Get your family winter groove on with snow shoeing and cross country skiing at beautiful Palos Woods Forest Preserve and stay at the nearby and affordable Best Western Inn Suites Midway Hotel!
The Palos Woods Forest Preserve system, composed of a linked series of smaller preserves, wetlands and lakes, boasts the largest acreage of open lands in the Chicagoland area. There are miles and miles of single track trails good for cross country skiing and show shoeing, as well as sledding in designated areas.
Enjoy the advanced 8.3 mile Yellow Trail, or the 6.3 Orange West Trail, good for mountain biking (if there’s no snow, but there is as of this writing), hiking and viewing nature. For beginners, there are the 1.2 mile Blue North Trail and the 2.9 mile Blue South Trail. The longer trails afford spectacular views and challenges including the Bullwhip Switchback and views of Maple Lake and the Psycho Path (aptly named)!
The Palos Woods Forest Preserve trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Pull into the Grove 2 parking lot, the epicenter for all the trails. From Interstate 294, take Archer Avenue to Pulaski Woods (part of the Palos system) and look for the signs. Go online and view the CAMB map, a much better guide than that of the Cook County Forest Preserves.
The Best Western Inn Suites Midway Hotel, just minutes from the Palos Woods Forest Preserve, offers affordable guest rooms, free breakfast, an indoor swimming pool, hot tub and a fitness center. Special AAA rates are available. Call the property direct at (708) 497-3000.