Nice day trip ride in Northern IL / Southern WI

Where are your favorite places for a nice drive in the Chicagoland area? I've been looking for some nice twisties and maybe a little scenery, but as you know here in Illinois those can be hard to come by. Using the web (a few motorcycle sites list some of their favorite rides), here are the few interesting looking routes I can come up with:

Near Ottawa, IL: http://www.sportbikeroads.com/il.htm or http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/il71.html

Near Galena: http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/il_us20.html

Also near Galena: http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/il_srr.html

And another near Galena: http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/il_cr4.html

Combining the three around Galena with a stop in town for a nice lunch sounds like a great Fall day to me. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

Seriously - a week and nobody has a drive they like? Or maybe we're not sharing? ;-) Well, here's another short and sweet trip much closer to the city for an evening cruise:

Evening cruise after traffic has died down: Start at Continental Auto Sports - window shop and don't forget to look at the cars in the service area. (Last week: 360 challenge race car, F-40, 512BBI, 275 GTB, amongst a slew of 360's and F430's) Get on I-294 South and pay attention to your line through the on-ramp - it's a fun one, but watch your speed. You can get way North of the posted limit if you keep accelerating to the end of the on-ramp. I try to just have fun making the cleanest line through the two corner sections and then laying off a little at the end. Exit onto I-55 North. Have fun on the on-ramp, then exit again at the second LaGrange Road (north 279B) exit. Follow the clover leaf around and just get back on I-55 South. Both the off and on ramps can be fun with no traffic. Proceed on I-55 South and then get back onto I-294. Plenty of opportunity to have a little fun accelerating and finding a clean lane after the toll booth. Then, exit back onto Ogden or wherever heads you in the direction you want. Just a round-about way of taking a little drive with a few corners mixed in - albeit they're just on and off ramps and a couple toll booths. But hey, this is Illinois - you kinda have to make due with what you've got.

 

Ok, since no one else seems to want to chime in on this one I decided to take the trip out to Galena and try the Elizabeth-Scales Mound Road, The Stagecoach Trail, Scenic Ridge Road, and a few others for myself. They were all great, but the three hours just to get out there and then again to get back were a little much for a day trip. Some pics below. Anyone else care to mention a favorite road within a couple of hours of the Chicago Area? Anyone???
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Thanks. Yeah, Galena was crowded - not a parking spot to be had in town. I was there to drive on the roads around Elizabeth, Savannah, Scales Mound, etc. so I just sort of drove through Galena to have a windshield tour. Didn't really go anywhere except "The Broken Yolk" - a cowboy theme dive that had a really great breakfast outside of Elizabeth. A lady at a gas station in Elizabeth said "Woww-eee! That sure is one fancy car" I laughed and we talked a little. Another guy in Savannah said "What year is that", to which I replied "It's an '86", to which he replied "Magnum P.I., right?" I've been asked that so many times now I just say "Yep - pretty much". On the way in Freeport I talked car talk with a bunch of old guys gathered for Sunday morning coffee at the McDonalds - they were really cool and one had a '56 Cadillac out in the parking lot. Great roads, really nice people, and a nice little "adventure" to close off another great driving season. Well, almost - the snow isn't flying yet!
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Yep - that's the place on 20 just outside Elizabeth. I can see why you'd be looking for property out there. One of the most scenic places in the Midwest. And yes, the drive was great!