Looking for nature near Chicago

[sarahoustontx]

We're road tripping from Houston to Chicago in July and will have five days in Chicago, which is a rather long stay for us. Are there any other cities nearby (say, within a five-hour drive) that are absolute must-visits? Anything in Wisconsin? And I generally like to have nature stops on our road trips, but I can't find much information about pretty natural areas in this part of the country for a nice hike.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Sara

[AZBuck]

Actually in Chicago is the lakefront, and for a bit more 'natural' setting of the same general idea, there's Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore just over the state line in Indiana. To the southwest of Chicago, and easily accessible by I-80 is Starved Rock State Park. If you would like some hikes in natural settings there are two great locations in southern Wisconsin, the first is Kettle Moraine State Forest and the second is Horicon Marsh

AZBuck

[glc]

A lesser known state park is Apple River Canyon near Stockton IL. It's not far from Galena, which is an interesting little town.

[Midwest Michael]

Both Buck and GLC's recommendations are great. I've been to all of them, they are all great choices.

Expanding on them, I think the entire Wisconsin State Park system is very well done, and any of those parks can make for a nice day. I will say the most popular park is Devil's Lake, which could also be incorporated into a trip to either Madison or the Wisconsin Dells area.