The trio of Veteran Acres Park, Wingate Prairie, and Sterne's Woods offer a variety of trails to nature lovers. We began our recent hike from the parking lot near the Nature Center. We descended down to the pond and scouted for waterbirds. We spied a green heron and female wood ducks. Our adventure was off to a wonderful start!
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| Can you spot the green heron? |
We took a bit of a circuitous route to the white trail. Fortunately, the preserves do have plenty of markers so it is easy to re-route. We soon found ourselves in the dense woodlands of Veteran Acres Park. Spectacular! Overall, the trail system features 7 miles of trails so we knew we had a lot more to explore!
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| The sandy trail through the woodlands up on the moraine treated us to views and a bit of a challenge. |
Eventually while traversing hiking the paths of Veteran Acres Park, we found ourselves atop part of the Cary Moraine. Compromised of rocks and sediment left by glaciers, moraines provide ridges from which we can enjoy some great views. Plus, we found the rises and dips of the moraine trail to create a little something extra for our hike.
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| A rolling trail at Veteran Acre Woods welcomes us to the woodlands. |
Overall, the trails of Veteran Acres were a mix of gentle and easy as well as rocky with elevation gained. The woodlands are striking and full of flora and fauna to discover.
Delighted by Prairie Flowers in Full Bloom at Wingate Prairie
Wingate Prairie blazed with the glory of late summer flowers here in the Prairie State. Late summer IS the time to visit the prairie. Blooms are bold and butterflies happily dart about. Wingate Prairie is a rare gravel prairie full of beautiful prairie plants including blazing stars, coneflowers, prairie vetchling, prairie buttercup, and more.
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| Wingate Prairie ablaze with prairie flowers. |
Wingate Prairie is an Illinois Nature Preserve and is granted special protections. Endangered species of plants and animals have been located within the prairie. We enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful blooms as butterflies fluttered by during our hike in the prairie.
Sterne's Woods Offers More Unique Nature Experiences
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| Joe Pye Weed adds a lovely pink to the landscape at Sterne's Woods. |
As we entered Sterne's Woods and Fen, we were greeted by a bit of an incline. The preserve features an upland woods thriving on top of glacial deposits. The preserve also features a fen. We enjoyed the rugged trails of Sterne's Woods. We spotted a lot of Joe Pye Weed in this section of the preserve trio which delighted us. We did not make it through as many of the trails in this section as we would have liked to, so we will return and start here next time.
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| A stand of conifers glowed brilliantly in the summer sun. |
A Trio of Preserves Weaves a Diverse Nature Wonderland
The combination of the three preserves treats visitors to over 300 acres of nature to explore. Additionally, there is a playground for the little ones and a baseball diamond. The adjoining Nature Center has a number of exhibits on native flora and fauna including resident animals. During the summer, it is home to a butterfly house. The preserve system weaves the possibility of a range of nature experiences. We hope to return soon and take on some of the trails we missed.
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