Third Coast Hikes was started as a half-baked idea, about all the places I like to visit outdoors in the upper Midwest. It was always intended to be a place for me to organize my thoughts, write about the places I go, and post the photos I take. It’s done a pretty good job of that, but Third Coast Hikes could be more, and it doesn’t need me to be at the center of it.
Starting in 2021, Third Coast Hikes will post more actively. I want to post something new at least every other week. That might be my own musings from whatever I see going on outside my window, or calling attention to the amazing work someone else is doing. I consider the Third Coast to extend by and large across all the Great Lakes region (I’m even willing to let Lake Nipigon in), but I will focus primarily on Chicago because that’s where I live.
Watch this space every other Wednesday throughout 2021. I made a calendar about it, so now if I don’t follow through I get to live with the same of disappointing my calendar, which tbh might be enough.
If you or someone you know is doing something amazing outdoors in the Great Lakes region, drop me a line. You can also find me on Instagram @ThirdCoastHikes, or ping me on Twitter at @WritingWelbers. I want to hear about the cool stuff that’s going on around the coast.
Address: 10906 Kickapoo Park Road Oakwood IL 61858
Size: 2,700 acres
Activities: Fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing, picnicking, trap range, archery range and camping.
Reservations: No. First come, first served.
Pros: Quiet, beautiful, largely unoccupied by other people, abundant trails.
Cons: Trails are primarily occupied by equestrian riders, so hikers are not the primary users here, and should move aside for riders; few amenities, privacy. Ground fires are not allowed. Pets on leashes at all times.
Report: When you get to Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area you will find wide open spaces, big skies, spacious campgrounds and almost no other people, but there might be a few neigh-saying neigbors. This park runs along the Middle Fork of the Vermillion River. Trails travel down bluffs, through valleys, prairies and wide, mown fields. Some trails travel up steep slopes, but most are wide and flat. The terrain is varied, and some roads are made of sand which can be difficult to navigate. There’s a pond, a river, old growth forests, meadows and fields. It’s not commonly used by hikers and campers, since this park does tend to cater to equestrian visitors, but all are welcome.
It’s hard to find information about Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area. That makes it tricky to plan this trip to the degree that I like. Google Maps is really my medium. I know I’m a writer, so I should say that a blank page is my medium, but it is not. The blank page is my Sisyphean hill. Google Maps is my crystal ball. I like to know precisely where I’m headed, down to an annoying degree. Vacationing with me is like vacationing with Leslie Knope, including interesting side trips just for your tastes.
I try to scrutinize campground maps before I set out. I plan to find the furthest campsite away from everyone else as I can. I understand that for some people being able to see the other campers might be a bit of a comfort, but I do not see it that way. Please surround me with trees and not people, I’ll walk far to get there if I have to.
A somewhat rude picture of a bee and it’s pollen.
Middle Fork would not play ball. I could not find a clear map. I could not find the campground on a map. I had a friend verify its reality from a memory from her childhood. I had to take it on faith, and I hate doing that. When I called and Kickapoo State Park answered I asked point-blank, “is there a campground at Middle Fork?” and the woman who answered said “Um… let me look and see.” She then put me on hold for about a minute and when she returned, she sounded surprised to say that “Yes, there is a campground up there.” Seeing no reason for this woman to lie, I trusted there was. Then I lost my notes, and no one ever answered the phone again.
Late August dry creek beds. Horses navigate this crossing just fine, but hikers might want to prepare for wet feet.
So we dropped the dog off at the in-law’s place and headed south. We left I-57 at Highway 49 and followed that south, saving about 5 minutes and taking a route through a series of small towns. Fortunately, when you pass through Collins, the signs for Middle Fork make navigation fairly easy. When I was there the camp host was off-duty and only a handful of equestrians occupied the other campgrounds. The lone tent-only space, campground B, was devoid of campers on a Saturday afternoon. We selected a site on the northern edge. There are six unnumbered sites, and the space is pretty open. There is a self-serve pay box by the day-use parking lot, but the camp host found us at our site.
