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LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Illinois & Michigan Viewpoint via Illinois & Michigan Trail is a 12.2-mile out-and-back in McKinley Wood Forest Preserve near Birds, IL. The route reaches Illinois & Michigan Viewpoint at the turnaround, 6.1 miles in. It is mostly level, with 26 ft of elevation gain. It scores 2/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi505 – 558 ft13.1 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 41.45876, -88.19277
Nearest town Birds, IL

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Illinois & Michigan Viewpoint via Illinois & Michigan Trail

12.2 mi · ▲ 26 ft · 4 hr 5 min

Elevation 506–556 ft

Out & Back · McKinley Wood Forest Preserve

Trailhead: 41.45876, -88.19277

Weather Sep 20: Heavy rain, high 71°F / low 62° · precip 87% · wind 12 mph · sunrise 6:39 AM · sunset 6:55 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading SE.
  2. 100 ftBear right, heading SW.
  3. 450 ftBear right, heading W.
  4. 100 ftBear left, heading SW.
  5. 1.8 miTurn right, heading SW.
  6. 150 ftTurn left, heading SW.
  7. 150 ftTurn left, heading W.
  8. 350 ftTurn right, heading N.
  9. 50 ftSharp left, heading N.
  10. 50 ftBear right, heading N.
  11. 0.3 miTurn left, heading SW.
  12. 50 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  13. 0.5 miTurn left onto Illinois & Michigan Trail, heading SW.
  14. 0.4 miTurn left, heading S.
  15. 450 ftTurn left, heading S.
  16. 2.9 miReach Illinois & Michigan Viewpoint, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  17. 2.9 miTurn left, heading NW.
  18. 500 ftTurn left, heading NW.
  19. 0.4 miTurn right, heading N.
  20. 0.5 miTurn left, heading NE.
  21. 50 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  22. 0.3 miBear left, heading NE.
  23. 50 ftSharp right, heading NE.
  24. 50 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  25. 350 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  26. 150 ftTurn right, heading NE.
  27. 100 ftTurn left, heading NE.
  28. 1.8 miBear right, heading NE.
  29. 100 ftBear left, heading NE.
  30. 450 ftBear left, heading NE.
  31. 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

53% dirt1% gravel46% unspecified

Weather

Heavy rainTemperature 71°F62°
Precip87%Wind12 mphUV1Humidity92%
Rained 0.9″ yesterday (2.1″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperatureRain chance
75°60° 12 AM: 63% rain1 AM: 75% rain2 AM: 87% rain3 AM: 76% rain4 AM: 87% rain5 AM: 85% rain6 AM: 71% rain7 AM: 56% rain8 AM: 72% rain9 AM: 45% rain10 AM: 23% rain11 AM: 36% rain12 PM: 52% rain1 PM: 65% rain2 PM: 55% rain3 PM: 50% rain4 PM: 16% rain5 PM: 10% rain6 PM: 4% rain7 PM: 3% rain8 PM: 3% rain9 PM: 2% rain10 PM: 3% rain11 PM: 3% rain
Sunrise 6:39 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:55 PM
Mon 62°58°
Tue 62°54°
Wed 63°53°
Thu 65°56°
Fri 69°53°
Sat 64°57°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.2 mi in (~6 min). Leave by 6:29 PM for the 6:55 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:16 PM — 7 min before dark.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

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