Hello from Northern Illinois

[Jstov1984]

Hello,

Wanted to introduce myself, my name is Justin and I am fairly new to hammocks. I started off with a Bear Butt hammock years ago and didn't really know how to hang it or lay in it correctly and almost gave up until I started searching around YouTube for how to videos. I have no trees on my property and I have only been hammock camping once so I was mainly using my hammock with a cheap stand I purchased on Amazon that didn't work well. I however saved up and recently purchased a Tato gear hammock stand so I can finally put everything I have learned to use at home in the backyard and put to use the tarp that I have only used the one time I went camping. After finally being able to hang properly and getting that perfect lay I decided to upgrade my hammock as well and picked up a Dutchware Chameleon wide that I received last week and I am loving. I will mainly be using my hammock in my backyard however i really would like to get out to some camp sites. If anyone has any recommendations for good hammock camping sites around northern IL please let me know, backpacking or car camping.

[MagicPaddler]

Under the mane Forum page is a Outings/Hangouts, Campouts, and Trip planning heading and under that is Midwest. There are a couple of people who plan outings and post them there.

[rweb82]

The McKinley Woods section of the I&M Canal trail has a nice little primitive site that we use. You have to use Channahon State Park for overnight parking and either hike or bike the 3 miles in to the site, because McKinley Woods does not allow overnight parking. I usually park at McKinley Woods just to drop off my gear at the site, then drive to CSP and hike or bike in.

Unfortunately, you can't do anything at the moment- with everything being shut down. The I&M Canal trail is supposedly opening on May 1, but it doesn't say that Channahon State Park will open. So I don't know if we'll be able to park there.

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[Jstov1984]

Thank you, I will definitely be combing trough that page to find some camping locations.

[Jstov1984]

Channahon State Park and the Mckinley Woods looks nice, I see it is just under a two hour drive from my home so I will be planning a trip there once everything opens back up.

[NOBOZax]

A 3 hr drive from Rockford Illinois, Yellow River State Park in Iowa is nice. Backpacking and car camping

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[Watertooner]

We have a mix of WI/IL folks who hang at the Pinewoods Campground near Dousman, WI each year in April. It's called the SprinterGiving Hang. Find the forum threads under MidWest hangs. It's about 75 miles or 1.5 hours from Rockford. Would be glad to have you join us - next year.

[Grunt]

First, welcome to HF! It's been a long time since I lived up that way, but I used to spend time camping around Woodstock/McHenry on public land and up into Janesville, WI (although I think that may have been private land, not sure). Just testing setups and practicing flying your tarp and such can be done in Forest Preserves or parks, but not spending the night. Over here in IN, I mainly head for the National Forest lands because they allow for free dispersed camping. Good luck and happy hanging.