Northern Illinois is a region of Illinois generally located immediately along and north of I-80 and outside of Chicagoland. While largely rural, it does include Rockford, the third largest city in Illinois, as well as DeKalb, home of Northern Illinois University.

地区

State of Illinois

Illinois Driftless Area (Jo Daviess and Stephenson County as well as the western portions of Carroll Counties.)

Illinois River Valley (Kankakee, Grundy, Kendall and LaSalle Counties as well as portions of southern Will County.)

Kishwaukee Valley (The western portions of McHenry County as well as Boone and DeKalb Counties.)

麦亨利县

Rock River Valley (Cities and Villages along the Rock River including Rockford, Dixon and Rock Falls-Sterling as well as the nearby countryside in Winnebago, Lee, Ogle and Whiteside Counties as well as the eastern portions of Carroll County.)

城市

• 1 洛克福德 - 位于罗克河谷，是伊利诺伊州第三大城市。
• 2 迪卡尔布 - 铁丝网发明家故乡，也是伊利诺伊州北部大学所在地。
• 3 迪克森 - 美国总统罗纳德·里根的童年故乡，也被称为“矮牵牛城”。
• 4 弗里波特 - 曾举办第二次林肯-道格拉斯辩论，拥有许多19世纪末的住宅和建筑。
• 5 加勒纳 - 尤利西斯·S·格兰特故乡，拥有大量19世纪末的遗产。
• 6 哈佛
• 7 拉萨尔-佩鲁
• 8 渥太华
• 9 斯特林-洛克福尔斯 - 被罗克河分隔的姊妹城市。
• 10 斯托克顿 - 历史悠久的小镇，是J.L. Kraft首家奶酪厂所在地。
• 11 锡卡莫尔 - 迪卡尔布的“姊妹城”，位于东北方向。
• 12 尤蒂卡

其他目的地

• 1 Apple River Canyon State Park - 靠近斯托克顿：露营、徒步、钓鱼和狩猎，在代表伊利诺伊州西北部的石灰岩悬崖、峡谷、泉水和溪流中。
• 2 Apple River Fort Historic Site - 在伊丽莎白： settlers hastily constructed fort at the onset of the 1832 Black Hawk War.
• 3 Apple Canyon Lake - 靠近斯托克顿：划船、钓鱼、打高尔夫；一个规划中的度假社区，拥有400英亩（160 公顷）的湖泊。
• 4 Castle Rock State Park - 靠近俄勒冈：位于罗克河岸边 - 划船、露营、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。
• 5 Charles Mound - 靠近斯凯尔斯蒙德：伊利诺伊州最高点，海拔1,235 英尺（376 米），位于私人财产上，可达性有限。
• 6 Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Recreation Area - 靠近莉娜：划船、露营、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。
• 7 洛登州立公园 - 靠近俄勒冈：罗克河沿岸的地点，有黑鹰的雕像“永恒的印第安人” - 划船、露营、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。
• 8 Mississippi Palisades State Park - 靠近萨瓦纳：有许多洞穴和大型悬崖，位于密西西比河沿岸，靠近苹果河口。
• 9 Rock Cut State Park - 靠近洛克福德：骑自行车、露营、划船、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。
• 10 Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area - 靠近沙伯纳：通过拦截福克斯河支流形成的人工湖；划船、露营、钓鱼、狩猎、徒步。
• 11 Starved Rock State Park - 靠近奥格尔斯比：在罗克河谷地区进行划船、露营、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。
• 12 Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge - 本地，在萨瓦纳北部 - 整个区域沿着密西西比河从北部的沃巴沙、明尼苏达州延伸至南部的罗克岛、伊利诺伊州：一个240,000英亩（970 平方公里）的野生动物保护区，长261英里（420 公里）。
• 13 White Pines Forest State Park - 靠近波洛、莫里斯和俄勒冈：在罗克河谷露营、钓鱼、徒步、狩猎。

了解

Northern Illinois is generally considered to be the area of Illinois north of I-80 and outside of Chicagoland. Another way to consider Northern Illinois is by the 815 and 779 area codes. Definitions might slightly differ to include Kankakee and Grundy counties, which may also be considered part of Central Illinois.

Northwestern Illinois topography hilly with bluffs and cliffs, a stark contrast to the majority of the "Prairie State" that is mostly flat or with slightly rolling hills and farmland. This region is home to 9 of the 10 highest points in Illinois, with 8 in Jo Daviess County alone, including the highest point in Illinois, Charles Mound at 1,235 ft (376 m).

Culturally, the entire region is similar to many other rust belt rural areas. Residents tend to be politically conservative.

抵达

乘飞机

• 1 Rockford International Airport (RFD ^IATA). 由Allegiant Air运营，提供飞往四个目的地的航班。  

• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD ^IATA) east, is the nearest full-service airport and is directly connected to Rockford by Interstate 90.

• Dane County Regional Airport (MSN ^IATA) north in Madison, Wisconsin, is about an hour and 20 minutes north of Rockford in Interstate 39/90 and is served by six airlines.

• Dubuque Regional Airport (DBQ ^IATA) west in Dubuque, Iowa, is about a thirty minute drive from Galena.

乘汽车

A number of different major routes run through Northern Illinois

Interstates

• Interstate 80 is a cross-country east-west route running through the region, from Indiana and Chicago to the east to the Quad Cities and into Iowa.
• Interstate 88 (portions tolled) runs east-west from Chicago west through Rochelle, Dixon, Rock Falls and on towards the Quad Cities.
• Interstate 90 (tolled) connects Rockford and its suburbs with Chicago to the east, and with Madison and Rock County, Wisconsin, to the north. It enters the area near Belvidere and heads northwest before entering Rockford. Once in Rockford, it joins I-39 and turns north exiting at the Wisconsin border.

• Interstate 39 (portions tolled) runs north-south through the area to Central Illinois and Bloomington-Normal to the south. In Rockford, it joins I-90 and continues north to the Wisconsin border.

US Routes:

• US Route 20 is a major cross-country east-west route running through the region. Entering just west of Belvidere from Chicagoland, it runs due west and joins I-39 just south of Rockford. From there, it bypasses the city, runs through Freeport and Galena, and crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa at Dubuque.
• US Route 30 is a major cross-country east-west route running across the Northern Illinois region. Entering the area just east of Kendall County, it runs straight west and connects Dixon and Sterling-Rock Falls before entering Eastern Iowa at Clinton.
• US Route 52 enters the region from the east in the Mendota area, just north of LaSalle-Peru, then angles northwest through Dixon and Mount Carroll, then at Savanna cross the Mississippi River into Iowa.

• US Route 51 is a major cross-country north-south route running through the region. Starting in South Beloit, running south (sometimes concurrently with I-80/I-39/US 20) through the region around Rockford, Rochelle, and LaSalle-Peru, then into Central Illinois.

Illinois Routes

• Illinois Route 72 runs east-west and connects the middle part of the region, principally Byron.

• Illinois Route 2, a trans region north-south route, IL 2 starts at the Wisconsin state line in South Beloit, connects Rockford and its suburbs with Oregon, Dixon and Sterling, ending in Sterling.
• Illinois Route 26 runs north-south from the Wisconsin state line south of Monroe, connecting Freeport and Dixon, continuing into Western Illinois.

活动

Companies like Kayak Starved Rock provide unique and educational guided kayak tours as well as kayak rentals to explore the towering St. Peters sandstone bluffs and Bald Eagles.