Tucked away not far from Chicago’s concrete-and-glass canyons and suburban shopping malls are 200,000 acres of protected natural lands teeming with wildlife and wildflowers.
Many of the sites, which are found in state and national parks and county forest preserves, contain remnants of Illinois’ tallgrass prairie and oak savannas, ecosystems considered by local conservationists to be more rare than tropical rainforests.
A dozen of these unique areas were recently named 12 Natural Wonders by the Chicago Wilderness, a consortium of 61 conservation groups and public agencies.
The 12 areas, which grace the landscape from Chicago’s northern and western suburbs to Will County and the Indiana Dunes, are a diverse lot, but each has elements that make it special.
“These 12 places represent hundreds of nature preserves that people can visit throughout the region. They were chosen based on (being) spectacular but accessible natural areas, and they harbor significant biodiversity,” said Sandi Stein, public relations manager for Chicago Wilderness.
The sites feature unique remnants of native plant and animal communities and support many rare plants and animals, including 181 species listed as endangered or threatened in Illinois.
“Because some of these natural areas were set aside at the turn of the century, they are some of the last places in Illinois where you can find such diversity because the land wasneither farmed nor developed,” Stein said.
Formed in 1996 as the Chicago Region Biodiversity Council (and still its official name), the non-profit Chicago Wilderness pledges to protect and enhance the Chicago region’s natural communities.
Thousands of volunteers work to restore the sites by removing non-native plants, conducting controlled burns to re-establish prairies, collecting and sowing seeds of native wildflowers, installing nesting boxes and conducting bird and butterfly surveys and nature walks.
“The key to Chicago Wilderness is people working together,” said James Lyons, undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Each one of the 61 member organizations has worked on its own to protect the biodiversity of the region, but together our achievements can ensure our natural wonders will flourish for future generations.”
This spring, Chicago Wilderness announced a yearlong celebration of the local prairies, woodlands, wetlands and waters with guided nature walks. Chicago Wilderness also is developing educational programs for schools, youth groups and community organizations.
“We may travel great distances to see mountains or oceans but overlook the wilderness of our own Midwestern landscape — woodlands bursting with wildflowers, wading birds gliding through wetlands, waves of tall prairie grasses,” said Phillip Peters, chair of the Chicago Region Biodiversity Council and director of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission in Chicago. “That’s what natural wonders are all about — providing a connection to nature for the people of our region.”
So if you’re looking for something unusual to do or you just have a few hours and want to revitalize your spirits, consider a trip to one of the 12 Natural Wonders of the Chicago Wilderness.
Here’s a tour of the nature spots:
Waterfall Glen
Cass Avenue and Northgate Road, near Lemont
Palos Preserves
McCarthy and LaGrange Roads, Palos Park
Chicago Wilderness touts Waterfall Glen near Argonne National Laboratory as having the most diverse plant and animal populations and the most rugged landscape in DuPage County. The 2,470-acre Waterfall Glen is home to long-eared owls, the southern flying squirrel, graceful herons and egrets, tiger salamanders and hordes of bullfrogs.
Although it does have a manmade waterfall, Waterfall Glen was named for Seymour “Bud” Waterfall, an early president of the DuPage Forest Preserve District.
The nearby Palos Preserves, Cook County’s largest, are noted for their scenic beauty and glacial history. Together, the Palos Preserves and Waterfall Glen cover nearly 17,000 acres.
Sharon Vojtek of Palos Heights recently visited the trails at Waterfall Glen.
“It’s a very pretty area,” Vojtek said. “Very quiet and tranquil and tucked away. I can go for an hour or two and feel like I’ve been away all day, and you don’t have to travel far.”
Glacial Park
6512 Harts Rd., near Richmond
The 2,800-acre Glacial Park is noted for its unique topography, including glacial kames, which are ancient sand-and-gravel geologic formations that provide spectacular views of the preserve and surrounding countryside.
“People don’t associate rugged areas with Illinois,” said Wayne Schennum, natural resource manager with the McHenry County Conservation District in Ringwood. “The solitude and the views you get of big natural and restored landscapes and the rugged, glacial topography are a big attraction.”
More than five miles of trails pass through oak savanna (an open, grassy woodland), restored prairie, sedge meadows, marshes and bogs. Rare orchids, yellow-headed blackbirds, sandhill cranes and elusive badgers are within the park.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Gary to Michigan City
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was chosen as a natural wonder because of its botanical tapestry of species and ecosystems. Its trails feature a rich assortment of dune plants, woodlands, bogs, savannas and prairies.
