Illinois Beach State Park presents hikers with varied adventures on trails along the shores of Lake Michigan and through wetlands, and black oak woodlands. We visited Illinois Beach State Park twice during the past couple of months experiencing both the North and South Units falling in love with the trails we wandered in both. Of course, we were totally enamored with lake views as well. Take a little trip to this preserve with us:
Exploring the South Unit of Illinois Beach State Park
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| The soft rolls of the dunes at Illinois Beach State Park are particularly striking with the beautiful blue spring sky in the background. |
Illinois Beach State Park includes an incredible 6.5-mile stretch of shoreline. However, at 4,160 acres, the preserve has much more to experience. On our way into the South Unit, we drove through a marshland which is a haven for turtles. Our first visit was a little early in the season for turtles, but we viewed quite a few on our return visit last weekend. An egret also added grace to the scene.
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| The woodlands of Illinois Beach State Park add another landscape to explore |
We began our hike on a trail through a section of the preserve's oak woodlands. Eventually, though, we spotted dunes in front of us. A smattering of trails led over the dunes to the shore. In addition to noting the billowy dunes, we also noted the change in vegetation. We spent a little time observing the unique plants of the dunes. Although I did not spot any, keep your eye out for prickly pear cactus when you visit. We did spot some sea rockets coming up as well as horizontal juniper.
Fact: Illinois Beach State Park has the only remaining beach ridge shoreline in Illinois.
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| The soft, sandy trail bordered by dune grasses and horizontal juniper beckons amblers forward to a view of crystal blue Lake Michigan. |
Dazzled by a Landscape of Rolling Dunes
While hiking through the South Unit, you can observe dune succession otherwise known as the dune lifecycle. Processes in building dunes including waves bringing sand to shore and the wind lifting and depositing sand cause the dunes to constantly shift, shape, and age. As the dunes mature and change, the plants and organisms living within the habitat change as well.
We particularly enjoyed the section focusing on blowouts. Blowouts are indentations in the dune where the wind blew away a chunk forming a hole. With the plants removed, the vegetation begins succession again. The particular section of the trail highlighting blowouts was very picturesque.
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| Frogs sung from the early spring marshland of Illinois Beach State Park. |
We capped off our hike by walking through the wetlands and listening to the spring frog chorus. We enjoyed a little pause to listen to the joyful melody.
To Know You: may have heard of asbestos contamination at Illinois Beach. The preserve is next to a superfund site. Currently, levels are not considered harmful by the EPA. However, you can check for any new reports before going.
Exploring the North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park
Our second adventure focused on the North Unit. Visiting after so many of our migratory birds had returned treated us to some fabulous birding. We spotted chickadees, catbirds, a common yellow-throat warbler, robins, red-winged blackbirds, downy woodpeckers, Caspian terns, and gulls.
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| Chickadees in a tree at Illinois Beach State Park |
More than 650 species of plants have been identified in the dunes area alone. On this visit, we discovered brilliant hoary puccoon near the beach. Illinois Beach State Park is also home to the largest number of endangered species in Lake County. So, there is much to discover on every visit! Illinois Beach State Park is one of the state's Illinois Nature Preserves which is a special designation for natural spaces exhibiting rare plants and animals as well as unique natural features. The designation offers special protections.
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| Hoary Puccoon at Illinois Beach State Park. |
Hiking at Illinois Beach State Park is fairly easy and the pretty flat trails can be navigated by most. The dune trails are mainly flat with a slight incline in a few places. In general, hiking is gentle which welcomes all ramblers. Our hike in the North Unit hugged the coast for a little bit but we found ourselves primarily in the wetlands and woodlands. With a variety of offshoot trails, a hike in either unit can be quite unique.
Illinois Beach State Park charmed us with a rich nature experience. We would love to return to the preserve throughout other seasons to see the changes. The environment at Illinois Beach State park is unique for Illinois, so it offers so many future adventures for us. I also need to find a prickly pear cactus - so a return is a must!
To Know: We did not encounter much shade at Illinois Beach, so be prepared.
While we visited for hiking, Illinois Beach State Park has plenty of beachfront. Other amenities include:
- Ilinois Beach Resort and Conference Center
- Camping
- Fishing
- Boating
- Picnicking
- North Point Marina
- Biking
- Visitor Center
- Seasonal Concessions
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