Lyman Woods & William F. Sherman Jr. Interpretive Center

Discover an amazing diversity of plant life, including six species classified as rare in the Chicago region. Catch a glimpse of animals including deer, coyote, fox, Cooper’s Hawks, Great Horned Owls, a wide variety of reptiles, amphibians, insects, and numerous songbirds.

During your visit, you’ll find three rare kames, glacially deposited hills of gravel, which support native prairie and oak woods. The most outstanding feature is a 19-acre oak woods that has remained undisturbed since it was purchased by the Lyman family in 1839. Today it serves as one of the few examples of the pre-settlement landscape that dominated the Downers Grove area.