On the small path between Campgrounds A and B there is evidence that once there was a playground. Bur marigolds have been allowed to grow in over where the swing set once was. Joe Pye weed is abundant, Doll’s Eyes are in bloom this time of year and the trees sing with cicadas. The goldenrod is overwhelming in numbers. There is nothing really resembling pavement in Campground B. If we were not in a late August dry spell, I likely would have encountered a muddier drive. Instead, it was dry and quite easy to navigate. Water is available at a pump in Campgrounds A, C and D, so you don’t have to carry it too far.
Pro tip: Lower trail numbers will lead you back to camp.
The map that does exist for Middle Fork is a bit of a doozy. Paper maps are available for visitors, and they exist on signage when you enter. The trick to deciphering the map for this park is to understand that the trails are numbered, that those numbers don’t relate to the length or difficulty of the trail in any way, and that the numbering system starts at the campgrounds. So if you’re out for a hike from the campground, and you tour the prairies and open fields, crossing the creeks and rivers when you can, and you didn’t take your map with you, just follow the lower numbered paths until you get back to camp.
Oak trees are abundant. There is one oak that dominates campground B. It must be close to 40 feet tall. I suspect a hawk or bird of prey lives there, because of the abundance of jay and downy goose feathers I found all over the place. They all seem to originate underneath a perch about fifteen feet off the ground, in that big oak. One of the campsites is being reclaimed by the undergrowth. Only three have cooking grates. If it weren’t for the absence of other people, there would be almost no privacy. I wonder why no one comes here?
The view from the back of Campground B, looking towards the road. Every single campsite in this spot is visible in this photo, but since there were no people we stretched out. This photo was taken from the camp hammock.
While this campground gets high marks for being devoid of people, it gets low marks for not having or maintaining the sort of thing that would make people want to come. Like privacy, or a functional fire grate. It is far away from a lot, there aren’t nearby stores or restaurants. If you don’t mind the neighbors neighing, your reward will be the sound of coyote packs calling to each other in the night and full moons as bright as city streets. The sounds of screaming cicadas and the smell of hot pollen will let you know we have reached the tail end of another Illinois summer. By Sunday afternoon, after the equestrian day trippers had gone home, we were probably the only people in the park, which is kind of like being the only people for miles and miles. (Which is what I was hoping for.)
Address: 1411 North River Road, Oregon, Illinois 61061
Size: 207 acres
Activities: Boating, camping, canoeing, biking, birding, cross country skiing, fishing, hiking, hunting, metal detecting, statue-viewing, concessions
Reservations: Most campsites can be reserved through ReserveAmerica.com, but some are first-come first-served.
Pros: This is a small but very pretty little park. The trails are well marked, maintained and they are popular with families on bikes. Campsites are big, plentiful and pretty widely spaced. Bird watching from on top of the bluff overlooking the Rock River is amazing and white pelicans are easy to spot.
Cons: There are only about 4 miles of trails in this park, so it’s better suited for a weekend napping in under the sun-dappled canopy than a big hiking adventure. Off road bikers looking for a challenging course might find this park insufficient, but families with little kiddos should have plenty to do.
Report: I visited Lowden State Park the first chance I got after Illinois began reopening following months spent indoors due to coronavirus. I have a tendency to never stop working, which means working from home is both great and terrible. I’ve never been more productive and I am very tired.
On Friday morning I packed up everything I needed hastily, remembering everything but my coffee. I wanted to get there early to get one of the eight hike-in sites available at Lowden, which are not reservable online. Hike-in sites don’t allow vehicular access, so you have to haul all your gear from your car to camp. This usually means you’ll find a quieter campsite with a bit more privacy.
