Here is my quick guide to forest preserves in Chicago and the Chicagoland area. A few years ago, driven by a deep need to spend more time in nature I started with this list and my own research to explore nature in Chicago and further afield. Stay turned for more detailed posts on specific preserves and additions and I explore new nature spots.
Forest Preserves and Nature Spots in the City
West Ridge Nature Preserve This is one of my favorite spots in the city. It is easy to stop there on the way home or go there to catch a sunset as it reflects across the pond. It features deer both in the preserve and the nearby cemetery. There are new well-groomed trails, native plants, nice pond with waterfowl and many migratory birds. There is a nature play area for folks with children. It is popular but never feels overrun with visitors
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North Park Nature Village features a lovely education center with real bathrooms and extra exhibits for children to see, they have wood chip trails through prairie, wetland and wooded areas. There are almost always deer in the preserve and the general vicinity. Bullfrogs are in the pond in the summer as well as waterfowl and migratory birds. The building lock and the preserve closes so it is hard to visit this location in the evening except for special events.
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Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary Is right on the Chicago lakefront. This means that in the summer it can be inundated with Chicagoans sunbathing, rollerblading and heading to the beach. On colder days you can get some of the natural isolation that I crave in my nature spots. The point itself is filled with trees, shrubs and native plantings. It features excellent birding year round from shore birds and red wing black birds to migratory warblers. It has wood chip trails and is close to park bathrooms and amenities. It also has a great view of the city skyline from the north if you want to take a photograph of a native plants and birds framing the skyscrapers.
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Jackson Park is just south of the Museum of Science and Industry is lovely and less populated than North side parks. It was recently restored and replanted with additional native plants. It is part of the remnants of the 1893 Columbian Exposition. A small portion is a traditional Japanese garden. There is excellent birding in the area with picturesque views of the pond.
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Burnham Nature Corridor Along the south side lake front the Burnham Nature Corridor is a series of areas with new native plants. I have seen migratory birds and hawks and owls in the area. There is a bike path, a wood chip path and if Lake Michigan is calm you can walk along the lake itself.
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LaBaugh Woods can feel very close to the express way entrance but once you get inside it you can disappear. I find it to be pretty swampy and buggy in the spring so plan your shoes and bug spray accordingly.
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Very close to the city
Catherine Chevalier Woods is only a half hour drive from the city. It is close to O’Hare so be prepared for the constant noise of planes. It is a popular picnic area, but as soon as you are on the trails ans away from the marked picnic spots it does feel like a wood. The roads are gravel and dirt. In spring it can be quite muddy. It is the place you are most likely to see deer and they may approach you because too many humans are feeding them. For a nature jaunt that isn’t too far away it is a decent choice. Trails run along the Des Plaines river and wind through the woods.
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The Channel trail is perhaps most friendly for bikers but it does provide a nature corridor for cutting across the city and avoiding cars. I have seen hawks and deer but you have to be careful not to get run over by a cyclist if you stop to take photos.
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Skokie Lagoons Always popular, especially in the summer as a place to canoe and kayak, I found the trails were not very hiker friendly as they run close to roads and are populated with speedy bikers but it is a great place for a quiet pedal or paddle.
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The Grove is on the National Historic Register and run by the Glenview Park District. It has a nice nature and history center with a wide variety of snakes, turtles, a squirrel, possum and hawk. It features educational displays on the science as well as the as the history of the region. It is well maintained with nice bathrooms and staff. There is a mile long loop trail that is boardwalk and gravel. It felt like it would be accessible by wheelchair but worth checking with their staff. It would be great for small children because of the displays, it does feel a bit less like a forest preserve because of the many different things it is doing
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River Trail Nature Center is part of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. It has an excellent visitor center with injured birds and animals used for education purposes. They have a friendly staff and a range of educational programs and special events. The building is the hub for a variety of wooded trails along the Des Plaines River. It felt like a central hub for the forest preserve system. The trails are dirt and chipped, but well-maintained. They connect to picnic areas and further trails along the river. The woods are really did feel like woods which was a pleasant change from some preserves. While it was clearly popular it did not feel overrun. Only half an hour from Chicago this preserve is a gem. I saw coyotes, osprey, warblers, woodpeckers and orioles on my spring visit.
