Forest Glen Preserve

"Great, 10-11 mile loop trail for beginner backpackers like me and my 10 yo son. Also perfect for experienced hikers looking for a nice day hike. Well marked and maintained trail with plenty of small inclines/declines to get your heart rate up. Campground was practically empty when we went (early May). Highly recommend the observation tower. Great views! We will be back for sure"

"This was a nice backpacking trail. It was a mix of easy and moderate hiking with the latter portion following East Camp being the most moderate. We never found the visitor center, but we’re able to easily find the start of the river ridge backpacking trail. There were nice laminated placards to put in your car window for those folks who pre-planned to backpack. The red trail marks and arrows are pretty easy to find as were the junctions. Only issue we had was at the crossroads of Old Barn Trail and Deer crossing, but we figured it out pretty easily with the map. Note—the map is not really to scale, but is otherwise helpful. The Group camp area is nice and spacious and accessible via car. The river is seen along the final leg to the East Camp. There is one trail to access it. The East Camp has 5 sites and an outhouse. They are nicely space and have a picnic table and a fire pit. Overall, the woods were quite beautiful. Our trekking poles came in very handy with some of the hills at the end. It was nice to over along the ridge, but also be in the valleys. Would highly recommend for first time backpacking/campers. A nice one to start with. You can also fish at the pond."

"The eleven mile backpack trail is, as far as I have found, the most enjoyable and challenging hiking trail that east central Illinois has to offer. It can be easily done as a day hike or with an overnight stop at East Camp, which I found to be peaceful even with all five sites occupied. If you do backpack camp, easily accessible water sources are somewhat limited later on throughout the trail, so plan ahead and get water early."

"This was my first time coming to Forest Glen, and it was awesome. I registered for the backpacking trail, and made it an overnight trip. 12 miles for the loop, and it was harder than I thought it would be in flat Illinois. Lots of elevation gain between the ridges. I hiked 8 miles on the first day to the East Camp, and I would say that I preferred this campsite to the group camp. It was much more secluded, and there is no road access up to it. I highly recommend to anyone who lives in the area, for either camping or just simply day hiking!"

"Lovely beech forest with some challenging trails with steep steps and other broad flat paths. My group enjoyed climbing the observation tower even though is a lot of stairs. Some spots hold a large number of bird species."