Lowden State Park is primarily for campers. There are two main campgrounds, one with electrical hookups, showers, restrooms, sport courts, a playground, and a concession stand. Those are located just a short walk to the statue and the main trail system. The other campground is just on the other side of River Road, and involves crossing a two-lane highway to access. This campground, called the White Oak Area, includes more primitive sites with fewer amenities. Restrooms are vault toilets in the White Oak campground. White Oak Campground has the hike-in sites, so that’s where I headed.
Site 7 was available. The site was a short walk away from vault toilets, and included a fire pit with grate and a picnic table. The site was pretty big, and set back far enough from the trail that I had plenty of privacy. The hike-in sites are connected to the Pines Trail, a one-mile looped trail that guides you back to the White Oak Campground, or offers a way to access the main trail system. Caution: Crossing between the two trail systems involves walking across a lightly trafficked two-lane highway, but there is no crosswalk or signs that might indicate to the divers that a pedestrian would be here. The signage for this crossing is unclear, I walked a few hundred feet down the side of the road before I found the path into the larger trail system.
The trails inside the park are wide, flat and hard. They are made of packed dirt with occasional roots or sticks that may create a trip hazard. The main trail system is built into the side of a bluff along the Rock River. If you follow the lowest trail to the end you will find a strong spring flowing out of the side of the hill. There are staircases leading to the top of the hill, but two of the three are a bit dilapidated and the trail is rough. A center staircase is long but in good condition, and will take you right up to the top of the bluff. Once you get to the summit, you’ll be greeted by a 48-foot-tall concrete statue of a Native American man and that’s where we start talking about the history of this land.
A park with a lot of history:
This spot on the Rock River and the surrounding region are the ancestral homeland of the Sauk people. European settlers arrived to the region starting in the late 1700s. By 1804 a series of treaties, collectively called The Treaty of St. Louis, were signed between the United States are various Native American tribes. One signed by William Henry Harrison and Quashquame, a representative of both the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes, was signed on November 3, 1804. A consequence of that treaty was that all the land stretching from northeast Missouri through almost all of Illinois north of the Illinois River, and a large part of southern Wisconsin was traded for $1,000 in goods delivered to the tribe each year. The Sauk people deeply resented this treaty, especially Chief Black Hawk, who felt that Quashquame was not authorized to sign the treaty. The land that would become Lowden State Park was included in that treaty.
Black Hawk never recognized that treaty as valid and he actually sided with the British during the War of 1812 in an attempt to push white settlers out of the region. By 1828 Sauk and Fox tribes were removed west of the Mississippi River. In 1832 Black Hawk, who had not moved from the land, forged alliances with other tribes and Britain. Black Hawk led this band of 1500 men, women and children into Illinois from Iowa in an attempt to reclaim their homeland. About 500 of those were warriors. This group was called The British Band and was victorious at the Battle of Stillman’s Run against the Illinois Militia on May 14, 1832. This was the start of the Black Hawk War. The war lasted through August of that year when hundreds of men, women and children were killed by a U.S. gunboat at the mouth of the Bad Axe River.
Following the British Band’s, defeat President Andrew Jackson had Black Hawk, along with other Native American leaders, paraded around the nation as a spectacle for white Americans. That’s not the end of the story of Chief Black Hawk, but it is the end of the part of the story that pertains to this park.
Jump ahead to 1843.
America’s first female war correspondent was a woman named Margaret Fuller. She was also a journalist, editor, critic, translator, women’s rights advocates and transcendentalist. That year Margaret made a trip through the Great Lakes region, from Chicago to Buffalo. She spent much of that year interacting with Native American tribes, including the Ottawa and the Chippewa. That year she made her only stop in Oregon, Illinois. Walking along the east bank of the Rock River Margaret noticed a natural spring at the base of the bluff. She named it “Ganymede Spring” and sat down beneath a striking cedar tree at the top of the bluff to write “Ganymede to His Eagle,” a poem which won her some acclaim. Today, the spring still carries that name and an island in the middle of the Rock River has been named in her honor.
