Forest Bathing, Water Views and Spring Blooms at Lyman Woods in Downers Grove, Illinois

 

Chicago Area Hiking at Lyman Woods in Downers Grove

The trails of Lyman Woods in Downers Grove, Illinois beckoned us for a spring hike last weekend. Lyman Woods' 150 acres are replete with vibrant woodlands, grasslands and wetlands. Additionally, the site is home to an interpretive center. 

Spring is still emerging from winter at Lyman Woods.

Pretty quickly after embarking on our hike, we approached the grand pond of Lyman Woods. We would encounter the pond a couple of times. Our first view of the pond was from up above on a little natural outlook. We viewed several ducks enjoying a quiet spring afternoon. Truly a splendid spot for a view!

We discovered a beautiful pond at Lyman Woods.

Hiking in Early Spring at Lyman Woods

Being spring, some of the trails were a bit muddy. Fortunately, there were plenty of trails to discover. We eventually found ourselves hiking up a kame through the woodlands. Lyman Woods is actually the site of three kames left by the glaciers. While hiking we paused to spot warblers and woodpeckers. We noted some early spring woodland wildflowers including spring beauties, violets and cut-leaved toothwort. The habitats present at Lyman Woods support over 300 species of native plants.

Native wildflowers spring beauties emerge from the forest floor at Lyman Woods.

Our hike on the kame through oak woodlands was quite peaceful. I had no idea that kames were present in Downers Grove, so hiking on the slightly hilly landscape yielded extra delight.

Hiking on a kame at Lyman Woods

Soon, we started rounding back around the pond. We reached a particularly peaceful stretch where we observed geese diving.  The calm water and tranquil surroundings gave us quite a nice respite. We did hear a bit of noise from a nearby road but overall, the serenity of the preserve drifted us away.

Observing nature at the pond's edge at Lyman Woods.

As we hiked back to the interpretive center, we traced a ravine. Many types of birds greeted us in this section including woodpeckers and Eastern bluebirds. Hiking along this stretch of the trails at Lyman Woods treated us with such a beautiful and sweet end to our adventure. We will return -- after all, I will need to see the green roof of the interpretive center which is topped with prairie plants in full bloom!