Into the Wild

Spring Bluff Nature Preserve

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Lake County, IL

Spring Bluff Nature Preserve in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, is a valuable link in the chain of a significant coastal community that includes Chiwaukee Prairie to the north and Illinois Beach State Park to the south. It’s a one-stop-shopping site that includes high-quality areas of sand prairie, sand savanna, marsh, and graminoid fen spread over 274 acres.

The site was initially used as a grazing area, and was slated for residential and industrial development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but each of those ventures failed. The Lake County Forest Preserves began acquiring parcels in 1963 and extensive restoration began in 1982.

Debbie Maurer, a restoration ecologist with the Lake County Forest Preserves, says that Spring Bluff is an important part of an effort to create a “coastal partnership” with colleagues at Chiwaukee and Illinois Beach. “We want to look at management of this whole area from a landscape perspective instead of just looking individually at the three sites,” she says. Maurer believes that will give them a deeper understanding of the movement of species among the three sites and how their ecosystems are interrelated.

The ridge and swale topography of Spring Bluff supports a variety of communities that stimulate the senses. In the fall the black oaks that dominate the ridge in the center of the preserve turn a showy red. Along the east side of the site, in a flat area of marsh and wet sand prairie, aspens change to yellow and orange. Between these bands of color, prairie dock, goldenrod, jewelweed, asters, and sunflowers speckle the prairie.

Several species of heron make their home here, along with rails, willow flycatchers, marsh and sedge wrens, and woodcocks. Migrating birds hug the Lake Michigan shoreline during their fall flights and visitors may spot snipe, killdeer, broad-winged hawks, and peregrine falcons.

The steady breeze from Lake Michigan, along with the preserve’s distance from the highway, conspire to make it a fragrant and peaceful setting. Clean air blowing in off the water may stir up the refreshing scent of mountain mint on a hot summer day. The swaying of cattail and cord grass, mixed with crashing waves, may be the only things heard while exploring the site. It’s a perfect spot to get away.

Because of the volume of water in the preserve, and the delicate ecosystems here, there are no trails. However, visitors may hike through the site on a half-mile access road that runs north-south through the eastern side of the preserve. Visitors can also view the entire southern portion of the preserve by walking along Main Street.

Spring Bluff Nature Preserve is open from sunrise to sunset. Biking is permitted on the access road, and the road along North Point Marina to the east links to bike paths in Illinois Beach State Park. Dogs are not permitted. For more information, contact the Lake County Forest Preserves at (847) 367-6640.

—Terry Stephan