Fast forward again to 1898.
Sculptor Lorado Taft and a bunch of his friends from the Art Institute and the University of Chicago were searching for a place to spend their summers away from the city. After their first colony at Bass Lake, Indiana ended in malaria, they were planning to search in Wisconsin. When Wallace Heckman, a wealthy attorney and arts patron, purchased this plot of land on the Rock River and invited Taft and his pals to visit this spot for the Fourth of July. The group was so charmed by the site, and Heckman so charmed by the group, that by the end of that week the group signed a lease on 15 acres of land for $1 per year, with the stipulation that each member of the colony give a free lecture or demonstration in the area. This became the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony, named in honor of that cedar tree where Margaret penned that poem. Today the cedar tree has been cut down and only a stump remains. Circle of life.
Beginning in 1908 Lorado began work on what would become the centerpiece of the park today. Officially titled “The Eternal Indian” but often called the “Black Hawk Statue” this 48-foot-tall concrete statue stands directly above the spring on top of the bluff. It weighs 536,770 pounds and is said to be the second largest concrete monolithic statue in the world, after only Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
According to Lorado in 1911, when the statue was unveiled, this work “represents the unconquerable spirit of Native Americans.” While it was partially inspired by Chief Black Hawk, it is not directly named in his honor and bears no resemblance to his likeness. Taft ran short on funds prior to completing the monumental task, but then-Governor Frank Lowden stepped in to finance the completion. The park is named in his honor for this reason. The statue has recently been restored to its original condition and the land where the colony was located is now owned by Northern Illinois University.
I think it’s reasonable to say that as a monument to Chief Black Hawk and the Native Americans who called (and still call) this land home, the sentiment could have been better executed. If Taft were taking on this project today, he would be wise to consider the history of the land a little more thoughtfully, and incorporate ideas and suggestions from local Sauk, Fox and other Native American tribes. In a time when Americans are taking a more critical eye at the statues and monuments we keep on display, this particular statue seems to have avoided much of that controversy. What I do know for sure is that much of the information presented on the signage around the history glosses over some of the nastier parts of that story and should be updated to include a more accurate history of the region.
When we moved into our house last June, the backyard had been neglected for a long time. The previous owners were keen to half-finish projects and generally let the yard go unused, except apparently as a place to store used Juul pods. Concrete pavers occupied a fair amount of space, and we saw the opportunity to remove those, add topsoil, and create a garden fairly easily.
Common Star of Bethlehem (not native, but it was here when I moved in.)
To my eyes, the space along the fence presented the most opportunity for garden experimentation. This long plot of dirt, about 18-20 inches wide and about 40 feet long, was overgrown with weeds peeking up through the cracks in the pavers and untamed mint plants that the neighbor planted on their side of the fence years ago. I decided to plant a prairie here.
The Prairie Moon Nursery seed mix
Last October, Dave and I, using a pry bar and a 10 foot long pipe to create a fulcrum, removed dozens of pavers from the ground. Then, exhausted and sweaty, we covered the now-exposed sand beneath with a layer of straw and let it decay over winter. Prairies require a cold, dormant season for their seeds to sprout and begin growing. In February, on a lovely about-freezing afternoon, I put on a heavy wool sweater and some leggings, grabbed my shovel and removed about a foot of sand from the tract along the fence. Honestly, it was a refreshing activity. I filled it in with top soil and let it go through a few more freeze/thaw cycles.
Sweaty work.
When I felt enough time had passed, and when they arrived in the mail, I cast a tallgrass exposed clay subsoil prairie seed mix along that length of the yard. This is the start of my urban prairie.
Prairie seeds require a cold dormancy, so that’s why this all happened in winter.
