Overview
The preserve has been restored to its natural state and is now thriving with prairies, meadows and fully functioning wetlands that provide flood control, wildlife habitat and improved water quality for the adjacent Des Plaines River.
Before restoration work began here, the land had been drained for farmland, mined for sand and gravel and then abandoned. Most of the original wetlands had been destroyed.
Today, the river, once obscured by weedy overgrowth, is visible through a rehabilitated oak grove. The prairies and meadows have been restored, and the wetlands are again functioning to provide flood control, wildlife habitat and to improve water quality in the river.
The preserve’s main entrance offers 0.25 miles of gravel trails. Please keep dogs leashed and on trails at all times, and pick up after them.