Cool spot that I didn't realize was in the area. Looking for a good meeting spot to meet friends…read morefor a walk, found Sagawau. On the day of my visit, we saw this black netting/screen. Curious, we stopped to ask staff. It turns out on Sundays they do bird banding. This was very interesting how they catch birds, take data, and release back into the wild. I recommend! The nature center was well kept and had clean bathrooms. They close the area at 4 pm daily. Check it out for a nice walking and educational opportunity.

Sagawau is waaaaaay out in Lemont, so pretty far from me, and it's also bit confusing to find when…read moreyou get there. But I really enjoyed it so I'd say it's worth it, and now I'll know where I'm going in future! Word to the wise: There's the large parking lot, and what looks like a driveway is not. Park in the lot and use the wide paved path to get to the nature center. The purpose of the first preserve system was to both preserve and conserve, but also to provide natural areas in which people could recreate. They also have a nature center here with exhibits, as well as a variety of programming. I came for a program. A land acknowledgement was provided to connect the land to its history, and the people who once called this land home. I came for a hummingbird program, which took place in the hummingbird garden. The garden had quite a few bees and some wasps, but those insects are actually invasive in this area so you may see traps out for them so they don't take over the hummingbird garden. There are hummingbird feeders around to bring the hummers out. But nectar isn't their only source of food; they'll eat insects and invertebrates. Most importantly, they need pesticide-free habitats to survive. It was interesting to learn that hummingbirds live only in North, Central, and South America. When colonizers came into contact with hummingbirds, they thought they had no feet and that is where their scientific name is derived. Hummingbirds are surprisingly loud! The ruby-throated hummingbird is only ruby throated for the males. Juveniles and females have a white throat. But the color only comes out with the light, as it's iridescent, so the males may look black. Ruby throated is the only native one in Illinois. The juveniles are about the weight of a penny. In migratory season, they try to double their weight in order to sustain their migratory most fly over the Gulf of Mexico, which is a single flight of about 600 miles. They can do that flight in 16-24 hours. Hummingbirds fly with a figure eight pattern, which allows them to be one of the few birds that can fly backwards. It also allows them to hover! Migration is hard, so why do they do it? At least in part, it's because there's less competition. Apparently day length is a trigger to let birds know when to begin migrating, and the plants and flower on which they rely for food usually coincides to their migratory season. The nesting behavior of hummingbirds draws a direct line between environmental stewardship and habitat protection. They line the nest's outside with lichen and plant scale, and line them inside with soft things like dandelion fronds. Air pollution won't affect the hummingbird directly, but it will affect lichen and thus the integrity of their nest and subsequently their success in breeding. They will use spider webbing to bind their nest, which makes spider conservation important too. How fascinating how these things all connect! Whilst visiting Sagawau, I learned that this preserve is a licensed bird banding station--not just for hummingbirds. Banding allows us to gather much of the information that we have about birds in general. The information gleaned from banded birds can tell us about their migratory patterns, lifespan, and so on. I believe they have some events during the year where you can observe this process. In addition to their great programs, they have a nature center with exhibits related to the natural history of Sagawau and the region. One of the things that makes Sagawau so unique is it is a dolomite prairie, of which only about 500 acres exist in the world--over 100 of those acres being here. There are several trails to walk, and they have maps showing these to help guide your way. And this site turns into a cross-country ski location in the winter! In that season, walking is not permitted on the trails because they're used for skiers. They have lessons and equipment rental, but you can also bring your own gear--you just need to call first to make sure it's open for skiing, dependent upon the snowfall. I saw more open acknowledgment of snakes here than at some of the other preserves, which may make me nervous to visit very soon--snakes in just about any capacity (cartoon, real, image, etc.) creep me out more than anything. But, Negin is the employee that led the hummingbird chat, and she was really great. Welcoming, inclusive, knowledgeable, and friendly. I'd love to attend more of her programs.

Some of the clearest waters you'll see in Illinois. So much fun to kayak in and around the lake. It…read moregets up to 100 feet deep! That and the clarity can give you some really pretty views inside the lake. Not the best for fishing which is kinda a bummer. Roomer has it there's some good walleye here though. Overall such a beautiful lake and do recommend. mildly busy and there are kayak rentals available if you don't have your own

We had a 12:00pm appointment. The 2 very kind workers that were there were unfortunately unable to…read moreunlock the doors to give us the kayaks that we reserved. They were on time but their manager/supervisor was bringing them a key. Unfortunately for us, their manager didn't arrive until 1:45 almost 2 hours after our scheduled appointment time. The 2 workers were very apologetic with us responding it's not their fault. We would like to say to the management, do better!! How dare you have people wait for your slow behinds!! it was extremely hot and very inconveniencing to your patrons. And to make matters worse we didn't even get offered a discount for our inconvenience!! If offered a discount it would have at Least showed you had some professionalism but alas you didn't. Had you shown just an ounce of professionalism I would have possibly considered giving you another try. I wouldn't recommend Whalon Lake Kayak rental to my dog. Sincerely, Very hot and disappointed patron

I took my daughter there for a new fishing spot. The park district ranger was so helpful and…read moreinformative. They are very kid-friendly and thoughtful. The area is well-maintained.

