Recreation
The Chain O'Lakes allows for a wide range of outdoor recreational activities, including boating, hunting, fishing, birdwatching, swimming and water skiing. To complement these activities are many local businesses (including numerous marinas and restaurants) that serve the needs of weekend and summer vacationers. Many of these businesses sponsor special events throughout the summer, including boat races, fishing tournaments and live musical performances. Boating horsepower is unrestricted on the Chain and there are more than 28,000 registered boats on the Chain (as of 2009).
Recreational opportunities are also provided through Chain O'Lakes State Park and the adjacent conservation area. Established in 1945, Chain O'Lakes State Park includes a free boat launch and a variety of hunting, hiking and fishing areas. The park includes Turner Lake, a small 44-acre (180,000 m2) lake in the park isolated from the Chain itself. Inside the park are four different trail systems, including a quarter-mile trail designed for disabled individuals and an eight mile (13 km) equestrian trail. Chain O'Lakes State Park also offers a number of camp sites and cabins available for a low nightly fee. Horse rentals and boat rentals are provided throughout the summer months.
The Chain O'Lakes is a preferred destination for fishermen as well. Species found in the Chain O'Lakes include walleye, largemouth bass, muskellunge, yellow perch, bluegill, catfish, black crappie, bullhead, white bass, yellow bass, carp, and northern pike. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources report that approximately 10% of their annual muskie samples are over 3 feet (0.91 m), 6 inches long. Northern pikes and muskies in the trophy class are occasionally caught on the Chain. A status of the sport fishery of the lakes regarding these fish from 1954 to 2001 can be seen here.
The Chain O'Lakes also hosts a variety of winter activities, including snow mobiling, ice skating, cross-country skiing and ice fishing.
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Famous quotes containing the word recreation:
“Playing snooker gives you firm hands and helps to build up character. It is the ideal recreation for dedicated nuns.”
—Archbishop Luigi Barito (b. 1922)
“Media mystifications should not obfuscate a simple, perceivable fact; Black teenage girls do not create poverty by having babies. Quite the contrary, they have babies at such a young age precisely because they are poor—because they do not have the opportunity to acquire an education, because meaningful, well-paying jobs and creative forms of recreation are not accessible to them ... because safe, effective forms of contraception are not available to them.”
—Angela Davis (b. 1944)