Why a prairie? Prairies are great. They are beautiful four seasons out of the year. Tallgrasses and a season-long showcase of florals that attract pollinators and birds? Yes, please. Illinois is the Prairie State but we have less than 1% of our prairie left. Native plants attract pollinators, which will help your vegetables produce more food, and their thick and deep root systems soak up water, which helps keep it out of your basement. Beyond that, they provide season-long blooms in a huge array of colors and if you don’t find 10 foot-tall bluegrass stems impressive, I’m not sure what to tell you. They were good enough for Frank Lloyd Wright.
Let’s just look around and try and figure out how Ol’ Frank Lloyd Wright got the idea for those windows.
Restoring a prairie takes a few years. These hearty, tall, gorgeous plants have a deep root structure, the eight-foot-tall big bluestems I’m hoping for will have roots that push down four feet into the earth. Once these perennial plants are established they will require next-to-no work from me. They will also provide a winter haven for insects and a natural landscape I can enjoy all four seasons. For the first two or three years, I will never be able to quit weeding.
I straight-up have no idea what this plant is.
I chose the tallgrass exposed clay subsoil seed mix from Prairie Moon Nursery. It was the simplest way to get the most diversity of plants that were known to be native to my home region. Now that they are all starting to sprout, I find myself out there most days eyeing tiny flowers and vines. My Seek app is full of things I put there and can’t recognize. Mostly, it’s because they are too small and I am impatient. I know what I planted there, because I have the list of seeds in that mix, so what I need now is a place to catalog what I find.
Common Lamb’s Quarters (native)
Below, is the list of seeds that I ordered from Prairie Moon. Over the course of the season, I’ll be cataloging what I find so that I can better understand what exactly I have done in my backyard. I will likely re-seed next fall, to fill in some patches and create a little more diversity. Once things get taller, I may have to mow, which considering the size of the acreage will probably happen with scissors. Eventually, we’ll have to talk about a controlled burn but that’s not today. I would be a fool to tell you there aren’t way more plants in that bed than there are listed here. It’s a big, open exposed bed of topsoil with no groundcover. I’m fighting weeds I don’t want, and not fighting weeds I think are cute.
Botanical name
Common name
Wildflowers
Agastache foeniculum
Anise Hyssop
Arnoglossum atriplicifolium
Pale Indian Plantain
Asclepias syriaca
Common Milkweed
Astragalus canadensis
Canada Milk Vetch
Baptisia alba
White Wild Indigo
Chamaecrista fasciculata
Partridge Pea
Dalea candida
White Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
Purple Prairie Clover
Echinacea pallida
Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Purple Coneflower
Gaura biennis
Biennial Gaura
Heliopsis helianthoides
Early Sunflower
Lespedeza capitata
Round-headed Bush Clover
Monarda fistulosa
Wild Bergamot
Napaea dioica
Glade Mallow
Oligoneuron rigidum
Stiff Goldenrod
Penstemon digitalis
Foxglove Beardtongue
Pycnanthemum virginianum
Mountain Mint
Ratibida pinnata
Yellow Coneflower
Rudbeckia hirta
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia subtomentosa
Sweet Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba
Brown-eyed Susan
Senna hebecarpa
Wild Senna
Silphium laciniatum
Compass Plant
Silphium terebinthinaceum
Prairie Dock
Symphyotrichum laeve
Smooth Blue Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
New England Aster
Verbena hastata
Blue Vervain
Verbena stricta
Hoary Vervain
Trees, shrubs and vines
Ceanothus americanus
New Jersey Tea
Grasses, sedges and rushes
Andropogon gerardii
Big Bluestem
Elymus canadensis
Canada Wild Rye
Elymus virginicus
Virginia Wild Rye
Juncus dudleyi
Dudley’s Rush
Panicum virgatum
Switch Grass
Sorghastrum nutans
Indian Grass
Not sure what this is yet, but I’m hoping it’s milkweed.
