Let's go on a Woods Walk

Join our annual hiking challenge to check out some new preserves and earn a Woods Walk medallion

Learn more

WHAT TO DO

Get moving

FETCH A PERMIT

Plan your outing
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Upcoming Events

Nature Play Day After Hours: Mushrooms and More
October 8
WonderKids Weekend Edition: Leaves!
October 12
Spooky Craft Lab Weekend
October 12
More events

IN THE NEWS

Fall Take It Outside Challenge offers plenty of prizes and a myriad of missions

If you haven’t tackled the Take It Outside Challenge yet, or if you are raring to go for another session, get ready for the Fall Frolic, which begins Sunday, Oct. 6. Challenge participants will have until Saturday, Dec. 14, to complete hundreds of nature-themed missions to earn points and win prizes. 

Forest Preserve staff discover endangered species not seen in the preserves since 1983

Ecologist Barbara Sherwood said she almost cried when she spied a Bombus affinis, the federally endangered rusty-patched bumblebee, in a Des Plaines River Valley preserve this summer.

Pockets of the past: Remnant prairies offer glimpse into region’s history

Many Will County preserves include remnant prairies, but a few in particular serve as interesting examples because of why they have been left mostly undisturbed through the years.

Snapshots in Nature