Grainger Woods County Forest Preserve

At Grainger Woods, mesic oak woodlands, wetlands, meadows and prairies harbor several state-listed threatened and endangered species including a sedge not seen in the Chicago region since 1955.

The site’s rare northern flatwoods contain mainly swamp white oaks, black ash, musclewood and hop hornbeam. Seasonally flooded woods, flatwoods are wet in the spring and fall and dry during summer. The site also features a large formerly-grazed pasture that is slowly returning to its original prairie state as evident by emerging native plants including prairie dock, golden ragwort, blue-eyed grass, large yellow fox sedge, crested oval sedge, wild strawberry and other plant species.