Stopped off at Baker woods forest preserve in Kendall county today for my lunch break. This preserve is located on route 52, east of route 47. It’s a small preserve, but is great for taking an afternoon picnic, or taking the kids on a small hike. The trail is about a mile long total, but is very easy to walk. I have taken my kids here many times and they can handle it no problem.

There are 2 picnic shelters and an outhouse as well. There is a small river that flows through the preserve which you can fish in, as me and my daughter have done. There are bluegills and catfish aplenty, as well as largemouth bass. If you walk off the trail to ge to the creek, wear long pants! There is poison ivy and a nettle-like plant which can rip your legs apart and make them burn. Found this out the hard way.

Brookdale conservation area is located off of US highway 14 west of Woodstock.  The preserve has about 2 miles of hiking trails which take you around the southend of a lake and through some of their prairie restoration and some of the wooded areas.  You can fish the lake from the shoreline, or from the fishing platform located on the south end of the lake. 

The prairie restoration, while nice to look at, is not an adequate example of what a restoration should look like.  The only native plant species that I could see were; big bluestem grass, monarda, and yellow coneflower.  There is an overabundance of non-native plants which appear to be reclaiming the restoration areas.  Unfortunately, most government preserves don’t have the funds to perfrom adequate stewardship on sites once native plants have been introduced.  The end result is what you see at Brookdale, native plant species being overrun with non-native plants once again.  However, most people see what native plants are there and think it looks good.

I drove into Elburn Woods today for my lunch and was surprised by how many native plants were blooming in there.  There was a large amount of Joe-pye weed flowering, a plant with a purple flower that can reach 6 feet tall.  There was also alot of cup plant in the woods as well.  The assorted Solomon’s Seal species had finished flowering and were now producing a small round fruit.  Lots of Indigo Buntings and Song sparrows were present, as well as the usual hords of mosquitoes.

During the break in the rain today, I was able to get out and explore Rutland forest preserve during my lunch break. The preserve does have trails for hiking and snowmobiling in the winter, however they were closed for revegetation. So I walked along the road instead. Amongst the many mature oak trees and scattered wetland areas, I saw some indigo buntings, song sparrows, common yellowthroat, flickers and yellow-bellied woodpeckers. There are a couple of large picnic shelters and several outhouses as well. Rutland was very quiet and is a nice place to get away. Rutland forest preserve is located on Big Timber road, just east of route 47.

Blackwell forest preserve is one of Dupage county’s largest preserves. The 1,339 acre preserve allows a multitude of activities for the individual and family. Blackwell is split into 2 different areas, Silver lake and Mckee marsh. Silver lake area contains the lake itself as well as a couple smaller lakes. The area is surrounded by woods and plenty of mowed turf. Mckee marsh is a large marsh located at the north end of the preserve. The marsh is surrounded by prairie as scattered clusters of woodland.

Hiking - The are over seven miles of trails. The trails are wide and can accomodate both hikers and cyclists. Mckee marsh has a crushed limestone interpretive trail that educates about the marsh, as well as about the wooly mammoth that was discoved there back in 1977. The trail around Mckee marsh contains a bird blind and 2 viewing platforms.

Camping - Blackwell contains 60 sites for family camping and 12 youth group sites. The family sites have a fire ring and a picnic table. There are some sites that have electric hook-ups. but there is no water or sewer hook-ups available. The restrooms do contain showers. There are sites for tents, trailers as well as motor homes.

Other activities - Blackwell is an excellent place for fishing. Bring your non-gas powered boat, or rent one at the rental building. Birding is excellent here, especially in the fall when hundrends of hawks can be seen from Mount Hoy. Many of the trails are open to cyclists, horseback riders and cross-country skiers in the winter. There are plenty of picnic tables located through the preserve as well, so bring your lunch and relax after a long day.