Admiring Volo Bog in the Late Fall and Early Winter

 

Volo Bog in Ingleside, Illinois Offers A Remarkably Unique Nature Adventure In All Seasons

Volo Bog delights us with fantastic hiking experiences in any season. We always make nature discoveries on every visit and a late fall or winter adventure never lacks for interesting observations. So on a cold day earlier this month, we made a trek to Volo Bog to enjoy some fresh and air and make some nature observations. The bog did not disappoint!

A boardwalk leads you through Volo Bog.

The hallmark of any trip to Volo Bog is an adventure through the bog on the boardwalk. Along the way, you will note a number of informational signs. I highly recommend pausing to read them to learn about the unique environment you are exploring.

The winter sun highlights the wetlands of Volo Bog in inspiring ways.

Vibrant Colors Found In Winter

Nature displays such rich color in late fall and winter if you pause to see it. Crimson red berries of the winterberry holly of Volo Bog beckoned us down the trail. When you see the berries, be on the lookout for birds including the cedar waxwings, robins, thrushes, cardinals, and juncos. We have good luck spotting cedar waxwings when we see winterberries! We often see cardinals and robins in this particular stretch of the bog. On this visit, we saw juncos bopping about.

Crimson winterberries added a flash of vibrant color to the scene at Volo Bog.

Lichens and moss offer many opportunities to enjoy a splash of green, blue and even a reddish brown during winter. While meandering along the boardwalk, we spotted a healthy covering of sphagnum moss. So beautiful!

Sphagnum moss creates an interesting carpet at Volo Bog.

Dazzled By The Eye of Volo Bog

Tamarack trees surround the eye of Volo Bog as straw
wetland grasses frame the winter scene.

Eventually, we reached the eye of the bog presenting tranquil open water surrounded by tamarack trees. Tamarack trees are quite interesting in that they have needles but are not evergreens. Tamaracks actually are deciduous and drop their needles. This time of year. the branches of the tamaracks reach out into the sky without their needles.

Volo Bog is the only open-water quaking bog in Illinois solidifying its unique place in our natural world. Bogs are wetlands that accumulate peat from deposits of dead plant material very often mosses including sphagnum moss. Visiting Volo Bog invites you to explore quite an extraordinary environment in every season. The actual trail to and from the bog is only about 1/2 mile, so doable in most weather.

An oriole's nest appears to be a basket hanging from at tree at Volo Bog.

After exploring the bog trail, we headed out on the longer Tamarack Trail. We knew we would not make the whole trail, but we did hike further than we thought -- there was so much to explore! Not too far from the head of the trail, we spotted an oriole nest. This was a first for me! Oriole nests are quite interesting and look like little baskets.

So many memories of walking this trail flooded back -- of spotting a deer family, seeing sandhill cranes walking about and more. Eventually we reached an overlook. We paused to admire the scene savoring a peaceful cap to our visit. Volo Bog offers one of our favorite assemblages of landscapes to explore all year long.

In the winter, Volo Bog is a fantastic spot for cross-country skiing. Also, make plans to check out Winter Fest in January. If you have the opportunity, take a peek inside the nature center or head out on a guided tour of the bog which are offered on a variety of days.