Lyman Woods: August 11, 2012

Lyman woods is located right across from the home office building of my work, so I've seen the sign for the entrance and had heard of it quite a bit, and decided it was time to give it a try. No one had really prepared me for the adventure that was ahead.

First of all, it is a very beautiful place. It is set up so that there are different areas- oak woods, prairie land, marshes. I can imagine that it would be beautiful no matter what season you go, as there's enough variety that the leaves in the fall, the bare trees and ice filled swampland in the winter, the flowers in the spring, and all of the green life of summer will blow you away. A great spot for a nature photographer.

That being said, I would NOT recommend this place for families with strollers. There are NO paved trails. The trails range from dirt to small areas with mowed grass, and many parts include tree roots as thick as your arm. One of our strollers (the one for our oldest boy-who's almost 3) was creaking so much that I was afraid it would fall apart on the trail!

If you are just on foot, I think the trail would be a lot easier and more attractive. There are portions that get steep, but it's mostly level terrain. And for those people who work across the street, it's the perfect location for a quick stroll and picnic lunch (the picnic area is quite nice).

Overall we are planning to return, but not until the boys are big enough to walk on their own!

Bemis Woods: July 4, 2012

We decided that for our 3-mile walk on a very hot Independence Day, we would find a forest preserve that would hopefully have a nice shady trail. Bemis Woods is off of 294 and Ogden, near Brookfield Zoo.

The south path is rather shady- once you get to a road (Salt Creek Rd I think), you have an option to go back West and North or to continue East towards Brookfield. We decided to go to the West/North and it was not as shady. Even with sunscreen I got a little pink.

A very beautiful path overall, and very well paved. I don't know if it was because it was the 4th, but the trail was very busy- both bicycles and roller blades. They were friendly, but I felt that our two strollers were a bit in the way.

The scenery is much the same as many forest preserves. Lots of trees, very peaceful. The trail does pass by Salt Creek, with a bridge over it that gives you some nice views.

Terrain is pretty flat, which was nice in the very hot weather. Very nice walk overall.

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!