The Sag Valley Trail System in Palos Park, Illinois, has approximately 20 miles of unpaved hiking trails-my favorite! You can access these trails from multiple forest preserves, but I recommend the Swallow Cliff Woods-North access point because it has stairs for incline training. These stairs lead you up a 100-foot-high bluff into the Swallow Cliff Woods.
Map of the Sag Valley Trail System
The Yellow Loop provides 8 miles of trekking, but if you want to aim for 4-5 miles, take the Brown Loop trail through the middle of Swallow Cliff Woods and do half of the Yellow Loop. I took the trail west past Horstail Lake and into the Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve, Teason’s Woods, and back into the Swallow Cliff Woods.
Swallow Cliff Stairs, Horsetail Lake, and Teason’s Woods
What I love about the main trails is that they’re wide, wooded, and multiuse-you can hike, bike, ski, or ride a horse. You can explore valleys, hills, woodlands, and ridges all in one day.
Wildlife was abundant on the trail. I spotted two new species for my journal: Pear-shaped Puffballs (left) and Sandhill Cranes. It looks like my Mushroom Identification Flashcards from the New York Botanical Garden will come in handy for this trail! I cannot wait to return when spring is in bloom to spot more new species!
As always, I’m in awe of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, Illinois. The trails are always well-maintained, immersive, and easily accessible. I feel very lucky to live in an area where forests are cared for and given priority. Luckily, these trails are also a hop, skip, and jump away from Chicago, where there’s lots to do for fun (see below).
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