Current headlines
Featured news
All news
-
A woman rides a bike
Forest Preserve Board approves balanced 2025 budget; property tax rate will decrease 27%
11/15/2024The Forest Preserve's Board of Commissioners approved a balanced 2025 budget on Nov. 14. The spending plan includes a 27% drop in the property tax rate and funding for operations, maintenance, land acquisition and preserve improvement projects.
-
Valuables on a center console in a car
Prevent vehicle burglaries by following these tips
11/8/2024Forest Preserve police are reminding visitors to lock their vehicles and to leave valuables at home as they plan their nature outings.
-
A woman stands on a bridge.
Healing With Nature: Easing life’s transitions with the calmness of forest bathing
10/21/2024Barbara Collins, a Bolingbrook retiree, turned to nature and her history with plants to find a new purpose in life.
-
A rusty-patched bumble bee, with its white and yellow bands flies into a purple colored wild bergamot flower.
Forest Preserve staff discover endangered species not seen in the preserves since 1983
9/23/2024Ecologist 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.
-
A view of kayak rental lockers next to a lake.
Lake Chaminwood debuts new kayak rental station
8/29/2024A new kayak rental station is available for public use at Lake Chaminwood Preserve in Channahon. Patrons can download the Rent.Fun app to pay for the kayaks, which include paddles and life vests. The cost is $25 for the first two hours and $15 for each additional hour.
-
A yellow sign indicating where bikes are prohibited.
Illegal trails are ‘wounds slicing across the ecosystem’
8/23/2024The Forest Preserve District has launched a campaign to get people to stop using or creating unauthorized trails in the preserves. The illegal paths harm the ecosystem and can cause safety issues. Signs have been installed to keep people out of sensitive natural areas.
-
Various nature-themed backpacks arranged in a display, each open to reveal its contents.
Nature backpacks lead to exploration at Isle a la Cache
7/25/2024Isle a la Cache Museum has four new colorful backpacks chock full of activities and helpful nature information that will guide outdoor exploration. The Bugs, Birds, By the River and Tree backpacks are free to use during museum hours on a first-come, first-served basis.
-
"Two beekeepers, a man and a woman, standing in front of their beehives.
Couple’s honey-producing passion was meant to bee
7/22/2024Honey being sold at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook comes from bees that sip a wide variety of nectar to produce many different varieties of the sweet stuff. The Bee All About It honey ranges from buckwheat to wildflowers.
-
A man shows off his harmonicas.
Healing With Nature: As time ticks by, ‘Harmonica Jack’ makes beautiful music in nature
6/28/2024In the third installment of the Forest Preserve's Healing With Nature series, Beecher resident John Keslin talks about how he's still having fun playing the harmonica in nature, even though he is facing serious health issues.
-
A view of a covered shelter.
Four Rivers expands outdoor education, celebration space with addition of Riverside Shelter
5/28/2024The outdoor education and celebration space at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon has increased this year with the addition of a shelter along the Des Plaines River.
Events
Volunteer Morning: Lake Chaminwood Preserve
Get some fresh air and exercise while helping to make a difference in your community by attending one or more of the Forest Preserve’s volunteer mornings.
First Time Fishing
Learn rod-and-reel fishing basics, safety and ethics plus try some shoreline fishing for yourself in this program for beginners.
The Buzz
Tick safety 101: How to protect yourself outdoors
If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you need to be aware of ticks and how to help prevent tick bites ad tick-borne illnesses.