Into the Wild

Raven Glen Forest Preserve

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Lake County, IL

The utter peace and tranquility was profound. I was sitting cross-legged at the end of one of two wheelchair-accessible fishing piers on Timber Lake. With no railings to obstruct my sight, it seemed as if I were invisible to the hundreds of lively, animated residents at Raven Glen Forest Preserve.

The 33-acre glacial lake, the most outstanding natural feature at the recently opened Raven Glen, is nestled within 544 acres of forest preserve. The surrounding rolling hills are topped with open oak and hickory woodlands, while wetlands fill the lower soggy areas. Acres and acres of former agricultural land, now a third-year prairie restoration, roll off into the distance.

In a fishing guide published in 1896, it was noted that Huntley’s Lake — as it was known at the time — was good for fishing, possibly “because the lake was farther away than any other lake.” From my perch on the pier, I watched hundreds of tiny fish fry, fingerlings, schools of bluegill, and larger fish up to 18 inches long cruising through the water. Wide expanses of white water lilies blanketed the northern and northeastern shoreline. Barn swallows skimmed back and forth inches above the calm surface of the lake, scooping up insects. Dragonflies of all colors and shapes played hopscotch on the surface of the water, as if playing “chicken” with the fish below. A spell of sound was woven by crickets and cicadas, the trill of red-winged blackbirds, and chipmunks scolding, at times punctuated by fish breaking the water’s surface to snap at dragonflies.

For many decades, the woodlands sheltered a popular summer campground. “We could see the Tiki lights strung between the trees from Route 45,” said Susan Hall, landscape architect for the Lake County Forest Preserves.

Development surrounding the lake has been minimal over the years: several farms, a few summer cottages, and a dairy operation to the south. The vegetation along the shoreline has remained intact, providing a buffer for Timber Lake, which accounts in part for the high floristic rating of the site. Today, almost 60 percent of the shoreline remains undeveloped.

Raven Glen has two trail systems divided by Timber Lake. The eastern portion has a 2.1-mile multi-purpose trail, with a shady quarter-mile footpath through the site of the former campground. A large parking lot for equestrian trailers is located on the east side of the preserve, with easy access to grass equestrian trails. The west entrance is on the south side of Route 173, just west of Savage Road. From here visitors can access a 2.12-mile multi-purpose loop trail. For more information, call (847) 367-6640.

— Lynda Wallis