Highlights
Observation decks along McKee Marsh interpretive trail, good winter birding, snow tubing on Mount Hoy and ice fishing on Silver Lake

Stats
1,312 acres, 7.2 miles of hiking trails, 62-acre Silver Lake

Behind the scenes
District restoration efforts include "foster parents" who raise young hickories and oaks for use in savanna restoration efforts

Getting there
Take I-355 to Butterfield Rd (Rte 56) West. Follow Butterfield west past Winfield Road. Preserve entrance is on north side of road. Parking also available by McKee Marsh.

Winter 2005

Woodlands, meadows, and marshes on a glacial plain, with a hilltop lookout and large lake

DuPage County, Illinois

Given the glacial history of the 1,312-acre Blackwell Forest Preserve, in Warrenville, Illinois, it seems fitting to celebrate winter here. Blackwell mixes the peaceful natural escapes of a large preserve with the bustle of recreation. Depending on conditions, visitors can explore more than seven miles of trails on foot, cross-country skis, horseback, and bicycle — even a few miles by dogsled.

Blackwell's Regional Trail is the best bet for those seeking to explore the preserve's meadows, marshes, and woodlands. At the southern border, just off Butterfield Road (Route 56), this crushed limestone trail leads west from the recreational areas, then north, edging along some small ponds through a grove of nonnative pines. Soon, the oaks take over, the urban hum settles, and winter's quiet unfolds. To encourage a transition back to healthy woodland, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has conducted controlled burns here and plans to burn again this winter. The trail continues north past Springbrook Creek, where the woods open to Eurasian meadow. On bitter days, coyotes and woodchucks seek shelter, but sun-warmed afternoons may encourage a midday appearance or two. Watchful hikers can look for mazes of meadow vole runways. These under-snow tunnels provide the small rodents with insulation and cover from circling raptors.

Long-eared owl. Photo by Thomas Bentley.

Though the last glacier left behind it a flat bed of soil dotted by wetlands and kames (glacial mounds), some of Blackwell's most obvious features are the product of human forces. Mount Hoy, a 150-foot former landfill, rises in the southern portion of Blackwell. During spring and fall, it is an avian watchtower, providing breathtaking views of passing migrants. From December to February, it serves as a snow-tubing hill on select weekends and holidays (riders must rent tubes for $3 each).

Sledders also can enjoy the wavy, snowy fields on the east side of Silver Lake, a former quarry. The 62-acre lake is often dotted with ice fishermen hunched over dark, auger-drilled holes rigged for bass, perch, and pike. (Visitors enjoy the ice at their own risk, and at least four inches are recommended for any activity.)

North of Mack Road, skiers might encounter dogsledders mushing across more than four miles of trails that wind past open meadows, savanna, and wetlands. During warmer months, birders take the looped trail around McKee Marsh in search of plentiful wetland birds. But in winters when small, warm-blooded prey is plentiful, northern birds of prey such as rough-legged hawks, northern harriers, and short- and long-eared owls take up residence.

Look for young hickory and red oaks off the McKee Marsh parking lot, west of the trail. For three years, "foster parents" participating in the district's Parent-A-Tree program (part of the Habitat Improvement Project) have contributed sapling oaks to this area to help with savanna restoration efforts. Further north, the district also has recently completed significant fen restoration work.

For additional information, call (630) 933-7200. For tubing hill conditions and hours, call (630) 871-6422.

— Jayne Bohner

See also: Profile of Blackwell Forest Preserve, CW, Fall 1999