have the chance to hike several miles on a loop trail
enjoy some solitude
visit someplace new
If so, you should visit Pine Dunes Forest Preserve, which is located in Antioch, Illinois, near the Wisconsin border. It’s part of the Lake County Forest Preserves (LCFP) and features 956 acres that consists of rolling hills, oak-hickory woodlands, prairie, savanna, and vernal ponds and other wetland communities. The LCFP says that Pine Dunes has “some of the finest rolling topography found in Lake County,” and that it is “one of five preserves and one state natural area that comprise a 5,300-acre regional trail and greenway in northern Lake County.”
Here are five things you can do at Pine Dunes Forest Preserve:
Go Hiking
The preserve, which opened to the public in 2018, offers 2.8 miles of easy gravel trails along with four boardwalks and three scenic overlooks. What’s nice about this path is that it’s a loop trail, and there are mileage markers in case you want to track your progress. I started my November hike by heading north on the trail from the parking lot, then east. Heading this way will take you through rolling hills that provide great views of the ponds and other wetlands. I liked this trail a lot because of its “Big Sky” feel, as well as its close proximity to the water features (i.e., great birdwatching). Although I didn’t experience the issue, some people who visit the preserve warn that the trails can be muddy and difficult to traverse in the rainy season or when the snow melts. Click here for a trail map.
The trails at Pine Dunes connect to the Des Plaines River Trail along Russell Road (located on the preserve’s east side) to Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve (https://www.lcfpd.org/van-patten-woods) in Wadsworth. LCFP says that the trails at Pine Dunes also will connect to its regional Millennium Trail.
McClure Property-copyright LCFP
Go Animal Watching
More than 200 bird species have been spotted at Pine Dunes, according to ebird. Examples include the state-endangered American Bitterns and Common Gallinules, as well as Brown Thrashers, Northern Flickers, Field Sparrows, European Goldfinches, Bobolinks, Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Willow Flycatchers.
I saw many birds—including herons, Sandhill Cranes, and Trumpeter Swans—during my visit. Not just a few birds, but hundreds of birds in the wetlands and ponds. My birding highlight: watching two Trumpeter Swans suddenly take off from wetlands where I’d been viewing them; watching them soar through the air in beautiful, synchronized flight toward me; and then heading toward another wetland.
According to the Urban Biotic Assessment Program, wildlife surveys have detected 12 species of dragonfly; 20 species of butterfly; Big Brown, Eastern Red, Hoary, Silver-haired, Little Brown, Evening, and Tricolored Bats; six species of amphibian (including Blue-spotted Salamanders); and other animals. iNaturalist offers a list of plants and animals that have been sighted at the preserve.
LOOKING FOR MORE PLACES LIKE PINE DUNES? IF SO, CHECK OUT MY BOOK, NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND. 120+ destinations, 306 pages, 210+ photos, and just $17.99 (with free shipping)
“Andrew Morkes gets the options, information and places right on where to recreate in the natural world near Chicago and beyond in his ‘Nature in Chicagoland.’”–Dale Bowman, Outdoors Writer, Chicago Sun-Times
Go Biking
The mostly flat gravel trails at Pine Dunes are perfect for biking. I look forward to bringing my 12-year-old here for some spring biking. Click here for a trail map.
When I was in my 20s, I used to lease a horse and enjoy riding in the forest preserves. It was SO MUCH FUN! The beautiful trails and views at Pine Dunes Forest Preserve made me want to get back in the saddle once again. Who knows, maybe it will happen. Pine Dunes is a perfect spot for horseback riding.
Things to Know Before You Go
Pine Dunes Forest Preserve is located at 42909 Hunt Club Road, Antioch, IL 60002. The entrance is on Hunt Club Road just north of Edwards Road.
Hours: 6:30 a.m.–sunset, daily
A drinking fountain and washroom facilities are available.
Dogs must be kept leashed and on trails at all times.
Wear sunscreen because there is little shade in most of this preserve.
Click here for information about the Irish immigrants who established farms in the rolling hills of Pine Dunes Forest Preserve in the 1840s to the early 1900s; the whippet racing that was conducted in certain areas of the site from the 1960s to 1990s; and the ownership of a portion of the property by the McClure family from 1977 through 2010 ).
Copyright (text) Andrew Morkes
Photo Credits:
copyright Andrew Morkes (as credited); all other photos copyright Lake County Forest Preserves
Looking for some great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, I just published Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations (including for birding) in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book (306 pages, 210+ photos) is only $18.99. Click here to learn more and purchase the book.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 40 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).
My poetry has appeared in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review.
Nature in Chicagoland 
2 thoughts on “Pine Dunes Forest Preserve: Birding, Biking, and Easy Hiking”