my journey to Giant City State Park. The terrain is very hilly and extremely scenic.. After two hours of peddling I arrived at Giant City State Park located in the Eastern unit of the Shawnee National Forest, set up camp and went to sleep. I spent the next two days hiking, trails and peddling around the Park & The Forest. Because of the location of The Forest it can extend the biking to camp season up to two months. Late spring and early fall are the best times to go. I experienced temperatures in in the 80s and 90s during my stay. Don't worry about camping alone. The people at Giant City were very generous and friendly. With some effort you can befriend the entire camp ground! You can learn more about Giant City and the Shawnee National Forest here.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r5/gc.htm

http://www.google.com/images?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:off...

If you don't like to camp and are focused only on biking I strongly recommend the Makanda Inn. Visit the town of Makanda that has several festivals including the Vulture music festival. The scenery is endless in this area !

Other journeys I have taken via bike & train include Moraine Hills State Park in IL via Metra. Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore Via the South Shore Electric