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Captain Daniel Wright and Half Day Forest Preserve are two forest preserves that run into each other. They are quite lovely with ponds, trees, and the river. There is evidence of beaver activity although I have never seen one in my visits. It is a short drive and a nice option to take a break from city nature spots.
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Further afield
(1-1.5 hour drive)
Openlands Nature Preserve Is a well hidden gem. It is located on Lake Michigan on a high bluff with well maintained trails a stair down to the rocky beach, there are a number of signs detailing the natural history of the area. There is a small parking are with portable toilets, but they seem to be well maintained. There are abundant birds and wildflowers. It has a very different feel to some of the other nature areas because of the high bluff. I have seen bald eagles, migratory bird and shore birds as well as red-bellied woodpeckers and goldfinches. I only wish it was larger. (Pictured above)
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Ryerson Woods Has a lovely new visitor center with real bathrooms. There are a lot of trails and historic old cabins you can visit with historic markers. In the midsummer it was pretty damp and buggy on the trails but it was worth it to see a mink fishing in the river. I think the woods would be lovely in the fall.
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Glacial Park located in McHenry County it features excellent birding nice variety of trails and terrain from a wood of oaks, to the river, to glacial kames. It has a very nice visitor center with real bathrooms. It had a wide range of warblers during migration and is the only place I have seen large preying mantises in the tall grasses. It is closed to hikers during hunting season.
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Longer Trips
(2+ hour drive)
Starved Rock State Park & Matthiessen State Park are both beautiful state parks and both very popular in the summer time. Several times I have gone to Starved rock just to discover their lots are full. If you go a bit further down the road Matthiessen is slightly less populated but in both cases you will share the trails with many other people. Both feature waterfalls and well maintained trails. At Matthiessen you can hike down into the canyon carved by the falls so be prepared for water and up and down hiking often on wooden stairs built into the banks. You can also hike in the river on large submerged concrete stepping stones.
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Fermi Lab Is best known for it’s supercollider and large futuristic office building where you can go on tours about the lab. Because of the space needed for the supercollider it has large open prairie hiking and a small woods. They also keep a bison herd but when I was there they were penned in a fairly limited area not ranging free. There are bike trails and I think it might actually be better seen by bike. The hiking was so buggy in midsummer I turned around. It does have an odd military feel because you have to go through a checkpoint with a guard, but they just look at your ID and wave you through.
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Indiana Dunes State Park This is a great option for people without cars because the Metra has several stops close to the beach. The trails are very beachy shifting from wooded and woodchipped to sand and sandgrasses. For those who love lakefront time, the beaches feel more remote and natural. There is a nice visitor center with parking and it is definitely a popular tourist spot. I liked getting off at the Beverly Shores Metra stop. There is a nice hiking trail head that starts about a block from the Metra and goes through wetlands. It had good birding, many small noisy frogs and waterfowl. A little closer to the lakefront there are art deco model homes from the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair that were put on barges and floated down to the Indiana shore, if you want a historical break from birding and hiking. There are a few small places to eat and a convenience store at the stop.
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Overrated
Ned Brown Forest Preserve (Busse Woods and Elk Pasture) There are woods, there is a trail there are elk but I mostly felt like I was in people’s back yards. The houses are really close to homes and the Elk are penned into a smallish area. It is heavily used and really felt like a very nature-y suburban jogging trail with lots of people playing their music loudly.
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Waterfall Glen looks great in photos and there is a wide series of gravel trails that frequently edge along a railroad track. The waterfall is tiny and when I was there is was filled with children and people sunbathing so it did not feel like a nature area but a play area. There were lots of bikers and runner sharing their music with the world. I did see snakes and indigo buntings, but this one might be best early in the morning if you want a solitary walk in the woods.
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