Be a Trailblazer: Hike Rock Run Preserve

^{|  Story by Meghan McMahon |}

^1/28/2025

Editor’s note: We want you to Be a Trailblazer this year, so we will be hiking at various preserves throughout the year and documenting it for you. Journey along with us as we blaze a trail through the preserves and hopefully encourage you to do the same.

Rock Run Preserve isn’t one of those tucked-away spots where you can retreat from your busy life and surround yourself with the sights and sounds of nature. It’s in a busy and populated spot in Will County’s largest city, so you are never too far from the hustle and bustle.

That juxtaposition is part of the beauty of a visit to Rock Run Preserve. You’re in nature, reaping the benefits of it, and its location along busy suburban thoroughfares makes it easy to appreciate the value of these protected natural spaces.

On our hike at Rock Run, the sights and sounds of both nature and suburban life were evident all around. Sounds of traffic and sirens in the distance intermixed with the sounds of birds chirping and calling and wind whipping across the prairie grasses and through the bare trees.

We hiked after a snowfall, but it was during one of those winter warmups that makes everything a little slick and soupy at the same time. The trails were soggy and wet with puddles in some spots but still snowy and icy in those places that don’t get as much direct sunlight.

As you might expect on a winter afternoon, wildlife sightings were few. We saw some sparrows and songbirds in the brush and some geese flying overhead. A couple of squirrels were scurrying up and down trees and eating seeds and such from the ground. Two deer darted across the trail just ahead of us, very aware of our presence.

We also saw a few things we wish we hadn’t seen. In a few places, corn and seed had been scattered across the snow, presumably for the deer. While this may seem like a well-intentioned good deed, it is not. The deer do not require human intervention to find food. Even during a snowy winter, they are well-equipped to find food on their own. Furthermore, feeding deer is illegal in Illinois. And feeding any animals in the preserves is a violation of the Forest Preserve’s General Use Ordinance. If you need any more convincing, read more about how feeding deer in winter actually does them more harm than good. 

The lack of animal activity made it easier to notice the things we might otherwise have missed. And at this time of year, the beauty of the season is often in the details. On our hike, we had fun getting a closer look at a hornet’s nest affixed high on a tree trunk. We saw plenty of other nests too, uncovered for all to see after the leaves fell from the trees. Near the pond, which was still covered with ice and snow, we crouched low to the ground to take a closer look at the dozens of animal tracks crisscrossing it. We saw tracks from birds and mammals, but it was difficult to decipher who had left them behind because of the partially melted snow.

At times in winter, it can seem like all the color has been drained from the landscape, but we made a point to look high and low for at least some of the colors of the rainbow. And we weren’t disappointed. Pops of yellow and green could be found on rocks and tree trunks covered with lichen, and we saw some dull shades of red leftover on a few sumac trees. We even caught a glimpse of a blue jay overhead.

Paved surfaces make up the majority of the trails at Rock Run, but two short limestone paths are worth checking out. The 0.23-mile Prairie Trail delivers on the promise of its name, taking you through a grassland, while the 0.29-mile Sedge Meadow Trail traverses a more wooded habitat.

Two waterways — the small pond and the namesake Rock Run creek that runs through the preserve — are also worth a closer look. The pond is among the most scenic spots at the preserve, and there are a few benches scattered around it, inviting visitors to sit for a bit to take it all in. There’s a bridge spanning the creek near the Paul V. Nichols Access where you can stop to check out the water below, looking for signs of life on a winter day.

Our walk was leisurely, but we could have easily turned it into a workout by quickening our pace a bit. The paved trail forms a 2.44-mile loop that you could walk, run or bike multiple times for fitness, but you can also easily extend your adventure beyond the preserve as well.

The paved path at Rock Run Preserve is part of the Rock Run Greenway Trail, which extends far beyond the preserve’s boundaries. You can follow it south, across Black Road, toward Jefferson Street and then farther south through Colvin Grove Preserve and the Joliet Junior College campus before it finally ends at Lower Rock Run Preserve, where it connects to the I&M Canal State Trail. To the west, you can connect to the DuPage River Trail and cross over Interstate 55 to explore nearby Hammel Woods. Following the path north out of the preserve, you can travel to Theodore Marsh.

One of the benefits of a preserve like Rock Run, with multiple trails and connections to other trails and preserves, is that you can experience it differently every time you visit. Whether you have hours to explore or just enough time for a short jaunt, there are plenty of ways you can Be a Trailblazer at Rock Run Preserve.