I started Third Coast Hikes to celebrate the outdoors in Chicago, the Midwest and generally the Great Lakes region. I chose to focus here because it is where I live and where I have always lived. The outdoors industry tends to forget that the Midwest exists, even though we have thousands of miles of shoreline, rivers, lakes, migrating birds of all kinds, and rare plants you can’t find anywhere else. Third Coast Hikes is all about celebrating the outdoors right here where we live. I am based in Chicago, so that is where my focus is centered.
Because of this Third Coast Hikes is proud to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I acknowledge that people of color don’t always have safe and equal access to the outdoors in the region. People of color have systemically been pushed away from our outdoors spaces using racist policies, laws, policing, and the bad attitudes of a vocal minority of white people and those of us who chose silence over conflict. The outdoors industry in particular has a largely white and male focus when highlighting those who enjoy hiking, backpacking, camping, birding, fishing and other activities that have nothing to do with skin color.
Moving forward Third Coast Hikes will do a better job of highlighting the stories of BIPOC Midwesterners who enjoy and support our outdoors spaces, and work to support organizations that create access to the outdoors for those who may not otherwise be able to access them.
If you are a white person I want to encourage you to educate yourself on issues facing people of color in the outdoors, and how you can work to create a more equitable space for people of all backgrounds. The Melanin Base Camp Guide To Outdoor Allyship is a good place to start. In acknowledging the inequality that people of color face in the outdoors, I am using my privilege to support the work of the following organizations, by donating directly to their causes. I invite you to join me in supporting their work because it is true that until everyone is equal, no one is.
Chicago Voyagers – This organization empowers at-risk youth through outdoor experiences and adventures that foster healthy relationships and responsible behavior. They provide real-life canoeing, hiking, cross country skiing, rock climbing, river trips and camping to over 400 Chicago area teens each year.
Melanin Base Camp – Which has been working to increase the visibility of outdoorsy Black, indigenous and people of color since 2016. Their #DiversityOutdoors campaign does not shy away from sensitive topics of race or gender, but does so in a way that creates a safe space for people with marginalized identities.
Outdoor Afro – Helps people take better care of themselves, our communities and the planet. They are working in 30 states around the country to connect Black people with nature and changing the face of leadership in the outdoors.
I’m the voice behind Third Coast Hikes. I started this blog shortly after I went on my first backpacking trip in 2017. Part of my motivation was so that I would have a place to post photos and notes from my own trips, and part of the reason was because I couldn’t find an ultralight blog focused on where I live.
I have lived my whole life in Illinois. I grew up in Central Illinois, outside Spring Valley, on 100 acres of second-growth woodland. I spent summers jumping fences, climbing trees, examining wildflowers and exploring the creeks that ran through my backyard. In 2006 I moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College, where I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in journalism. I moved to Chicago permanently in 2010 and have worked as a journalist, writer and nonprofit fundraiser since then.
Backpacking is the best way I have ever found to connect with nature since I moved away from the woods, but it’s not the easiest thing to do in Chicago. Not impossible, just not simple. Connecting with nature is valuable to every person, especially in urban areas. Most days in Chicago I can get along just fine without a car, but having one makes it easier to access hiking trails and nature preserves. My car is a 1994 Ford Thunderbird, which is both awesome and impractical. It’s not getting any younger, and I don’t want to buy a new car. I do, however, want to keep visiting nature long after the day my car stops running.
In late 2019 I sat down to figure out what hiking trails and natural spaces I could visit using just the transit system Chicago is blessed to have. In my research I found dozens of places to connect with nature, that anyone can visit using just our transit system. That became my first book “Chicago Transit Hikes: A guide to getting out in nature without a car” which was released through Belt Publishing in May 2020.
Today I am a freelance writer, editor, naturalist, gardener, and green transit advocate living on Chicago’s Northwest side. Most days you can find me in my backyard, hiking in the Cook County Forest Preserves, or biking throughout the city.
Check me out on Instagram @ThirdCoastHikes, where I post pictures of the natural world I see around me; or you can find me on Twitter @WritingWelbers where mostly I yell about how we need more bike lanes.
