Beaches are one of the most frequented places by tourists and individuals since they can easily relax and enjoy themselves. You may come across many beaches in Chicago, IL. The most popular beaches one can find here are Oak Street Beach and North Avenue Beach.

- These beaches are known for their sparkling clean waters and also have restaurants and cafes situated nearby the beach

- The Oak Street beach is a haven for inline skaters, cyclists, volleyball enthusiasts and sunbathers

- In addition to this, you can even indulge in a variety of water sports like surfing, boating, banana boat rides and many more

http://chicago.citysearch.com/listings/chicago-il/beaches/58044?what=beaches

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/168156/the_top_five_chicago_beaches.html

The Thorn Creek hike is located at 247, Monee Road in Park Forest, Illinois. It has a length of about 2.25 miles which takes not more than 1 hour. The trail is well maintained and easy and gets better with the scenic view. The hike trail has both loop trails and also an outland trail.

The central loop also known as the Nature Center Loop trail is around half a mile long while the other trails which include the Woodland Trail and the Owl Lake Trail are 1 1/4 miles long and 3/4 miles long respectively. The beginning point however, of all these trails remains the Nature Center trail area.

This experience of hiking shall be different and interesting and should be looked forward to during the spring, summer or fall preferably.

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/ThornCreekNaturepreserve_1602.asp

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGM084-057