Winter 2005 Palos and Sag Valley Trails Cook County, Illinois

Most hikers have at least one vivid memory of turning back on a trail only to stare blankly at a fork unnoticed on the way in. The Palos and Sag Valley Forest Preserves in southwestern Cook County are among the few local spots where that instant of worry won't seem immediately ridiculous. This is a big area, and you can lose yourself here on the 40-mile network of multi-purpose trails or the uncounted miles of smaller hiking trails.

Palos and Sag Valley together encompass more than 15,000 acres of woods, prairie, and wetland in a hilly triangle with nine-mile sides. Two deep valleys slice between two high mounds of glacial debris, called moraines. Early settlers called the Palos Moraine in the north Mount Forest Island, because its forested hills rose 150 feet above the flat prairie that stretched toward Lake Michigan.

The recently reinvigorated trail network here enables visitors to ski, hike, and bike across miles of natural contours while avoiding most roads. It's a great way to appreciate the pockets of restored native habitat in the context of a landscape that still needs much restoration attention. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County has installed new signposts at each intersection and color-coded wands every quarter mile, making it easier to stay on designated trails (and the wildflowers will thank you in spring!).

To get a sense of the glacial scale of these preserves, take a winter walk on the Esker Trail, a footpath looping up the southern moraine in Cap Sauers Holdings, an Illinois Nature Preserve. From the top of the trail, the valley stretches out through the naked treetops to the Palos Moraine a mile away. Continuing along the esker's ridge, hikers will come to Visitation Prairie. This is as deep in wilderness as it gets in Cook County. In fact, three-quarters of a mile from any road, this could be the most isolated spot around! Take a deep breath and listen to the winter landscape, silent of traffic, with only the soft rustle of dry grass to break the stillness.

Consider your next foray at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, (708) 839-6897, Willow Springs Road south of 95th Street, where a cawing American crow heckles visitors peering inside tanks with field mice, turtles, and a five-legged frog. Back outside, the White Oak and Black Oak footpaths offer one-mile circuits through open woodlands.

Skiing near the Little Red Schoolhouse. Photo by Susan E. Bennett.

West of the schoolhouse, look for the exposed nests of wasps and orioles in the bare trees along the 5.2-mile Palos Yellow Trail. The Yellow Trail heads northeast to the high-quality restored savanna of Spears Woods, where side-meanders skirt small sloughs and visitors may spot beaver and muskrat lodges, as well as the tracks of mink and fox.

The longest loop in the system is the eight-mile Sag Valley Yellow Trail. Starting at the Swallow Cliff parking lot, the wide trail hugs the base of the bluff as it heads eastward. It eventually circles southwest to McClaughry Springs, an enchanting winter spot of ice-bearded seeps. The trail climbs to the top of the moraine above McClaughry, heading a mile west, where hikers can choose to weave through the Laughing Squaw Sloughs and continue west, or cut the trip short and head to the top of Swallow Cliff for a view across the Sag Valley, named for the former Saganashkee Swamp.

The multi-purpose trails are open to cross-country skiers, but three areas in particular are worth exploring. Camp Sagawau, (630) 257-2045, offers ski rentals from a 150-year-old farmhouse ($10 for individuals, $25 for families; lessons available). Director Mike Konrath suggests avoiding crowds by coming early or taking a snow-day off work. Expert trails rise and fall on the west end of the camp. Beginner trails are north and east. Just behind the camp, the steps down into the Dolomite Canyon on Sagawau Creek are closed for the winter, but it's worth peeking over the edge of this notable chasm-in-miniature.

For those with their own skis, Maple Lake, off Archer Avenue, offers more than six miles of trails winding through forest and around Bullfrog Lake, with an expert loop at the north. Another nice forested trail heads west from Swallow Cliff into Cap Sauers.

After a fresh, deep snowfall, test the powder in the new generation of snowshoes, which no longer look like tennis rackets mounted on your feet. Beverly Bike and Ski, (773) 238-5704, at 9121 S. Western in far-south Chicago, rents both snowshoes and cross-country skis ($15 a day or $25 for a whole weekend). They're open during the winter Friday through Monday.

If the snow stays away, mountain bikers can make a fast circuit on the trails. Bikes are prohibited on smaller trails because of the damage they can do to fragile trails and plant communities, and Regional Volunteer Steward Roger Keller suggests avoiding warm, wet days for the same reason. The fine for riding off-trail is $70. Multi-use trails are well-groomed, so even a good road bike can get you around.

Foraging
The official coffee of the Palos Forest Preserves should be the Black Forest Cappuccino (almond and hazelnut) at Ashbary Coffee House, (708) 839-6963, at the foot of the Palos moraine where Archer Avenue and Willow Springs Road meet. They also offer a hearty Yankee Potroast Soup, panini sandwiches, and a spoken-word poetry slam in case the muse of the woods inspires you. For a quiet burger and a beer, Hackney's, (708) 438-8300, is in an alpine-style barn at 123rd and La Grange Road.

Events
Palos Restoration Project Workdays Volunteers gather regularly to restore critical habitat in the preserves by eliminating invasive plants and sowing wildflower seeds. To join a vigorous winter workday, visit the project's Web site.

Bird Banding
Help biologists track the breeding successes and longevity of resident birds. Hands-on winter banding sessions take place Wednesday through Sunday at 7 a.m. To participate, call (708) 839-6897.

Woodchuck Talk
February (exact date TBD). Learn about groundhogs at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, (708) 839-6897.

Useful Resources
Detailed, color-coded ski, bike, and hike maps (available for download as PDFs) for Palos/Sag and other Cook County preserves. Maps also available at select trailheads.