Now I Know How Ebeneezer Scrooge Felt
July 4, 2017 4:59 PM Subscribe
After several years of suffering through NONSTOP fireworks in my neighborhood every day and night for the week surrounding fourth of July, I am DONE. Next year, I'm packing up the cat and driving as far into isolation as possible. But where?!?! Description of what I'm looking for inside:
Can you suggest a location that meets these requirements?
-Can be hotel or airbnb/vrbo (would likely need to be an entire place though, not just a room)
-Driving distance from Chicago (the shorter the drive the better, but willing to drive up to 5-6 hours)
-must allow a cat! we're suffering together here.
-AS FAR AWAY FROM ANY FIREWORKS OR LOUD EXPLOSIONS AS POSSIBLE - literally, I pretty much want guaranteed quiet.
-overall budget in the $500-ish range (the cheaper the accommodations the longer i could stay, though)
I don't need anything fancy or special otherwise. I did do some preliminary googling, but I was hoping mefites might be able to say, "yes, for sure, this place is quiet, even on national firework day." PLEASE HOPE ME, MEFITES!!!
Can you suggest a location that meets these requirements?
-Can be hotel or airbnb/vrbo (would likely need to be an entire place though, not just a room)
-Driving distance from Chicago (the shorter the drive the better, but willing to drive up to 5-6 hours)
-must allow a cat! we're suffering together here.
-AS FAR AWAY FROM ANY FIREWORKS OR LOUD EXPLOSIONS AS POSSIBLE - literally, I pretty much want guaranteed quiet.
-overall budget in the $500-ish range (the cheaper the accommodations the longer i could stay, though)
I don't need anything fancy or special otherwise. I did do some preliminary googling, but I was hoping mefites might be able to say, "yes, for sure, this place is quiet, even on national firework day." PLEASE HOPE ME, MEFITES!!!
I had a similar need for quiet so I'm gonna link to my comment from a few days ago. I think this area is what you are looking for; both cabins are away from populated areas. The sheep farm is owned by Mennonites who (probably?) don't celebrate 4th of July. (Note: they didn't bother me about religious stuff whatsoever.)
posted by AFABulous at 5:08 PM on July 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by AFABulous at 5:08 PM on July 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Canada makes sense (and Windsor is less than 5 hours away by car), but remember that Canada Day (i.e. fireworks) is July 1st. So depending on when you want to leave, that may or may not work for you.
posted by MangoNews at 5:14 PM on July 4, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by MangoNews at 5:14 PM on July 4, 2017 [5 favorites]
Not Canada; July 1st is Canada which is celebrated with fireworks to my dog's chagrin. They're legal to set off in most places for a week before and a week after July 1st. Our neighbors last night were doing fireworks, and a number of people were setting them off in the park on the 2nd, and I expect some stragglers will be setting off fireworks they got at firesale this Friday.
posted by nobeagle at 5:54 PM on July 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by nobeagle at 5:54 PM on July 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
AFABulous seems to have the best idea: a rural area surrounded by people like the Mennonites or Amish. Is there a national park that rents out cabins within your reach?
Go ahead and research fireworks bans for near-ish areas, but be aware that that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be someone setting them off anyway --- I live in a city where all fireworks (from the smallest sparkler on up) are absolutely, totally illegal; this is nothing new, the ban has been in place for decades, and yet some idiot has (as usual!) been setting them off for the last three days. I expect that when I arrive home tonight I'll find he's still going strong, and will probably keep it up for several more days. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but yeah: idiots gonna idiot.
posted by easily confused at 6:17 PM on July 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Go ahead and research fireworks bans for near-ish areas, but be aware that that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be someone setting them off anyway --- I live in a city where all fireworks (from the smallest sparkler on up) are absolutely, totally illegal; this is nothing new, the ban has been in place for decades, and yet some idiot has (as usual!) been setting them off for the last three days. I expect that when I arrive home tonight I'll find he's still going strong, and will probably keep it up for several more days. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but yeah: idiots gonna idiot.
posted by easily confused at 6:17 PM on July 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't have a specific recommendation but as a suggestion on where to look I'll note that the Provincial park I work in prohibits fireworks in the summer for fire risk reasons. We're blessed with some huge parks in BC but maybe something similar closer your home.
posted by Mitheral at 6:23 PM on July 4, 2017
posted by Mitheral at 6:23 PM on July 4, 2017
You'd have to call them and ask about fireworks, but the website for Starved Rock State Park says they have "pet-friendly cabins." That's less than one hundred miles from Chicago.
posted by FencingGal at 7:37 PM on July 4, 2017
posted by FencingGal at 7:37 PM on July 4, 2017
It's horrible isn't it. My dogs and I hate the fourth of July (and the week before and after!). I believe that fireworks are not allowed in national parks and forests. Not sure of the closest one to Chicago.
posted by mulcahy at 9:12 PM on July 4, 2017
posted by mulcahy at 9:12 PM on July 4, 2017
If you're after Amish country, you want either Arthur, Illinois, or Shipshewana, Indiana. I don't know anything about the fireworks in those areas, but it should be easy enough to check.
