Weekend Explorer

Silver Springs State Fish & Wildlife Area

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by Divina Baratta

EVEN THE MOST FRIGID winter temperatures can’t quiet the natural spring from which Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area gets its name. Through most of the cold months, green leaflets poke out of the snow alongside the pool of clear bubbling water. But the beauty of the 1,350-acre park, near Yorkville in Kendall County, extends far beyond this sparkling focal point.

After taking the half-mile hike from the east entrance to see the springs, visitors can trail the Fox River along a four-mile wooded path. The river divides the main southern section of the park — which includes a prairie reconstruction, woodland, and picnic areas — from a savanna restoration and second prairie reconstruction to the north.

Continuing along the south bank of the river, hikers encounter stands of white pines lining Fox River Road. Sometimes these yield sightings of owls, such as the great-horned, barred, and eastern screech owls. Long-eared owls also roost here, and people occasionally spot short-eared owls resting in the prairie. Mature bald eagles reside farther upstream, and birders even reported osprey in the area a few years ago.

For fishermen, Silver Springs offers great catches every season. Two man-made lakes on the south end, Beaver and Loon Lakes, are stocked with channel catfish and rainbow trout, and are open in winter for ice fishing. The waters of the Fox River yield most of the species of the smaller lakes, in addition to flathead catfish and muskie.

Other winter sports include sledding at Toboggan Hill, located just inside the east entrance before the springs. Hiking and cross-country skiing trails also meander through this side of the park. While snowmobiling is allowed on a designated four-mile trail, ecologist Dan Kirk says that the park is large enough to offer plenty of opportunities for solitude and quiet nature.

A 45-acre plot to the north is designated as the Grasslands of the Fox Prairie Restoration. This area includes a one-mile path for naturalists to view a panorama of what the land might have looked like before settlers staked claims in Kendall County around 1829. In warmer seasons, it is lush with prairie grasses and wildflowers. Whorled milkweed, mountain mint, pale purple coneflower, and rosinweed provide the right menu for all sorts of birds and other animals.

A separate route circles the savanna on the north side of the river, where restoration has been underway for five years. Land managers have removed species such as basswood, maple, ash, and exotic honeysuckle, which spread in the artificial absence of fire, to allow native bur and black oaks and shagbark hickory, some more than 200 years old, to reproduce. The savanna is closed to the public during hunting season, September to mid-January.

On the southernmost end of the property, south of Fox Road, a 600-acre wildlife management area has been devoted to prairie and wetland reconstruction. Efforts continue this winter with earth-moving to restore the land’s wetland contours, so birders can hope to see more rails, pied-billed grebes, and other shorebirds return to the habitat in spring. Although visitors are restricted from this area mid-October through early January for pheasant hunting season, a seven-mile equestrian and hiking trail encircles it and is open most of the year.

Visitors can see an original remnant prairie (best observed in the growing season) in a railroad right-of-way along the park’s far southern boundary. Take the south trail to the wetland and bushwack 20 yards farther south. The prairie is on railroad property, so enjoy from within park boundaries.

For more information about the park, call (630) 553-6297, or visit their Web site.

Daytripping

Art and nature mingle at Mies van der Rohe’s renowned Farnsworth House, 14520 River Road in Plano, (630) 552-0052, one mile northwest of Silver Springs. An icon of 20th-century architecture, the glass home is raised above the floodplain of the Fox River. A sculpture park and collection of classic automobiles and airplanes also reside on the grounds. The property is open for private tours by appointment only. Admission is $20.

Housed in a 120-year-old building originally built to store ice cut from the Somonauk Creek, Fox Valley Winery, 120 South Main Street in Sandwich, (815) 786-3124, lies seven miles northwest of Silver Springs. Visitors can warm up inside with wine tasting. The Faltz Family Vineyards, nine miles south, produces the grapes for these award-winning varieties. Holiday gift baskets available. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

Foraging

Enjoy a hearty snack that raises the bar (think coconut shrimp with Jamaican salsa) at Kendall Pub, 209 S. Bridge Street in Yorkville, (630) 553-6910. Or make a meal of it with creative salads and pizzas. An international beer selection is the pub’s pride. But if there’s just too much to choose from, a $6 sampler will satisfy. Selected evenings feature live jazz — see the complete schedule online. A few steps away, South Bridge Gourmet Coffee, 223 S. Bridge Street, (630) 553-9807, offers a quaint café72 setting. Chocolates and pastries, too. Open Monday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For those with a serious sweet tooth, The Doughnut Emporium, 8 E. Main Street in Plano, (630) 552-1152, will do the trick. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to noon; Sunday, 7 a.m. to noon.

Cross the street to balance the sugar with a meal at Main Street Diner, 1 E. Main Street, (630) 552-8191. Open Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 5 a.m. to noon.

Bedding Down

Two local bed-and-breakfasts keep winter visitors cozy just minutes from Silver Springs. The Arbors, 209 W. Charles Street in Plano, (630) 552-1853, is a lovely estate built in 1868 and believed to have been part of the underground railroad. Rooms range from $90 to $115.

The Homestead, 611 E. Main Street in Plano, (630) 552-4322, was built in 1854 and features fine art and exquisite furnishings, many available for purchase. Rooms range from $105 to $165, with special pricing for bookings before the end of 2006.