Hidden Lakes really got run downed. All the lakes are over grown & dirty. You can't even fish…read morethere. A real shame!

The facilities are nice and clean. The staff is polite and well meaning. The equipment is mostly…read morein good shape. The problem lies that I feel like the staff is too polite and won't call people out for not wiping down the machine after using it. I've been a member for long enough to witness like 80% of users move on to the next machine without wiping down.

What an absolute miss on their new park.. all summer we heard oh it'll open soon... a 500k grant…read morefor that park and they couldn't even have the playground open for the kids. It's just embarrassing do better

Great hiking trails and lots of opportunities to see wildlife! The Nature Center was very…read moreinteractive and engaging. There was an exhibit of art by Charley Parker which made the day even better! Staff was friendly and helpful.

This has been one of our favorite places since my children were little. With the recent…read morerenovations, the nature center has a TON of great activities for younger kids! The outdoor play area is a wonderful area for nature based play and exploration. And the addition of a gift shop makes it a perfect place for a day of play and some Christmas shopping!

Palos Preserves has a lot going on. You can fish; in fact, I saw a few people doing that. There…read morewere several people biking through the preserves (some casual, some much more hard core). Walking trails, which is what I was using with the group I was in. Of course, Camp Bullfrog is a major attraction at this site, situated on Bullfrog Lake; you can rent paces for camping anywhere from 2 or 3 days up to 10 days per month. And there's also picnic groves around the place too. There are a few port-a-potties, and there may be an actual restroom with flush toilets a bit southwest of Bullfrog Lake; I forgot to check. Nearby are Sagawau Nature Center and the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, amongst other places. Palos is an International Dark Sky location, so the Forest Preserve District of Cook County sometimes has programs here. There's some hilliness here, and some of the areas I was in were not accessible--though it's possible the campsite is. You should contact them if you are in need of an accessible place to recreate.

Never in a million years would I have believed you if you told me that one of the best running…read moretrails in the USA was in IL. But that's exactly what I found at Palos Forest Preserves. I ignored the Yelp map directions, which drops you in the middle of the street, and instead followed that street until it became a dead end. I parked in the parking lot by the dead end and began my trail there. This ended up being about a 2-2 1/2 hour adventure, at about 16K steps (running half way). The trail has some nice markers to help keep you on the right track, but more would be even better because I ended up doing "eenie meenie minie moe" at several junction points and just hoped for the best. My favorite part about these trails were the inclines and natural obstacle courses. Watch out for the trees though. A couple of the roots reached out and grabbed my foot on more than one occasion, causing me to kiss the ground. I'm certain I heard some giggles coming from the treetops. Cheeky lil bastards. The views were breathtaking during my autumn visits. Very peaceful in many areas and not too crowded, unless you came on the weekend when the bikers take over. They treat it like it's their world, which is very annoying. If I lived in the area, I would definitely frequent these woods with my mountain bike. If running/hiking was fun, biking would be a blast! However, I would remember to share the trails with pedestrians.

For frame of reference, this trail isn't far from the IKEA store in Bolingbrook. The trail is about…read morea 10 minute drive from there and is a great trail for biking, running or walking. The trail is saddled by nature on one side and beautiful homes on the other. While we visited this approx. 3 to 4 mile trail during the winter, it still provided all of nature in its glory with a small creek, tall trees and wildlife. One of the best parts about the trail is there's one house that leaves painted rocks with inspirational messages right along the trail for people who pass by. Next to the rocks there's a message that says "Take one, Share one, Leave one." As I bent down to pick one up a fellow walker on the trail yelled out he had five at home. He said the inspirational messages really helped make his day, and we agreed.

We have done swimming classes through the park district and they were fantastic…read more A disappointment has been the parent and tot gymnastics. We paid $120 for 10 sessions. I didn't expect my two year old toddler to learn actual gymnastics but the problem is there is really no instruction. The teacher leads stretches and then says "ok go do the obstacle course" for 30 minutes. I was so confused during our first class that no other parent looked confused and just started doing the obstacle course. However, I learned that most of the parents this was their second time doing gymnastics at the park district. I felt so lost. I wasn't sure how my son should be doing the obstacle course, and I thought there would at least be some sort of instruction when I signed up. This is definitely not a class because no one teaches. This should just be "pre-pay for 10 sessions of open gym time." 10 weeks is way too long to do the same obstacle course every Saturday without instruction. The kids in the ninja class look happy but I'm skeptical now if I'll even sign my child up for this in the future.