Cook County wants to expand, improve camping sites
Are you in favor of new bunkhouses at Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington and new cabins at Camp Reinberg in Palatine? Do you want places in Cook County forest preserves where families can camp?
Those are among the issues that taxpayers and camping enthusiasts are invited to chime in on this week, as the Forest Preserve District of Cook County seeks to expand and improve its local camping sites.
A series of open, public meetings begins today at 1 p.m. on the 22nd floor of 69 W. Washington, Chicago. Meetings also are planned at 7 p.m. today at Little Red School House Nature Center, 9800 104th Ave., Willow Springs; at 1 p.m. Thursday online at www.fpdcc.com/camping; and at 7 p.m. Thursday at the River Trail Nature Center, 3120 Milwaukee Ave., in Northbrook.
The draft of the forest preserve district’s camping master plan — a working document still in its conceptual phase — would provide families with a place to camp, which is something now restricted to organized youth groups. The plan also includes the following proposals:
Ÿ Create day use camping sites throughout the county that will engage youth and families through new programs and recreation opportunities;
Ÿ Demolish the existing cabins at Camp Reinberg in Palatine and build new ones;
Ÿ Build two bunkhouses, each of which would sleep 32 people, and add six tent platforms, at Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington;
Ÿ Add six tent platforms in Thatcher Woods in River Forest, which would serve as a base for canoe/kayak trips down the Des Plaines River;
Ÿ Add new primitive campsite at the Skokie Lagoons, accessible only by foot, featuring 12 tent platforms;
Ÿ Build a new Camp Pine Woods along the Des Plaines River in Northbrook. The campground would feature 24 tent cabins arranged in pods to accommodate either groups or individuals, as well as multiple tent platforms;
Ÿ Create a Legacy campground site along Bullfrog Lake in Pulaski Woods in Willow Springs, that would sleep 80 people, and have 12 family camping cabins and tent platforms.
The price tag for these improvements has not yet been determined.
“That will be the next step,” forest preserve district spokeswoman Karen Vaughn said.
All of the proposed campsites would be accessible to people with special needs and are intended for rental by the public and organized youth groups. The Legacy site would also be available for weddings, conferences and corporate retreats.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County started working on the camping plan earlier this year. They used an online survey taken by more than 1,300 people and focus groups with relevant parties to help come up with the plan.
A final version, which will incorporate public comments and operational assessments, is expected in October. The work is targeted for 2013.
The district now has three overnight camps used by 5,000 people last year, including Boy and Girl Scout troops. Three other overnight camps are run by private groups on district property.
People who plan to attend meetings are encouraged, but not required, to RSVP at http://fpdcc.eventbrite.com.