Winter 2001

Black Oak Trail offers a wonderful ramble among majestic pre-settlement oaks skirting a 40-acre fen with rare plants

DuPage County, Illinois

West DuPage Woods, a 460-acre parcel of land divided by the West Branch of the DuPage River, offers fens, floodplain, dry mesic woodlands (white and red oak, shagbark hickory), sedge meadows, and a small prairie. It’s downstream from East Branch Forest Preserve and upstream from Blackwell Forest Preserve near Winfield.

On the west side, Black Oak Trail, a one-mile crushed limestone loop trail, offers a wonderful ramble among majestic pre-settlement oaks skirting a 40-acre fen. "This is still the only preserve in the county in which the swamp goldenrod is found...it’s very rich floristically," noted Scott Kobal, a plant ecologist with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Hikers will also appreciate four loop trails totaling 4-5 miles on the east side among gently rolling oak hills, hawthorn-dotted prairie, and the river. There is also a fen on this side of the preserve. "It’s the only fen on the south side of the river," said Volunteer Liaison Cindy Hedges, "and for 1.5 acres it’s very diverse." The fen contains four "special concern" status plants that are monitored closely by staff and volunteers.

"One of our volunteers located blue-winged warblers on the east side last spring," noted Hedges. "They are uncommon-to-rare in the area, but need shrubby prairie patches." The dry, shrubby Elsen’s Hill Prairie also contains rare Christmas fern and running ground pine. The woods provide great habitat for mink, deer, coyotes, foxes, great horned owls, screech owls, and nuthatches, as well as red-bellied, red-headed, and downy woodpeckers. Fascinating old beaver-gnawed trees can be found by the river, too!

Hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and birding are among the preserve’s winter highlights. Small outdoor picnic areas and latrines are also available. The site is open from one hour before sunrise until an hour after sunset.

The forest preserve district is looking for volunteers to conduct spring amphibian surveys at DuPage Woods. Training will take place Thurs., February 8, 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Blackwell Nursery Complex on Mack Road.

For more information, call (630) 876-5929. — April Anderson