Into the Wild

Pleasant Valley
Conservation Area

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McHenry County, IL

“A GEM!” PROCLAIMS enthusiastic site steward and ecologist John Peters. “Pleasant Valley is a treasure for the people of McHenry County.” Located just west of the intersection of Routes 47 and 176, 1,770-acre Pleasant Valley Conservation Area is surrounded by the rapidly growing communities of Woodstock, Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, Huntley, and Marengo. High-quality oak savannas, never-plowed wet prairie, 273 native plant species, and the main stem of the Kishwaukee River all create a landscape mosaic so wide-ranging and diverse that it is only one of five areas in the county designated as a “macrosite.” From the edge of the Woodstock Moraine, visitors can take in the whole valley, as the ground drops off to the south and west. McHenry County Conservation District natural resources manager Ed Collins describes Pleasant Valley as “one of the most biologically diverse, stunningly beautiful, and locally accessible conservation sites in McHenry County.”

First settled by Irish farmers in the mid-1800s, the area was purchased by the Chicago Congregational Union in 1953. They built and developed Pleasant Valley Farm, which became a camp for inner-city children to experience the outdoors. Over the years, it became known as Pleasant Valley Outdoor Center. Funding problems closed the camp in the 1990s, and the Conservation District began to purchase parcels in 1994.

Though the preserve is nearly three miles wide and 1.5 miles deep, Pleasant Valley is road-free. Plants such as the northern bog violet, short green milkweed, swamp thistle, and prairie Indian plantain help give this area a high ecological rating. (The district held a “BioBlitz” here this September) to see how many species could be identified). The main stem of the Kishwaukee River, a grade-A stream, flows through the southwest portion of the park, with a headwater stream named Laughing Creek flowing into it from the north. Endangered and threatened species such as the Iowa darter, a fish, and the Blanding’s turtle inhabit these waterways. After a Winter brings short-eared owls and northern harriers. Since 2000, many restoration projects have taken place, including the Hilltop Savanna Project, which restored a 40-acre oak savanna, and the Laughing Creek Marsh Project, which restored 46 acres of marsh and closed two miles of open ditches. The Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Project greatly increased the ability of the marsh to collect surface water that recharges groundwater, while the Hilltop Marsh Project opened up a natural wetland. Pleasant Valley is also the location of three separate prairie restoration projects, which took place in 1972 (one of the earliest such efforts in the region), 1985, and 1997. These sites afford researchers and visitors the ability to study the progress of restoration over time.

The preserve offers more than five miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails, a 1.3-mile horse trail, two shelters, and an amphitheater providing a stunning vista of Laughing Creek Marsh. For more information, call (815) 338-6223.

— David Rigby