Illinois Beach State Park

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/parks/r2/ilbeach.htmI’m veering away from national parks today as I’m promoting our state and county parks.  I know, I know, everyone is tired of snow, low temperatures, and WINTER!  Hear me out-it is still time to enjoy the out of doors even now.  We’ve been snow shoeing up at the Zion Dunes—Illinois Beach State Park.  There is the nature trail side and the ecosystem there is always interesting.  In the summer,  one can see Waukegan juniper, wild flowers and cactus (prickly pears) and  careful, poison ivy.   In the winter, you can walk along the beach and see the frozen unique drifts that form ice sculptures from the waves, snow and sand.  On Sunday, when we were there, the sky and lake merged into one color, so that you couldn’t distinguish between the two.  You can then go on the nature trail and believe it or not,  :-] you hardly see a soul.  We did see the tracks of some athletic person who walked part of the trail without snowshoes.  It had to be a challenge because the snow was up to their knees.

You can pretend that you’re up in Canada and then go home to your comfy house.  The secret to winter hiking is dress in layers.  You may want to invest in some good quality mittens, hat, jacket, and boots.  Who cares what you look like as it’s difficult to be "styling" and warm at the same time.  With snow over a certain level, snow shoes will make the experience much more fun!