I stayed up late last night talking with WGN Radio host Nick Digilio about Chicago Transit Hikes. There’s so much beauty, and such a diverse landscape, in the land immediately around (and sometimes inside of) the city itself. I spoke with Nick about the book, some of the best hikes you can find around Chicago, backpacking mishaps that led to new friendships, how to get comfortable outdoors if you’re just starting out and a whole bunch of other stuff.
Guys, I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever properly introduced myself. My name is Lindsay Welbers and I’m a freelance writer living in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. My husband and I moved up here in June 2019, after nine years living in the same apartment in Logan Square. We were attracted to the access this neighborhood had to public transit, I’m a 10-15 minute walk away from two Metra lines, the Blue Line, and a ton of CTA and Pace buses. Also, the forest preserves are up here and that’s as close as you can get to wilderness in the city of Chicago. White tailed deer screw up traffic about as often as the Metra does up here.
That’s what inspired me to write “Chicago Transit Hikes: A guide to getting out in nature without a car.” I was in a new place, and I wanted to know what natural spaces I could find. This book is a guide for anyone interested in getting out into nature, without the use of a car. All the hikes in this book are accessible from a train. I tried to make it as useful as possible for as many people as possible, so there should be something for everyone in this book. That includes families with little kids in strollers, people with mobility concerns, and people like myself who prefer a rugged and disconnected hike.
The differences in the natural landscapes of Logan Square
and Jefferson Park are subtle but clear. I knew how to find nature when I lived
in Logan Square, that was easy. I lived between Palmer Square, The 606 and Humboldt
Boulevard, so the natural world felt in many ways fully integrated into the
pace of my life. Those are all places I traveled through on my commute, and
they’re major pedestrian thoroughfares. They are vibrant natural spaces full of
people any day of the year.
Here in Jefferson Park, it’s a little different. In
Jefferson Park the nature lives in people’s yards, trees and forest preserves. You
have to step into the residential areas to find nature. There aren’t places
like Humboldt Boulevard to stroll, or The 606 to easily bike. Instead nature is
accessed from people’s backyards. The pace is slower and the natural landscape reflects
that. Palmer Square is full of sculptures and the occasional guerilla swing
set. Jefferson Park is full of gardens, lawns and most of the swing sets are
behind fences. That said it is gorgeous up here. My home office overlooks my
backyard and I probably saw a dozen different types of birds today alone. Also,
I’m pretty sure there’s an opossum living in my backyard. So I feel #Blessed
about that.
My very favorite way to really connect with nature is to backpack across what wilderness we were smart enough to keep that way, but I still live in the city. It’s where my friends are, it’s where I work, it’s where my husband works. I’ve lived my whole life in Illinois, and the entire time I’ve been exploring and trying to better understand our natural landscape. It helps to be able to walk in nature. There’s something about looking in 360 degrees and seeing nothing but oak trees and tallgrass prairies on all sides of you that acts as a salve for the too-connected world we live in. We all haven’t got the time, skills or desire that it takes to wander into the remote corners of the country, like I enjoy doing. There are a few campgrounds in this book, which make it pretty easy to immerse yourself in nature without having to travel too far. The rest of the hikes in this book are more like day hikes, so you can sleep in your own bed at night. Chicago sits at a place of unrivaled beauty in the Great Lakes region, my goal with this book was to show my neighbors how to see that beauty, using the transit system we already have.
Are you in Chicago this Christmas/New Year’s season?
Are you stuck inside when you’d rather not be?
I’m going to be out hiking A LOT between now and the first week of January. I’d love for you to come with me. I promise, it’s okay once you get to the trailhead. If you keep moving, you’ll be warm.
Sterne’s Fen is on the right, the woods are the left.
