Nature SpotHalf Day Forest Preserve

[1krispy1, 24.05.2008] I recently had occasion to take a road trip across the middle of the United States in my little red car. The purpose was to watch my daughter graduate from college in Illinois. Her college is located in a small town called Lake Forest a bit north of the city of Chicago along the shores of Lake Michigan. There are no hotels in Lake Forest itself but there are several in the nearby towns. So I picked one and we drove over to get settled for the next three days.

Driving into the lot I noticed a sign along the road saying "Half Day Preserve". I thought it would be worth a look see.

The events of the next two days would prevent any visits. However the day before we were to leave (my daughter was to do the return road trip) I had a window of opportunity to go see the Half Day Forest Preserve.

It literally is across the street from the hotel. So I walked. The Half Day Forest Preserve is one of many set aside by the Lake County commission in charge of such things. This section is some 201 acres in size and sits along the Des Plaines River. It seemed to me a very quite slow moving stream, but like the song says "still waters run deep". The park is a link on a chain of preserves all along the river for some 16 miles. This section consists of Oak forests, savannas and marshes. There was a small pond along the section of the path that I hiked.

I was hoping to see some birds for a project I have been working on recently showing all the birds I can find during the course of this year. However my hike out I did not see much of anything and I was somewhat disappointed because the habitat seemed so perfect. It had been raining most of the day and that may have dampened the spirits of the wildlife to be out getting their pictures taken. I am never very enthusiastic about that myself so I could quite understand.

The trip back was a bit more rewarding as I was able to see several different species I have never seen before included were the Great Egret and White Breasted Nuthatch. That made me happy and even though the grounds were wet and the threat of more rain remained I enjoyed the hike.

The path leads from the ample car park through an open savanna/marsh area to the Des Plaines River. The path is very wide allowing for use by hikers, mountain bikes and horseback. It was gravel in nature and would not be so good or roller blade or skates. The trees along the river formed an arch in some places with the trees being very dense in places so the view of the river was guarded but the noise from the nearby roads was also screened out making parts of the hike feel like one was walking in the enchanted forest of Hansel and Gretel.

The park is open from 6:30 a.m. until sunset year round. It is free. There was a small pavilion set up for picnicking. It is located on Route 21 at the light for Corporate Woods Parkway just north of Route 22 (Half Day Road). The park is named for a Chief of the Potowatomi Indians.