I'm looking for backroads from Eaglerider near O'Hare to the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, the more scenic the better but keep in mind I'll be getting the bike at 9AM and need to return it by 5PM.

 

prob head towards chicago, lsd up to sheridan and keep heading north and keep the lake to your right.

 

From O'Hare, fly to any other city. Ride to the Mothership from that city.

GM

 

How much time did you want to spend on the bike, versus the Museum?
Gene's route would be nice, but it will take a long time. I'd take the River Road North to 45. 45 will take you close to Milwaukee, then you can take many different routes.

 

It's a crap shoot any way you look at it. You probably wont have any trouble going north to Milwaukee in the morning. Coming back could be heinous. I'd probably just take 294 to 94.

Most of my driving in Chicago involves trying to get from Downtown out to the south. If you're lucky, it can take an hour. If you're not, it could take 3 hours.

Like the gentleman above suggested, Lake Shore Drive is really pretty around Lake Michigan and it can sometimes be better, but it's not to be counted on if you are trying to keep a schedule.

 

I've been to the Museum so the ride is more important than the destination in this case. The museum just gives me a destination that will be cool to check out again.

Minor issue.... just realized Eaglerider opens at 10AM not 9AM and closes at 6PM... I'm okay with just having lunch at the Museum for 1 hour to maximize the best route

 

I mapped Gene's suggestion and tried to limit the turns as much as possible

Here's the link to the map: https://*******/maps/NBQyXFEJyaS2

*** = goo . gl

I'll map a return route down 45 as it should shave an hour or so. Is the traffic going to be bad going south on 45?

 

We ride from the Chicago area through SE WI all the time. There's tons of backroads to take with very little traffic once you get out of the metro area.

Where's the Eagle Rider located?

 

I'd love your advice on the area...

The location is literally next to O'Hare: 5460 Park Place Rosemont, Illinois, 60018

 

Since you said you wanted backroads, I'm assuming you want to stay off the tollways and out of the city. Go to Google Maps and find your starting point in Rosemont to get your bearings. If you follow I-90 going west, you'll see the town of Streamwood. Everything between Rosemont and Streamwood is suburban driving - stoplights and lots of traffic. Going north on I-94 on the map, you'll see Libertyville. That's a good area to consider the northern border of the suburbs. Anything east of Rosemont is basically city. Once you get beyond those points west & north, everything opens up.

My suggestion would be to go west, then north, then east.

Going west from Rosemont, you've got a number of options including I-90 but figure on being in traffic for an hour before you get to more open roads.

Since you're limited on time, my suggestion would be from Rosemont, go north to jump on Rt 12 in Des Plaines. You can stay on 12 all the way to the WI line near the town of Genoa City, WI. From there, pick up State Route H and follow that through Lake Geneva, Elkhorn and all the way up to Palmyra WI. That's some really pretty riding there through the Kettle Moraine area. From Palmyra, you can head east on Rt 59 all the way into downtown Milwaukee. That's gonna be about 3 1/2 hrs of riding

To get back, you can just jump on I-94 south to I-294 south right back to Rosemont. That's about 90 min depending on traffic.