60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Chicago: Including Aurora, Elgin, and Joliet

Chicago clangs of horns and cars abused by pavement. The volume of motors humming vanishes along every trail described by Ted Villaire. Trail by trail trod in this book has that "road less taken" awakening. It is a daring in the veins surrender to nature that other Chicagoans like myself believe is missing from life. Nature pulses around us if we just want to peak. 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles specially reminds urbanites that we are more than alleys and potholes. I felt like opening my eyes to see the possibilities of nature while hiking and biking in my mind within each page. Our author has taken the time to explore so that we may enjoy our surroundings more deeply. Read this like an entertainment guide of activities without the bling of beer specials and free parking. The maps are freakin' awesome too. I often bike or hike to just enjoy the journey. Yet I inevitably ask myself, "how far have I gone?" Each of the trails within the book charts distance as well as major must see items. If having sixty hike and bike maps at your finger-tips is worthwhile, than the value of this 290 pages is already in your fingertips. Yet, it would be a mistake to buy the book just for the extras like the maps, pictures, directions, descriptions, and the other do-dads contained within the cover. Buy the book for the soul-written words of the author. Ted Villaire is not a stuffy Park Ranger rambling to a chorus of yawning students on a field trip. The writing is soul-felt. Crisp. The author injects feeling and prose to give this reference book a smack of literature. We need to be reminded that In our own wonderful corner of the world we have places described by Villaire. I for one want to enjoy every inch.

I bought this book about a year ago, and I'm working my way through all the hikes. So far, every one (I've done about 15 of them) has been enjoyable. I found that I recently had to purchase a binder for the book because it's so much easier to rip out the pages and take them along on your hike. The author does tend to patch together pieces of different trails, so you really do need the description and map along with you for each of the trips. One side note for dog owners - double check before bringing your dog to some of these places - IL Beach does not allow dogs on their trails, but the book says dogs are allowed, on a leash. That was kind of a long drive to find that out the hard way.

I almost finished writing my review, hit the wrong button and lost it. Just to sum up, you will not find information so thorough, accurate and well-written on the subject. Mr. Villaire is the closest thing to a personal guide.I've lived in Chicago all my life and am pleased to have discovered and rediscoveredl so many worthwhile nature areas. Author Ted Villaire is obviously passionate about sharing his information with fellow nature lovers. Everytime I Google one of the recommended hikes, I find little that adds to the info found in the book. And forget Mapquest- this book gets driving directions right every time. The book is hardly pocket-sized, and the detailed trail guides will have you pulling the book out of your backpack often. My solution is to copy the pages and take those with. (Whoops- did I just confess to copyright violation?)

I bought this book as a referrence for a planned trip. I was so pleased with the graphics and format that I am buying more books in the series. The maps and desciptions are clear and informative. The hikes seem do-able for casual day hikers.

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.).