: There really arn't alot of really urban places on the lakes at least not many
: that cover large distances, but there are a few. Chicago, Detroit,
: Cleveland and Buffalo are the only real urban areas that cover more than a
: few miles.

The two big concerns I have about urban areas are the Chicago/Gary/north of Chicago area and Falls. I'll be getting a ride around the falls, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing near the Chicago metro yet. If I get a great weather day, in theory, I could paddle from IN, past Chicago, and end up in the northern suburbs. But I'm not really in the clear - to a park I'd feel comfy camping in - until Millard Park about 60 miles from IN Dunes. It's another 17 miles or so until Il Beach State Park, which officially has camping. It's not until just after Milwaukee until I'm really out in the clear from the Chicago metro.

I've gotten lots of great advice about the ON shoreline from CCR and plenty of offers of help in the Detroit metro, but I'm still in the dark about the Chicago area.

I don't own the charts for the Great Lakes, because I'm primarily using scanned topos in the larger scale and creating maps similar to those for the Lake Superior Water Trail through MN. If you have the time to look up access points, that would be much appreciated!

: I used to have a 30' sailboat berthed just north of the IL/WI line. Spent a
: fair amount of time on the lakes

I'm curious about camping and marinas. On other kayaking trips, I've paid a docking fee at marinas and slept in hotels, but I'm on a budget for this trip, especially if I don't reach full funding levels. So, it'll be camping most of the time. I've never camped at a marina. If that's do-able, then some of my problems disappear! I know you probably slept on the sailboat, but what's your experience with marina's and camping around the metro?