Saturday, June 30, 2012
Downtown Elmhurst, IL- June 30, 2012
We decided to combine some chores with our weekend 3-mile walk and walked around downtown Elmhurst. We parked in a parking garage near the library, walked to the library to drop off and pick up books (I've been wanting to re-read "The Hobbit" since I saw the new trailer before Brave!), walked to Jewel for some light non-perishables that we could fit in the strollers, then to Chipotle for lunch (slightly more carbs than usual, but better than some other options), and some time for our oldest to play with the fountain. Sure it took 3 hours to do our 3 mile walk, but it was a nice day overall.
Monday, June 18, 2012
York Woods: June 18, 2012
York Woods is off of York and Harger Rd, in Oak Brook IL. It's a small forest preserve, and only has one small trail- maybe 1 to 1.5 miles long, but adding in that it is about a mile from my work I got a good 2.85 miles out of it.
There isn't a sidewalk on part of the walk from work to the preserve on Harger road, so I would suggest driving and parking and the just looping the trail a few times if you're walking around rush hour (which I was).
The whole trail is part of the Salt Creek trail, even though you don't really see the creek here. It is paved and relatively flat, only one with a steeper hill, and if you go north and then east, you can make sure you are going downhill rather than up.
Not much in the way of wildlife- some birds and butterflies. I almost got a picture of a butterfly but my phone was too slow to load the camera.
All in all a beautiful walk not far from work, worth doing during a long lunch break, or after a stressful day.
There isn't a sidewalk on part of the walk from work to the preserve on Harger road, so I would suggest driving and parking and the just looping the trail a few times if you're walking around rush hour (which I was).
The whole trail is part of the Salt Creek trail, even though you don't really see the creek here. It is paved and relatively flat, only one with a steeper hill, and if you go north and then east, you can make sure you are going downhill rather than up.
Not much in the way of wildlife- some birds and butterflies. I almost got a picture of a butterfly but my phone was too slow to load the camera.
All in all a beautiful walk not far from work, worth doing during a long lunch break, or after a stressful day.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Fullersburg Woods: June 16, 2012
Fullersburg Woods is in Oak Brook, IL, just off 31st and York. We thought we were lost when we past Spring road on York, so pulled over to check google maps and found out we were right across the street from the entrance! You actually park on the East side of York, even though the trail is on the West side- there's a nice path under the road to get to the trails.
This walk was on a hot, humid Saturday. We had decided we wanted to do a picnic lunch on our walk, and there was a beautiful picnic area right by the Graue Mill. The paths in the area varied from paved and graveled. The gravel ones were a bit dusty- my feet were filthy after the hike. This path has quite a few hills- some pretty steep. There are also quite a few shoot-offs of the main path, so it would be easy to get lost. Part of the path crosses right behind a neighborhood, which could get awkward at times, and you could tell that horses were allowed to use the path- quite a few road apples!
Overall, it was a very beautiful and well-shaded trail, and I'm sure the visitor center is probably nice as well (we didn't stop). Bring lots of water though, as Salt Creek can be seen on most of the path, and it's a constant reminder of the water you wish you still had left! As far as creature wildlife, we did see some ground squirrels and geese, but that was about it. We will definitely come to this one again- maybe once we're in better shape to handle the hills!
This walk was on a hot, humid Saturday. We had decided we wanted to do a picnic lunch on our walk, and there was a beautiful picnic area right by the Graue Mill. The paths in the area varied from paved and graveled. The gravel ones were a bit dusty- my feet were filthy after the hike. This path has quite a few hills- some pretty steep. There are also quite a few shoot-offs of the main path, so it would be easy to get lost. Part of the path crosses right behind a neighborhood, which could get awkward at times, and you could tell that horses were allowed to use the path- quite a few road apples!
Overall, it was a very beautiful and well-shaded trail, and I'm sure the visitor center is probably nice as well (we didn't stop). Bring lots of water though, as Salt Creek can be seen on most of the path, and it's a constant reminder of the water you wish you still had left! As far as creature wildlife, we did see some ground squirrels and geese, but that was about it. We will definitely come to this one again- maybe once we're in better shape to handle the hills!
Cricket Creek: June 10, 2012
I think it is technically in Addison, IL. It's right off of Route 83, between North Ave and Lake street.
We did a little over 3 miles on a warm but dry June afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful, but the path is a little sunny north of the parking lot (around the small ponds). We went north to a little past the picnic area, then looped back around. The trails are gravel, but packed well enough for bikes and strollers. South of the parking area by the model boat pond the path is paved, and there is a lot more shade from the trees. We only went about 1/2 a mile south, so I'm not sure if it continues that nice and shaded, but it was quite nice, and relatively flat.
Best part of this walk for us- as we were heading back towards the car after about 2.75 miles walked, I heard a noise in the forest preserve- did you know that white-tailed deer snort? We slowed down and watched it for a while, and I think it was curious about my almost 3 year old as it came pretty close! After we passed where it was, it crossed the path behind us, and shortly later crosses back over. As we were walking across a bridge that spans the creek and a grass field, the deer swam/walked across the creek, then ran under the bridge on the grass field. When we reached the main trail again it ran back across the path in front of us this time, and that's when my husband snapped a picture. We saw it one last time when I jogged back to find our almost 3-year olds blanket that he had dropped on the bridge when I was distracted by the deer (and if anyone has had a toddler with a favorite blanket, you know I couldn't leave that behind). It definitely gave us that energy we needed for the last bit of our walk!
We did a little over 3 miles on a warm but dry June afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful, but the path is a little sunny north of the parking lot (around the small ponds). We went north to a little past the picnic area, then looped back around. The trails are gravel, but packed well enough for bikes and strollers. South of the parking area by the model boat pond the path is paved, and there is a lot more shade from the trees. We only went about 1/2 a mile south, so I'm not sure if it continues that nice and shaded, but it was quite nice, and relatively flat.
Best part of this walk for us- as we were heading back towards the car after about 2.75 miles walked, I heard a noise in the forest preserve- did you know that white-tailed deer snort? We slowed down and watched it for a while, and I think it was curious about my almost 3 year old as it came pretty close! After we passed where it was, it crossed the path behind us, and shortly later crosses back over. As we were walking across a bridge that spans the creek and a grass field, the deer swam/walked across the creek, then ran under the bridge on the grass field. When we reached the main trail again it ran back across the path in front of us this time, and that's when my husband snapped a picture. We saw it one last time when I jogged back to find our almost 3-year olds blanket that he had dropped on the bridge when I was distracted by the deer (and if anyone has had a toddler with a favorite blanket, you know I couldn't leave that behind). It definitely gave us that energy we needed for the last bit of our walk!
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