St. James Farm Forest Preserve, Illinois, United States
4.5 (27 reviews) Spent Ranking #1 in DuPage County Forests
Worth repeat visits
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.
Address
2S541 Winfield Rd, Warrenville, IL 60555-2316
Mobile
Website
http://www.dupageforest.com/Conservation/Forest
Current local date and time now
Friday, May 10, 2024, 10:33
User Ratings
4.5 based on (27 reviews)
Reviews
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5LifeAsMummyPeanut 5:00 PM Sep 12, 2020
Covid visit - Peaceful and Pleasant
This place is huge. A lot of people wearing masks but some don't. I wasn't worried though because you can really move away from them because the place is really big. Bring a blanket or sit on the many tables to eat some picnic. Portable potty is on site. Bring hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol or better yet, some water and soap. A really nice park. We come here a lot.
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5meezer3 5:00 PM Aug 3, 2013
A generous gift left to us for all of us to enjoy
Thanks to the generosity of Brooks McCormick he leaves us the gift of his beautiful 607-acre St James Farm Preserve. Once owned by his father, Chauncey McCormick was the great-nephew of Cyrus McCormick, the man who developed the mechanical reaper. (The company later merged with Deering Harvester and became the famous International Harvester Company.) Brooks cousin was Robert McCormick who owned the Chicago Tribune and lived on the nearby grounds of Cantigny. Brooks inherited this property in the 1950's after his fathers death. His father Chauncey loved horses and built a beautiful colonial style stable as well as a large barn to support his large herd of award-winning dairy cattle. Brooks then managed the estate with his wife. They ran a Riding school for the Handicapped there also. They also held fox hunts, steeplechases and horse shows here. Not only can you walk around and view the buildings still left on the property, but there are trails to walk on or ride your bike, as well as a pond to fish in (Illinois fishing license required). Picnic tables and a pavilion are available too. Come spend a day surrounded by history and beautiful grounds. All free to the general public courtesy of the DuPage county Forest preserve district. See link at: http://www.dupageforest.com/Conservation/Forest_Preserves/St__James_Farm.aspx