This Light Pollution Map will help you find places as far as possible from other people.
One of the most remote spots in Illinois is Panther Creek state conservation area (previously known as "Site M," it was supposed to be a coal plant and got Clean Air Acted into extinction and is good for nothing else and has no nearby development). It is 3.5 hours from Chicago, a little northwest of Springfield. It's all primitive camping (there are not even lights at many of the campsites), for $6/night. Pets are allowed but must be on-leash, but I gotta tell ya, I have literally never seen a park ranger there. I mean, be cool and all, it's a nature preserve, but if Fluffy is safely frolicking in your shelter or tent or whatever I don't think anyone will say boo about it. You might also look at Starved Rock State Park and environs; it's near Utica/LaSalle/Peru, but they're all quite small, and there's enough parkland you'd probably be far enough away from the fireworks to just hear them as distant crackles rather than terrifying booms, and there are a number of B&Bs and hotels in the area (in addition to the on-site park stuff). I'd expect it to come in well under your budget.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:01 PM on July 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
This Light Pollution Map will help you find places as far as possible from other people.
One of the most remote spots in Illinois is Panther Creek state conservation area (previously known as "Site M," it was supposed to be a coal plant and got Clean Air Acted into extinction and is good for nothing else and has no nearby development). It is 3.5 hours from Chicago, a little northwest of Springfield. It's all primitive camping (there are not even lights at many of the campsites), for $6/night. Pets are allowed but must be on-leash, but I gotta tell ya, I have literally never seen a park ranger there. I mean, be cool and all, it's a nature preserve, but if Fluffy is safely frolicking in your shelter or tent or whatever I don't think anyone will say boo about it. You might also look at Starved Rock State Park and environs; it's near Utica/LaSalle/Peru, but they're all quite small, and there's enough parkland you'd probably be far enough away from the fireworks to just hear them as distant crackles rather than terrifying booms, and there are a number of B&Bs and hotels in the area (in addition to the on-site park stuff). I'd expect it to come in well under your budget.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:01 PM on July 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seeing earlier responses -- there is a national forest in Illinois, the Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois. It is awesome (and really different from the rest of Illinois!) but it will take you a solid 5.5 hours to get there. (Also. ALSO. Some of those counties are DRY ON SUNDAY, which was not a thing I knew was a thing in Illinois until I tried to buy liquor there on a Sunday after a VERY LONG DRIVE.) It is EXTREMELY illegal to have fireworks there -- they will arrest you for just having one, not even setting it off. I'm not sure about pets in the park itself, but it's the sort of large park that has highways through it and several communities along those highways where you can get non-park-affiliated hotels/B&Bs where pets can stay.
And Starved Rock is super-awesome. I love it! Feel free to memail me if you decide on Starved Rock! They have pretty strict pet-cabin rules, and the pet-cabins book fast, so book early. A cat who just wants to hang around the cabin should be FINE. (The rules for dogs on the trails are very, very strict but a cat probably isn't going out.) In the lodge they have a kick-ass ice-cream shop that makes ice cream on site and serves you gigantic cones, it is the very best. The food in the lodge restaurant is so-so (kinda 50s), but it's a big old 1930s CCC-built lodge and it's cool enough to make up for the food being only okay. The hiking is fantastic. (We are winter visitors so I want to tell you all about the ice falls and bald eagle spotting, but I GUESS THERE IS NO ICE IN JULY.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:17 PM on July 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
And Starved Rock is super-awesome. I love it! Feel free to memail me if you decide on Starved Rock! They have pretty strict pet-cabin rules, and the pet-cabins book fast, so book early. A cat who just wants to hang around the cabin should be FINE. (The rules for dogs on the trails are very, very strict but a cat probably isn't going out.) In the lodge they have a kick-ass ice-cream shop that makes ice cream on site and serves you gigantic cones, it is the very best. The food in the lodge restaurant is so-so (kinda 50s), but it's a big old 1930s CCC-built lodge and it's cool enough to make up for the food being only okay. The hiking is fantastic. (We are winter visitors so I want to tell you all about the ice falls and bald eagle spotting, but I GUESS THERE IS NO ICE IN JULY.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:17 PM on July 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hotel in a skyscraper in downtown Chicago. In a dense business/hotel district you won't have the kids lighting fireworks as they do in the neighborhoods. Just be a distance from the official fireworks display at Navy Pier and you should be fine (south loop or near Sears tower perhaps.) hotel staff can place you in a room away from Navy Pier side. Cats are often allowed but check first.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 3:41 AM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 3:41 AM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 5:02 PM on July 4, 2017 [32 favorites]