Ride 14: A Gift From the Glaciers
  Biking Illinois: 60 Great Road Trips and Trail Rides  
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McHenry, IL         June 21, 2005
When I took the assignment to write Biking Illinois, I saw it as an opportunity to visit  some of the trails that I've been wanting to ride for years. Whenever I heard someone talk about Moraine Hills State Park, I'd think I should go for a ride there. But then for one reason or another I never got around to it. Heck, I even visited the park as part of the Grand Illinois Trail, but it was late and I didn't have time to explore. I took a quick picture and hurried to my motel as dusk slipped away.
Finally, half a decade later (almost to the day) I returned to actually ride the trails in the park. I got an early start to beat most of the rush hour traffic. Besides, I hoped to squeeze in another ride later in the day on the way home.
I picked Kettle Woods to start this ride just because it was close to the entrance.
I took a lot of basic trail pictures. This is in the south part of the park.
There are wildlife viewing platforms on two sides of Black Tern Marsh.
As you can see, parts of the trail are shaded while others are open.
The easternmost loop trail surrounds Lake Defiance (in the background).
There are some steep hills with loose rocks that can be a little tricky on anything other than a mountain bike.
I didn't take many pictures because I was more concerned about getting the trail directions and mileages correct. It was a little more confusing than it had to be, but I managed to cover all of the trails with a couple of overlaps. My touring bike handled the crushed stone adequately, but I would rather have been on a mountain bike.
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