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 RADIOGUY21
Location: Mount Prospect, IL
Gender: Male
 |  |  |  | Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
< on 6/2/2006 9:34 PM >
|  | | | I recently learned about this site on Cary-Algonquin Road, in Cary, IL a while ago from a friend, so i decided to take a ride out there to check it out with some buddys. Well from what the little I have found on it, it used to be an old Ski Lodge called Fox Trails, was opened in the early 1960s, closed in the 1970s. They tried to convert it to a year round attraction with a huge pool, tennis courts. After it closed a club called Harry Hopes opened up there, and seemed to have alot of famous people perform there. Then ive read it was converted to a park district but idk about that..All that remains is a few old shacks that house electric equipment, a bunch of old ski lift equipment laying around everywhere, motors, pulleys, lighting all is just laying around in this gigantic overgrown forest. There are some open fields that seemed to be where the tennis courts were because there is some fencing, and lighting still standing, and further down is a huge hole in the ground where i would think the pool was. Seemed to be a dump site too like at least 20 old kitchen appliances, (may have been from the ski lodge, alot of equipment was 70s era), a trashed 70s style snowmobile, and a bunch of metal laying around, some trashed lawnmowers. Anybody live in the area and/or anybody know about this place? Anybody ever been to the ski lodge, or club back when they were open? Its a very interesting find.. I hope some of you know more about it.
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Reb00t
Location: Chicagoland
Gender: Male
Iron Chef Microwave
| | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 1 on 6/4/2006 11:36 PM >
| | | | Weird. I live in Crystal Lake, and I have yet to hear about this one. When you said ski, I thought of the Norge Jump in Fox River Grove, which seems like it might have some decrepit outbuildings. I should try and find it, however Cary is a pretty flat town. Is this site by the Fox river closer to Algonquin or Fox River Grove?
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RADIOGUY21
Location: Mount Prospect, IL
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 2 on 6/5/2006 5:16 PM >
| | | | Posted by Reb00t
Weird. I live in Crystal Lake, and I have yet to hear about this one. When you said ski, I thought of the Norge Jump in Fox River Grove, which seems like it might have some decrepit outbuildings. I should try and find it, however Cary is a pretty flat town. Is this site by the Fox river closer to Algonquin or Fox River Grove?
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its near the river so yeah its got a slope. I know that Norge Ski Jump is near this, but i dont think its related to this place. Had a Vertical Drop: 135 ft and 9 rope tow lifts. Its so long gone though, so much overgrowth.
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vipermike2002
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 3 on 6/5/2006 6:22 PM >
| | | | I went with Radioguy to check this out, here on some pics.
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Jonsered
    
Location: Back in New Mexico where I belong
Gender: Male
Dressed for a scarecrow ball.........
| |  | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 4 on 6/5/2006 6:33 PM >
| | | | Very cool! Unusual type of exploration. Looks like an old Arctic Cat snowmobile, which I could use for parts!
I have changed my personal exploring ethics code. From now on it will be: "Take only aimed shots, leave only hobo corpses." Copper scrappers, meth heads and homeless beware. The Jonsered cometh among you, bringing fear and dread.
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Reb00t
Location: Chicagoland
Gender: Male
Iron Chef Microwave
| | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 5 on 6/6/2006 2:16 AM >
| | | | Sweet. I might try to find this one this weekend. Just found it on Google Earth
I'm not sure where to park my car though. Can you just drive in or is the entrance closed?
Thanks.
Reb00t.
Edit: I've done up a quick analysis to get my bearings. Are these labels correct? (Coordinates removed for public forum posting)
[last edit 6/6/2006 2:29 AM by Reb00t - edited 1 times]
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vipermike2002
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 6 on 6/6/2006 4:14 AM >
| | | | We didnt really go in that area. The ski-area is located a little farther north.
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RADIOGUY21
Location: Mount Prospect, IL
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 7 on 6/6/2006 4:38 AM >
| | | | yeah the best place to park is in that parking lot behind the forest where mike drew it (wasnt there in the satelite photos). You probably will see a lot of no trespassing signs at every entrance that leads up to the main road. But there are specific walking paths with markings that clearly say these paths can be used for hiking and they lead straight into the forest where all the abandoned stuff is. Theres no no trespassing signs anywhere inside the forest other than on the entrance gates on the road. Its a very interesting place, I would like to know more about it. Any questions just PM one of us.
