Chicago is a wonderful city to visit but a bit tough if you want to stay in your RV. The closest RV parks are about 30 miles away and the availability of overnight RV parking at an outlying Walmart is always a gamble plus the drive through traffic twice a day gets tedious. But there is a rather unorthodox alternative - the McCormick Place Truck Marshalling Yard. McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America and has a huge parking lot for trucks. There’s also a section set aside for RVs. It’s just an asphalt lot sandwiched between US 41 and the railroad tracks and is expensive at $35.00 a night but you can’t get any closer to the city.
Walking is an ideal way to see the city but there’s also a good bus system or you can rent a bike and ride along the scenic Lakefront Trail. The RV parking lot has in-and-out privileges so if you tow a car you can drive around the city but parking is limited and expensive.
Getting to the trail or the city streets from the RV lot is a little tricky. Walk north along Moe Street, which goes under McCormick Place, and look for the pedestrian entrance sign. You must go through the buildings to get across US 41 to the trail or across the train tracks to the city streets. This is complicated so ask for directions if you see anyone. It’s kind of quiet and creepy inside the buildings if there aren’t any ongoing tradeshows.
We love the miles of park along the lake and spent a good part of two days on the trail and in the parks enjoying the sights.
We found the city to be very wheelchair accessible. For more information download Easy Access Chicago and the Chicago Official Visitors Guide.
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