Current headlines
Featured news
All news
-
Aerial view of snowy trail with logo
Get outdoors and win prizes: Be a Trailblazer in 2025!
1/14/2025The Forest Preserve District has a new challenge for the new year: Be a Trailblazer! More than $10,000 in prizes will be awarded randomly to lucky participants as they complete a wide variety of nature-themed missions in four seasonal sessions.
-
Snowy scenery at Sugar Creek Preserve
Winter weather may impact preserve openings
1/12/2025For the public’s safety, some preserves may remain closed immediately after a winter weather event as Forest Preserve District staff work to plow parking lots and roadways to make preserve visits possible and less hazardous.
-
Prairie Bluff Preserve closed until further notice
1/11/2025Prairie Bluff Preserve will remain closed until further notice.
-
Graphic indicating a closure
Joliet Junction Trail section to close for Interstate 80 work
1/9/2025A section of the Joliet Junction Trail is scheduled to be closed for seven to 10 days due to an Interstate 80 improvement project. The trail will be closed from McDonough Street to Moen Avenue.
-
Two women pick up trash along a trail.
Join a trail cleanup to mark MLK Day of Service
1/9/2025The Forest Preserve District is hosting two trail cleanup days to mark the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Cleanups are set for Jan. 19 on the Rock Run Greenway Trail and Jan. 20 on the Joliet Junction Trail.
-
Smokey Bear paintings to be displayed at four Four Preserve visitor centers
1/2/2025"Smokey Bear: The Rudy Wendelin Collection" exhibit will run from Friday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, March 2, at four Forest Preserve visitor centers. The artworks depict the popular U.S. Forest Service symbol and are reproductions of original Smokey Bear paintings that were created from 1977 to 1995.
-
Plum Creek Greenway Trail section closed due to bridge damage
1/2/2025A section of the Plum Creek Greenway Trail is closed due to bridge damage to the trail's north bridge closest to Bemes Road. This trail section will remain closed until the tree can be removed and the bridge repaired.
-
A man pours seed into a mixer.
Winter seed mixing work sows prairies of tomorrow
1/2/2025A year of seed collection by staff and volunteers culminated with a seed mixing day at a Forest Preserve barn in December. The seed will be sown this winter in areas targeted for restoration, leading to blooms and better species diversity next year in the preserves.
-
People at a picnic shelter
Picnic, camping permits go on sale Jan. 2
12/31/2024Picnic and camping permits for 2025 go on sale Thursday, Jan. 2. Permits will be available on a first come, first served basis and can be purchased online or at a visitor center.
-
A woman puts brush on a fire.
Start 2025 on the right foot by signing up for a Volunteer Morning
12/30/2024Volunteers can meet other environmentally oriented individuals and get some exercise while removing invasive species and making the preserves more hospitable for native plants and animals.
Events
Smokey Bear: Self-Expression Studio
Visit the “Smokey Bear: The Rudy Wendelin Collection” on display in the nature center then visit our Self-Expression Studio to create your own masterpiece.
'Smokey Bear: The Rudy Wendelin Collection'
Explore the extraordinary career of artist Rudolph “Rudy” Wendelin, best known as the artist behind the U.S. Forest Service’s iconic mascot: Smokey Bear.
The Buzz
Winter got you feeling blue? Here's five ways to enjoy the season
Need inspiration for embracing winter? Here are five ways you can seize the season.
Survival stories: How animals endure winter's worst weather
When given the choice, most of us choose to spend most of the winter indoors. Animals, though, don't exactly have a choice.
Myth buster: No two snowflakes are alike? Very likely, but it's hard to prove
Every snowflake is unique, or at least as best as we can figure out. It's probably true that no two snowflakes are alike, but the sheer number of snowflakes makes it virtually impossible to determine with certainty.