I’m pretty sure this will be the first walking trail review on this website, but I wanted to explain how I spent my seven hour layover in Chicago. My first idea was to access the American Airlines Flagship Lounge on arrival and hang out there on one of the loungers we used in 2023 on our way to Kenya. But that sounded a bit boring. I was going to be doing enough sitting and lounging on this trip already so I decided to look for a hiking trail nearby to see if I could fit in a good long walk during my layover.

A Google Maps search found Busse Woods Nature Preserve. It looked like there was a seven mile loop trail, which should be two to two and a half hours to complete, around the time and distance I wanted. I booked a rental car at Hertz through the Delta Stays portal as they were offering bonus MQDs for booking cars and hotels which would help me toward renewing my Delta Platinum status for next year. The car was around $65 with tax, which is probably similar to the cost of an Uber to Busse Woods and back. Since I needed a place to store my bags and there isn’t one inside the airport, it made sense to just rent the car.

When I arrived at Terminal 3 around 1pm, I made my way to the airport train that connects all the terminals and the multi-modal facility (parking, rental cars and public transit). The train was crowded, but my stop was the second one after T5. I found the Hertz President’s Circle board and looked for my name. And it was not there. I saw there was a line in the nearby office, and I knew I had a bit of a tight window to get my walk in. I had the license plate and make of the car in an email so I walked around a bit to look for it to no avail. Thankfully, an employee that was walking around the lot asked me what the issue was and when I explained I just needed a car ASAP, he got on the walkie-talkie and got the office to assign me a different car that we found ready to go in the lot.

It took me about 25 minutes to get to the parking lot at Busse Woods and I arrived around 2pm. I took a slightly longer route to avoid the I-90 tollway as I didn’t want to pay for the Hertz toll charge or have to deal with paying the toll online. It was busy there, but I found a spot, grabbed my hat and water bottle (that I had remembered to fill at the Atlanta Admirals Club) and headed out on the walking trail. It was mostly shaded, although there were stretches in the open. The temperature was not bad for July – around 80 with a lot of cloud cover. It was humid, but not Atlanta humid.

There were some lakes and reservoirs to break up the scenery. There were also a couple of bridges over a road as the preserve is bisected by a road that runs through it. I listened to a podcast series I had been saving for a long walk and made it around in about two hours. Along the path, there were lots of families having picnics at pavilions and people fishing in the lakes and reservoirs. Plenty of other walkers, joggers and bikers were out as well, so I wouldn’t worry about safety or security there even if you are alone. Overall, I walked just over seven miles at a brisk pace.

At around 4pm, I got to the car and headed back to O’Hare. I arrived at Hertz at 4:25pm and returned the car. The train back to the terminal stopped at Terminal 5 first where I got off and found the Emirates check-in line. The economy line was already long, but I was the first person in the First Class line right before they opened at 4:35pm, four hours before departure.

Up Next: LOT Polish Lounge Chicago Review

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