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Reb00t
Location: Chicagoland
Gender: Male
Iron Chef Microwave
| | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 8 on 6/6/2006 4:37 PM >
| | | | Even better, there is a White Hen or convenience-type store up the road from one of the entrances. According to Google Earth, it's .33 miles walk to the entrance. I think I'd park there, buy something, and walk to the place.
Edit:
.58 miles to the resort section
[last edit 6/6/2006 4:40 PM by Reb00t - edited 1 times]
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vipermike2002
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 9 on 6/6/2006 7:27 PM >
| | | | Even better, there is a White Hen or convenience-type store up the road from one of the entrances. According to Google Earth, it's .33 miles walk to the entrance. I think I'd park there, buy something, and walk to the place.
Edit:
.58 miles to the resort section |
Or you can just goto that parking lot and walk down the legal trail into the woods. When the trail ends by the water tower just walk south a little through some grass untill you pickup the road leading back into the woods. This is alot better I think that walking down busy Cary road into the woods.
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Reb00t
Location: Chicagoland
Gender: Male
Iron Chef Microwave
| | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 10 on 6/7/2006 1:26 AM >
| | | | Oh, I thought you said the parking lot had "no trespassing" signs. Never mind, I'll park there.
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vipermike2002
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 11 on 6/7/2006 3:30 AM >
| | | | | Oh, I thought you said the parking lot had "no trespassing" signs. Never mind, I'll park there. |
No, but there are many no traspassing signs along cary road at the enterences of the dirt roads leading into the woods.
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marinmci
Location: Illinois/St. Louis
| | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 12 on 6/12/2006 6:19 AM >
|  | | | just for clarification, this area is not the former Harry Hopes. That club was on 31. It burned down in 1969. There is still just a silo left on that location from it, which you can see from the road; on the left if you are going south down 31
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RADIOGUY21
Location: Mount Prospect, IL
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 13 on 6/14/2006 10:11 PM >
| | | | Posted by marinmci
just for clarification, this area is not the former Harry Hopes. That club was on 31. It burned down in 1969. There is still just a silo left on that location from it, which you can see from the road; on the left if you are going south down 31
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well thanks for the clarification i just read somewhere that it was where harry hopes was located, probably both locations got easily confused with their close proximity. But where exactly was Harry Hopes on rte. 31? Do you know anything about the ski lodge?
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CJ_the_DJ
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 14 on 7/5/2006 5:30 PM >
| | | | I don't know that much about the history, i.e. about a place on 31 that burned down in 1969. Between 1978 and about 1983 I used to go to a place called Harry Hopes on Cary-Algonquin Road between 14 and 31. Saw some great acts there -- George Thorogood (first Chicago-area appearance -- after Harry Hopes, he played at Wise Fools in Chicago two nights later), Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Corky Siegel...
Around 1998, I went out to where it used to be. The structure, the old ski lodge, was all still there, even the "cat walk" from the stage area to the "green room". I snapped several pics, which I'll try to attach. A couple years after I took these, the fire department burned the building down for a training exercise  .
[last edit 7/8/2006 3:58 AM by nightbird - edited 1 times]
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vipermike2002
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 15 on 7/6/2006 1:45 PM >
| | | | I don't know that much about the history, i.e. about a place on 31 that burned down in 1969. Between 1978 and about 1983 I used to go to a place called Harry Hopes on Cary-Algonquin Road between 14 and 31. Saw some great acts there -- George Thorogood (first Chicago-area appearance -- after Harry Hopes, he played at Wise Fools in Chicago two nights later), Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Corky Siegel...
Around 1998, I went out to where it used to be. The structure, the old ski lodge, was all still there, even the "cat walk" from the stage area to the "green room". I snapped several pics, which I'll try to attach. A couple years after I took these, the fire department burned the building down for a training exercise . |
Thanks for the pics, Got any pics of the surrounding area. Where was the lodge located in my satalite image?
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RADIOGUY21
Location: Mount Prospect, IL
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 16 on 7/6/2006 4:09 PM >
| | | | so it is true that Harry Hopes bar was on the ski lodge property. Thats what I thought in the first place. So do you know anything about the ski lodge, ever ski there?
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CJ_the_DJ
| | Re: Abandoned Ski Lodge/Park District, Cary, IL
<Reply # 17 on 7/6/2006 4:53 PM >
| | | | I'm a bull in a china shop when it comes to editing photos. I tried to put a green rectangle approximately where the former lodge, then bar, was. The downstairs was a bar area, the bands played upstairs. If I remember right, most of the seats were like those old wooden auditorium style seats, and there were church pews on either side. I don't have any pics of the surrounding area. The area might be owned by the McHenry County Conservation District, but I'm not sure.
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