The 14,000-acre national park includes Indiana Dunes State Park, Hoosier Prairie, Hobart Prairie Grove, Heron Rookery and Pinhook Bog.
For visitors like Judy Jakush of Chicago, the Dunes offer a precious commodity: fun.
“Climbing to the top of Mt. Tom in the state park always gives you a sense of accomplishment. It’s the closest thing you get to a mountain around here,” she said. “I go there for the natural peacefulness. It’s a uniquely beautiful landscape.”
Poplar Creek Forest Preserve
Golf Road and Illinois Highway 59, Hoffman Estates
Poplar Creek Forest Preserve in northwest Cook County features a 600-acre habitat, where volunteers and preserve staff are restoring the remnant oak savanna and prairie fragments.
Volunteers are removing drainage tiles left from a century of farming and invasive weeds that impede growth of native wildflowers. During spring, hyacinths, bloodroot, wild geranium and white trillium burst into bloom on the savanna floor.
“I love the wildflowers here, and it’s a great place to watch birds,” said visitor Yvonne Glasch of Worth.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
30071 S. Illinois Highway 53, Wilmington
Plans are underway to turn many of the 15,000 acres of this former arsenal into the nation’s first tallgrass prairie, where future generations will experience what the Midwest looked like prior to settlement.
Although not officially open to the public, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie recently began offering weekend tours (815-423-6370, ext. 14).
“We are beginning our land-use planning process,” said Marta Witt, Midewin’s public affairs officer. “We want people to be informed and see what’s out here. We’re at the very beginning of a huge prairie reconstruction. To see it now at the beginning and then see it 5 to 10 years from now will be something really special.”
Midewin harbors 16 state endangered species of flora and fauna, including the upland sandiper and loggerhead shrike.
Messenger Woods
Near Hadley and Bell Roads, Lockport
In this Will County wonder, Messenger Woods, photographers are quick to descend when spectacular displays of Virginia bluebells and other wildflowers carpet the forest floor each spring. The 947-acre preserve in rural Lockport features rolling glacial terrain and steep-sided ravines.
“It’s a remarkable place, especially when the spring wildflowers are out,” said Bill Glass of Oak Lawn, a natural heritage biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Glass has photographed flora and fauna for more than 25 years at several of the 12 natural wonders, and his photos are among those used in Chicago Wilderness’ publication “An Atlas of Biodiversity.”
Glass spends many spring weekend mornings at Messenger Woods photographing blue-eyed Mary and red and white trilliums. Above the ancient oak uplands, Cooper’s hawks and red-shouldered hawks often can be seen soaring.
Hiking and cross-country ski trails wind through the preserve, one of the few remaining forests untouched by grazing, cutting or development.
Indian Boundary Prairies
159th Street and Whipple Avenue, Markham
Indian Boundary Prairies is a cluster of four prairies with more than 300 acres. Owned by the Nature Conservancy and Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, the site contains more plant diversity than almost any prairie in the state. Among the colorful blazing stars, shooting stars, goldenrods and purple phlox are grassland birds such as sedge wrens, meadowlarks and rare Henslow sparrows.
Of the 12 sites, Glass’ favorite is Indian Boundary Prairies. “It’s just so colorful,” Glass said. “Whenever you go there, something’s different. It changes from month to month and year to year.”
Nelson Lake Marsh
Nelson Lake Road and Main Street, near Batavia
Attempts to drain Nelson Lake Marsh for farmland in the early 1900s turned the former lake into a complex of marsh, fen and open water bordered by woodland. The marsh acts as a natural sponge, providing clean water and wildlife habitat.
When the Forest Preserve District of Kane County purchased 290 acres of land in 1997, it doubled the size of the preserve.
Sharp-eyed birdwatchers can spot black terns, Wilson’s phalaropes, northern harriers and the American bittern.
North Branch Woodlands and Prairies
Along the Chicago River, Chicago to Northbrook
The north branch of the Chicago River is the namesake for the North Branch Woodlands and Prairies. Three sites — Harms Woods, the Skokie Lagoons and Somme Prairie Grove with its ancient oaks and sweeping vistas — comprise this wonder.
“It’s a remarkable stretch (of protected areas),” said John Elliott, naturalist and director of River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook. “You can see floodplain, prairie and woodland communities. It’s the quintessential northern Illinois landscape.”
A 20-mile bike trail runs almost the entire length of the North Branch preserves, from Devon Avenue in Chicago to the nearby Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. A medley of tall prairie grasses, wildflowers and migrating songbirds awaits visitors along the paths. As many as 30 different kinds of wildflowers have been counted in one square meter plot, an area the size of a Hula-Hoop.
