4.5Forest Park Nature Center(78 reviews) - Nice hideaway Saturday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours Parks • Forests
A Peoria Park District facility, Forest Park serves as the doorway to more than 500 acres designated as part of the Illinois State Nature Preserve. The center provides visitors with more than seven miles of trails that lead through dense forest, along trickling stream beds, and over dramatic hillsides. The A-frame trail head features a small natural history museum, nature store, and a room dedicated to bird-watching. Trails and museum are free and open to the public. NO PETS ALLOWED!See more..
5.0Lake County Forest Preserves(59 reviews) - Great Resource for hundreds of activities for the whole family Forests
Great forest preserves with many activities for the whole family. We love these forest preserves for hiking, camping and fun interactive activities. Check out the play dates with nature, Discovery Museum and Independence Grove hiking, play grounds, water sports for the whole family.See more..
I went here for a walk. The trails are wide which is good with Covid. I saw a deer, some ducks, and a lot of geese. Nice and quiet spot. See more..
4.5Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve(33 reviews) - A good place to spend an afternoon. Nature & Wildlife Areas • Forests
The Fort Sheridan Preserve was a great find. We visited on a windy day so maybe not as many people as usual. Enjoyed wandering on the trails, looking at the rocks on the shore and learning history of the area. We visited the cemetery and were surprised at the time span military personnel have been interred there. It's a small cemetery but with history spanning from cavalry to present day. This was very interesting place and well worth spending g an afternoon. With paved sidewalks as well as grass trails, there is something for everyone. See more..
Rode bike in the St. James Farm Forest Preserve in Warrenville on a balmy day in early December and enjoyed the beautiful ride. The crushed stone trail is approximately a 2-mile loop. The trail is pretty flat and the scenery was lovely in spite of the trees being bare. The trail has connectors to the Illinois Prairie Path, DuPage River trail and the Herrick Lake trail. There are interesting pieces of the McCormick’s art collection on display along the trail. In addition to the trail, the other feature is the original Horse Farm itself at the center of the preserve. One can walk around and read up on the features. A beautiful horse sculpture at the parking lot is very inviting. St. James Farm Forest Preserve is a place certainly a place worth visiting solely or as a group.See more..
A friend and I play in the Lake of the Woods golf simulator league. It is fun and well organized. Would recommend it.See more..
4.5Swallow Cliff Stairs(19 reviews) - Great workout! Spent 2-3 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas • Hiking Trails • Forests
Take the yellow marked trail... 8 miles and do the stairs! Go during the week early afternoon... less crowded. Bathrooms and water fountain are located at the stairs and porta potties at Teasons Woods,See more..
4.5Douglas-Hart Nature Center(16 reviews) - Great Place Spent 1-2 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas • Hiking Trails • Forests We stopped here to stretch our legs and have lunch. It was great. They have nice walking trails. A zip line that both my teens and 5 year old could enjoy. The pond had lots of fish and 3 huge turtles that came right up to the dock. We also enjoyed the nature center. We were able to eat lunch at picnic tables. It was a great stop.See more..
We enjoy going and having a picnic and take walks. Love going in the fall, it is absolutely beautiful.See more..
5.0Hickory Creek Preserve(5 reviews) - Time For A Walk Biking Trails • Hiking Trails • Forests
This is favorite place for “walkies” with mans best friend..... There are pavilions for group gatherings with large picnic tables and permanent bbq grills for your charcoal feast. Pathways are paved through the woods and nicely kept. There are areas for either a short or long walk and parking is plentiful. Always a tail-wagging time. See more..
3.5Sand Ridge State Forest(4 reviews) - Great Campground Average Hiking Spent More than 3 hours Forests
Really nice, quiet campground (minimal amenities though). On a beautiful September weekend there were only 6-8 sites taken. Lots of space to spread out in a very pretty pine forest and escape from the real world. Did some hiking the next morning, trails are certainly sandy and require more effort. We did the orange trail which goes right by the Pine Campground and found it to be pretty monotonous. We had a very dry summer, so that may have impacted the flora, but also saw very little wildlife. Did see a few cacti, which the kids thought was funny in Central IL. No sign of the ticks this time of year unlike the other reviewers that were there in the spring/summer.See more..
4.0Saganashkee Slough(3 reviews) - Fun adventure Hiking Trails • Forests Used to be a secret place to boat around and kayak not so much anymore fishing is average for that area.See more..
This is a expansive complex that entwines with state department of natural resources. Every access to the Cache River is worth seeing. See more..
4.5Franklin Creek State Natural Area(2 reviews) - Amazing, healthy hike. State Parks • Forests This Illinois nature area is a wilderness area. The West entrance has parking an ADA trail to a large, natural spring. The area boasts a long foot trail with 60/70 foot elevation changes. Wild flowers, deer, fox, a cave and an outcropping of the oldest stone in Illinois. Just beautiful.See more..
It was a nice natural woods type park and preserve area. Lots of trees and forested areas, But this woods had quite a bit more grassy open areas than others in the area. Trails and biking areas and ball fields too. And some decent parkingSee more..
