The Gratitude Ride – Free for Essential Workers 2025 – Adult Overnight with Out Our Front Door out of Chicago, IL

Ride Specifics

This ride is to acknowledge our city’s Essential Workers.

The Covid19 pandemic placed an unprecedented strain on folks across industries. Essential Workers have served as the backbone to our City’s operations prior to the 2020 shutdown, and Out Our Front Door recognizes the innumerable additional challenges placed on workers since the start of the pandemic. We see many of the incentives to remain employed in an essential industry are slowly expiring and many accommodations that we’d hoped would be long term are no more.

This ride is offered as a way to say ‘thank you’ to our Essential Workers community. Camping spots, navigation and cooking will be covered by OOFD. All you have to do is show up.

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Mileage: Day 1: 28 Miles | Day 2: 28 miles

Support: Self supported – you carry all of your own camping gear on your own bike. No vehicle support.

Lodging: Tent (camping gear not provided). We will stay at Camp Shabbona Woods (Cook County Forest Preserve) located 15810 S. Torrence Ave, South Holland IL, 60473 (map)

Pace: 12-15mph

Trail/Route: Paved road with minimal gravel incorporated and possible snow.

Age: Adult Ride (21+)

Trip Description

Travel south over bridges, canals, and railroads to a hidden gem among the industrial past of Chicago: Camp Shabbona Woods. This is the closest Cook County camping site from Chicago and is an accessible low-stress ride, suitable for beginners and experienced riders. The route is almost entirely on bike paths and/or bike lanes that include the Lakefront Path, the new South Lake Shore Drive extension bike lanes, Calumet Park, Hammond, IN, and the Burnham Greenway.

The facilities at Shabbona Woods are excellent and amenities include the Sand Ridge Nature Center with animals, exhibits, and walking trails, as well as the Green Lake Aquatic Center across the street featuring a lazy river and a water slide.

Campsite features a fire pit, picnic tables, full-service bathrooms with showers, dining pavilions with electrical outlets for device charging, and camp store with concessions.

To learn more about the region we’ll be traveling through, check out the Wetlands Initiative page on the Calumet Region.