Crystal Lake’s Metra station catering to commuters, Pingree Road, has limited services onsite, but it gets the job done. On the upside, it has tons of parking, a long platform so that commuters don’t have to crowd around just a few cars, and a friendly little cafe inside the waiting room. On the downside, there’s no ticket agent to purchase tickets from or ask questions of, but if you’re a commuter you likely have those things figured out already anyway.

Parking isn’t a worry at Pingree Road Metra Station like it is at Crystal Lake’s Downtown Station, with hundreds of spots in a couple of connected lots. The price is far better than Chicago parking as well: $1.50 a day.

You can pay by:

• Cash at the kiosks at the station building. Bring exact change because the kiosk doesn’t give change.
• At The Morning Grind cafe in the waiting room upstairs on the inbound (to Chicago) platform, they’ll roll your parking cost into whatever food or drink you’d like to purchase (cash or charge). It’s open Monday through Saturday, mornings only.
• CPS Parking offers a discounted monthly pass at $30, online and at 877-717-0004
• Mobile payment available with Parkmobile

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Speaking of the Daily Grind, definitely give them a visit. They’re super nice, local, and they’ve got all of your coffee and espresso favorites, blended drinks, snacks, and pastries. With the added convenience of paying for parking there instead of at the dreaded kiosk, it’s something to check out.

I prefer Pingree Road because it’s closer to my house. It’s not quaint like the Downtown Station, but for the 6 a.m. commute, I really don’t care about quaint. Because Pingree is near the end of the line, you get your choice of seats in the morning. That’s a nice way to start the day, instead of being crammed in cheek by jowl. There’s not much traffic getting to morning trains, but in the evening I find it easier to wait in my car in my parking space for 10 minutes for the traffic exiting the parking lot to disperse. There are only two exits, both emptying onto little Congress Parkway, so it can be a little hectic with people trying to get home to enjoy their evenings.

Last word of advice: The audio notification for the Pingree Road stop was recorded at a very quiet volume for some reason. Make sure to listen for the stop ahead so you know yours is next or you’ll end up in Woodstock or McHenry! And yes, I know from experience.