This 3,500 Acre Wetlands Park Is One Of The Most Beautiful Places In Illinois
By Elizabeth Crozier|Published July 17, 2019
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Elizabeth Crozier
Author
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
Few people know that there is a beautiful wetlands park hiding in McHenry County, Illinois that has the most immaculate views that go as far as the eye can see. This is a camera-worthy hiking journey you’ll want to experience in peace and tranquility. Check it out:
Glacial Park in northern Illinois is a 3,430-acre area mostly made up of wetlands, prairies, rolling hills, and a meandering creek. It is a moderately-trafficked park that sees about 64,000 visitors throughout the entire year, so you're likely to have the place to yourself.
There are about five miles of trails laced throughout this beautiful wetlands park. The wetlands are leftover by the glaciers that once settled on this land.
Not all of the land is flat at this beautiful wetlands park. Some trails will take you through the hills, which are known as kanes. Kanes are deposits leftover by glaciers when they melted centuries ago.
Land and grass grew over these deposits, turning them into the hills they are today. Now, they make for marvelous little Midwest mountains that are fun to climb or just view from ground level.
Park amenities include a stone amphitheater, picnic areas, historic attractions, and many other natural attractions that change with the seasons. There is so much beauty to uncover at this exciting place.
At the center of this beautiful wetlands park is a 28,000-square-foot visitors center known as Lost Valley. It opened in 2010 and hosts many educational programs. It also houses a research library, maps of the park, and much more.
If you’ve ever been to this beautiful wetlands park, we’d love to hear from you. Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments.
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