Good place to hike?

[tville_hiker]

we're lookin for a hike in Illinois, somewhere that is like the AT where we can do a small section hike of maybe 40-50 miles without worrying about camping in specific areas or paying some huge fee just to get into the park/trail, etc. Are there other trails like the AT that have shuttles and stuff in IL or would we have to hike back to our car?(wich is fine)

well the gist of it, we're lookin for a trail that is at least 50 miles if it has shuttles or at least 20-30 miles if we have to hike back to our car and the trail has to be open all year around.

What about the shawnee national forest? is that a good place to hike that wont cost us an arm and a leg to get into and park and what not and can you pitch a tent anywhere along the a trail?

any help and input is GREATLY appreciated!

[The Solemates]

although ive never been there, youre best bet would be shawnee. ive actually wanted to do the river to river trail, but have never got around to doing it. more info here: http://www.rivertorivertrail.com/

and from this site: http://www.discoverytrail.org/states/illinois/index.html you will also see a northern route along some canal trails.

another option would be to skip across the state line and try the knobstone trail in indiana. its supposed to be a "mini AT" and is 60 miles long.
http://www.indianaoutfitters.com/Destinations/Knobstone_trail.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~ammisov/knob.htm

still further east in ohio is the buckeye trail. http://www.buckeyetrail.org/

ive had my eyes on all three of these trails for a while now, as ive always wanted to do a "midwest" type hike. if you decide to hike one, please post a review here.

happy hiking.

[rithomas]

I've never hiked the AT, but based on the journals I've read, the Knobstone in southern Indiana is probably pretty close in terms of difficulty. Definitely designed by a sadistic maniac who likes to play with your head! It is very ascent/descent heavy, and is probably good training ground for the AT.