bailly homestead and chellberg farm

Great day trip or bike ride! The surroundings are beautiful and bring back memories of my childhood. Make sure just to walk around the property and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature!

Interesting place... However I wouldn't suggest anyone take the hour drive from Chicago. We actually felt like we weren't welcomed there, we kept questioning if we should leave like we were trespassing on private property. We tried to ask a question and were shoed away by hand by someone working there.

When arriving you have two choices, to the left is the old Bailly Homestead with a homes built before the Civil War. To the right is Chellberg Farm which was a turn of the century farm.Unfortunately, they got rid of the animals, so it does not grab children as easily as it once did.Going a little past the farm is a series of steps and bridges leading down into some of the ravines. This trail can be strenuous for the disabled or strollers. But young kids will enjoy the experience.The trail to Bailly is handicapped accessible, if you can maneuver the ruts.In the summer, don't forget to take repellent as mosquitoes are quite bad.

This is a very nice place to visit. There is an great trail system around the farm as well. I wish there was more activities for the public though.

Great easy loop for hiking. One part has stairs that go down thru ravines that are very scenic. Be sure to do the extra part of the trail to the cemetery, as is very unique and historic. Bike tip... you cam access the hiking trails via the Porter Bike trail, as it goes right by. ..as you cross the river, turn right to go up drive to Bailey homestead. Maple sugar time in spring is fun, but the fall colors are amazing. All bright yellow sugar maples are jaw dropping!

This is a wooded area with mulched and dirt trails. There were also some small wooden bridges and stairs along the paths. There is a small cemetery and a nice very old house in the woods. It was a good stop. You could probably spend one hour or half the day and be satisfied. I noticed locals hiking and running. Some had dogs. There was also plenty of picnic tables and a large shed for get togethers. No cost to park or hike.

Although away from the dunes, this was a neat historical area to check out. We were here in April and the buildings were not open yet for the season, but it was fun to learn some of the area's history. We enjoyed the easy, but scenic, wooded hiking trails throughout the are!

Chellberg Farm & Bailly homestead have some good hiking trails. My favorite is the Calumet river trail. There are hills & it can be muddy, especially in the Spring. There are no handicap accessible trails. There is a shelter & there are picnic tables. There's also a restroom in the old visitor center. The VC is no longer in use due to budget cuts. There's a lot of things at the farm & homestead that have fallen under the axe. They used to be open on Sundays for people to walk through. There were volunteers that dressed appropriate to the era & could tell you the history of the area. No longer. The farmer that used to care for the animals at the farm retired. The animals were quietly gotten rid of. The barn is now closed. There used to be a Harvest Festival in Sept. That's been stopped. The only large activity still done is the Maple Syrup Time in March. It's a shame. This could be so much more again.

This is one our favorite places to hike nearby, we go here several times a month, we enjoy walking the grounds out to the cemetary, the trails that go through the ravines and along the steam bed. the farm house and homestead tend to be open on weekends only to tour inside, the homestead is more about history the inside of the house is mostly empty excpet for some structures that were cavered out of wood into the home itself. you can walk outisde this area at anytime, often in the evening deer can seen here eating. The farm no longer has animals but the farmhouse is open on weekends and is normally staffed with peple cookig inside and this house does have furniture in it. maple sugar time is good for little ones. you can really choose how far you want to hike here as there are a few different trails, each one adding there own site to see. this hike is recommended in the book hiking indiana.

Took our four year old here for maple syrup time. Learned a lot. He enjoyed it. Had people along the way explaining how they lived and cooked and tapped tree's for maple syrup. He got a badge for doing the junior park ranger program. Really fun.