Into The Wild

Great Butterfly Sites

The warmer days of summer stir us from our indoor confines. Such weather has the same effect on butterflies. After months of waiting at various life stages — eggs, caterpillars, or winged adults — these cold-blooded creatures flutter forth in force from May through August.

All across Chicago Wilderness, butterflies undulate above prairie, wetlands, dunes — a multitude of ecological habitats. The region’s habitat diversity makes it a premier area to see more than 100 species. While you’re sure to view a few in your own backyard, to truly savor the region’s diversity, visit one of the area’s best butterfly sites:

Illinois Beach State Park
Lake County, IL

You won’t have to hike far to see some of Illinois Beach’s resident butterflies. This preserve provides a patchwork of prairie, wetlands, and sandy beach, attracting a variety of species. Of particular note are the Appalachian brown and Olympia marblewing. This site is also the only place in Illinois to see the hoary elfin, which favors the park’s oak savanna.

Bluff Spring Fen
Cook County, IL

Visit this nature preserve in early June and July, when you’re more likely to see the butterfly gems of the fen areas. With its best wetlands on the eastern side, this site is home to more than 50 species of butterfly, including the Baltimore checkerspot, mulberrywing skipper, and swamp metalmark — an endangered species extinct in the area until a breeding project by the Notebaert Nature Museum reintroduced the species.

Gensburg-Markham Prairie
Cook County, IL

Designated a National Natural Landmark, this restored site will transport you back in time to when the region flourished with tall grasses. Walking through the high-quality prairie you’re sure to spot dozens of skipper species and Aphrodite fritillaries.

Indiana Dunes
Porter County, IN

On the southern tip of Lake Michigan, the beachfront, dunes, and marshland of both Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore create microclimates that support unique plant species found nowhere else in the region — and butterflies that rely on them almost exclusively. Large swatches of sassafras trees here, for example, feed resident spicebush swallowtail. Stands of lupine likewise support the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. Unlike many butterflies, the Karner breeds twice a year, in early summer and in August.

Waterfall Glen
DuPage County, IL

A rugged terrain sets this butterfly site apart from others. Here you can view a variety of woodland butterflies as you traverse the trails that circle Argonne National Laboratory. In late spring and early summer, see hobomok skippers surfing the air above common milkweed or viper’s bugloss. Another site staple: the pipevine swallowtail, which normally thrives farther south.

Iroquois County Conservation Area
Iroquois County, IL

Along the southern edge of Chicago Wilderness, this sandy oak woodland is home to some of the area’s most uncommon butterfly species. Hiking trails are few, but with a bit of off-trail walking, you can track down such species as the silver-bordered fritillary or the Indian skipper.

— Laura Semko