“It’s a great place for birdwatching,” Elliott said. “And there are gentians and orchids.”
Illinois Beach Preserves
Northeast Lake County
“We’re the only sand dune ridge left in Illinois,” said Susan Wright of Lindenhurst, a nature interpreter at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, part of the preserve. “What we have here was what Chicago once was. People are surprised at the number of cactus, which like the hot sandy area here.”
The Blandings turtle, a state endangered species, is flourishing at Illinois Beach State Park. “It’s a really good habitat for them. And in the fall, this is a great place to watch the hawk migration,” Wright said.
Ten miles of trails wind through the park, which in 1964 was the first designated nature preserve in the country, according to Wright. Bearberry and Waukegan juniper are among the plant oddities found here.
“Bearberry is an arctic plant that came with the glaciers and (adapted) because of the cooling effect of the lake,” Wright said. “The juniper is the largest population (of that species) within the Great Lakes. You won’t find it elsewhere in the state.”
The preserves also include Lyons Woods in Waukegan and Spring Bluff Forest Preserve in Winthrop Harbor.
Chain o’ Lakes Region
In Lake and McHenry Counties
The Chain o’ Lakes region in northeastern Illinois contains the largest concentration of natural lakes. This wonder was selected for several sites within the chain, including the 6,000-acre Chain o’ Lakes State Park at 8916 Wilmot Rd. in Spring Grove. There, 6-foot-tall big bluestem grass, brilliant prairie wildflowers and panoramic views of the Fox River Valley delight visitors.
Also within the chain is Volo Bog, at Sullivan Lake and Brandenburg Roads in Ingleside. Volo Bog has evolved over 12,000 years from a deep glacial lake. A floating boardwalk takes visitors through the bog, which is home to tamaracks, delicate ferns and rare native orchids and pitcher plants.
Other attractions in the chain are Grant Woods at Monaville Road and Grand Avenue in Lake Villa, and McHenry County Conservation District’s Nippersink Canoe Base on U.S. Highway 12 near Sunset Road near Fox Lake.
Ryerson Conservation Area
21950 N. Riverwoods Rd., Deerfield
At the 550-acre Ryerson Conservation Area, self-guided nature trails wind through a sugar maple forest and oak woodlands and along the Des Plaines River. The conservation area recently added the Ned Ryerson Trail, an accessible, audio-interpreted nature trail.
A visitors center, nature exhibits and self-guided nature trails draw hikers and birdwatchers. “It’s a great place to get away. The woods are lovely no matter what time of year it is,” Glasch said.
Among the rare plants and animals are the red-shouldered hawk and the purple fringed orchid. More than 460 species of woody plants, 64 species of nesting birds, 16 species of mammals, 9 reptile species and 7 amphibian species call Ryerson home.
WALKS ON THE WILD SIDE
As part of its 12 Natural Wonders, Chicago Wilderness is sponsoring a yearlong calendar of guided nature walks to celebrate the local prairies, woodlands, wetlands and waters. It runs through April.
All walks are free but require registration by mail. To receive a brochure, contact the Chicagoland Environmental Network at 708-485-0263, ext. 396.
Here are some upcoming events:
Aug. 22: 8-9:30 p.m. Moonlight serenade at Glacial Park near Richmond.
Aug. 29: 9-11 a.m. Biodiversity & Wildflowers at Chain o’ Lakes State Park in Spring Grove.
Aug. 29: 10 a.m.-noon. Prairie views at Spring Bluff Forest Preserve in Winthrop Harbor (part of Illinois Beach Preserves).
Sept. 12: 9 a.m.-noon. Souvenirs of the Glacial Ebbing at Cap Sauers Holding, McCarthy and Wolf Roads, Palos Park.
Sept. 13: 1:30-3 p.m. Habitat sampler tour at Grant Woods in Fox Lake (Chain o’ Lakes).
Sept. 13: 1:30-3:30 p.m. A Walk in the Bog at Volo Bog in Ingleside (Chain o’ Lakes).
Sept. 19: 1-3 p.m. Savanna Stroll at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook (North Branch Woodlands and Prairies).
Sept. 19: 10 a.m.-noon. Dune Builders at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion.
Sept. 20: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. All-day hike at Waterfall Glen near Lemont.
Oct. 10: 9 a.m.-noon. Fall nature hike at Cowles Bog, Chesterton, Ind. (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore).
Oct. 10: 10 a.m.-noon. Shake a Tail Feather at Nelson Lake Marsh near Batavia.