Lately my car has been in the shop. That’s just as well, really, because my car is a nearly 26-year-old American muscle car with rear wheel drive. That means, it’s useless on snow and ice. I can usually get around without it, but when I need a car, I need a car. This time the brake lines gave out on me, so getting it fixed was a priority. Getting it back was not.
Wingate Prairie Nature Preserve
A few weeks ago, I wanted to get out and see
the fall colors. I’m really glad I did because a week later a wind storm blew
all the leaves off the trees and a week after that it was snowing. Fall was,
like, three weeks long this year. Lame.
A handsome goldfinch eating goldenrod seeds.
Since I didn’t want to fuss with my car, I
took advantage of my neighborhood’s robust transit system and took the Up-Northwest
Metra line to Crystal Lake. From there, it was a short 10-minute walk through a
cute residential neighborhood leading directly to Veteran’s Woods and Sterne’s
Woods & Fen.
The pond in front of the Nature Center.
VW and SW&F features beautiful hikes
through gently rolling hills, thick stands of oak, aspen and ash trees,
low-lying wetlands with grasses that are taller than you, and a vibrant prairie
filled with wildlife. The trailhead is directly next to the Crystal Lake
District Nature Center, and a short 10-minute walk from the Crystal Lake Metra
station.
This place is known for it’s glacial erratics.
The Nature Center should be the first stop for
any visitor to this park. Get a map, there are a lot of illegal, outdated or
deer paths in this park (especially in the prairie) and it can be easy to go
off the trail. Below the Nature Center is a pond, with a bridge path, and ancient
willow trees, but it can get quite mushy if the water is high.
Oh, aspens, you are so cute.
Veteran’s Acres is home to the Wingate
Prairie, which is a designated Illinois State Nature Preserve. Visiting the
Wingate Prairie gives a modern-day glimpse into what Illinois looked like
before the 19th Century and the invention of the steel plow. A previous
landowner tried to turn the area into a Christmas tree farm in the mid-20th
Century, as a result a stand of pines juts oddly from the center of the prairie.
The dense grasses native to the area are slowly reclaiming that land. Today,
the prairie is home to protected species of butterflies and plants that can’t
be found anywhere else on the planet.
A pair of goldfinches in Wingate Prairie.
Moving past Wingate Prairie and further into
the park, you will encounter a row of power lines running over a wide ribbon of
prairie. If you follow the path to the right, you can join up with the Des
Plaines River Bike Path, which will net you access to 56 miles of trail north
to Wisconsin. If you continue straight, underneath the power lines, you will
come to Sterne’s Woods and Fen.
Bellflower
Sterne’s Woods is
notably hillier than Veteran’s Acres. There is the steep slope of a moraine
between the woods and the fen. If the idea of ending your hike with a steep,
long, uphill hike that will have your hamstrings screaming sounds appealing to
you, take a right and follow the path through the woods and gently slope down
to the low-lying fen. As you return to the trailhead, you’ll come upon a quarter
mile march up a steep incline. If that does not sound appealing to you, take a
left and head down the hill first, letting gravity do the work for you. The
trail is a loop, so if you go either left or right you will follow the same
path and end back at this spot.
In case everything I said above didn’t make sense, here’s a map.
When you return, head back across the prairie
in the direction of Veteran’s Acres. This time choose a different path than the
one you came in on and take in a little more of the surrounding woods and
prairie. The trails all converge back at the entrance to Wingate Prairie, which
you passed on your way in. Visit during the late afternoon hours and you’ll
probably get to see tons of birds feeding on the seeds found among the prairie
grasses.
When you’re ready to leave the park, exit via the
trailhead near the visitor’s center, and return the way you came. There is no
shortage of cafes, shops, breweries and restaurants in the blocks around the
train station. Most days the train into Chicago runs about every hour, so it
isn’t the worst thing in the world if you miss it. Remember that the train
heading back into Chicago is on the opposite side of the tracks from where you
got off, so make sure you are where you need to be when it arrives.
Bridge paths throughout the pond area in front of the Nature Center.
