Lake Carina Forest Preserve 33919 Illinois 21, Gurnee, IL 60031

"Some off the beaten path options here, but main loop is decent. Noisy i94 traffic on one end, some crackly high tension power lines with associated old bullet holes in the do not climb signs . Ice gets solid mid winter and sometimes ices clear. You can see an old car on the lakebed. Quick hike around can get your heart rate up."

"One of the many places to visit in Lake County."

"My dog loves it here! It's a bit noisy next to the tollway, but other than that, it's a great place to take a walk and cool down in/on the lake."

"Edited: 2-26-23 It has gotten cleaner, now only a handful of beer cans and trash along the bank of the lake opposite the parking lot. However, finding a 9MM SHELL CASING TODAY really takes the cake. My message to the non-gun law-abiding beer can littering degenerates that visit this forest preserve, go to Chicago! Go anywhere else! Just stay out of lake county and Wisconsin. Maybe just keep to your own backyard. Throw all the beer cans you want back there. Lake County does a fantastic job with their preserves but this is my least favorite. There is always trash here and never at the other forest preserves so I'm blaming the people that go there, since it's not the rangers job to babysit and clean up after adults. There are plenty of trash bins that people can put their booze bottles in but they just don't. Fishing trash, bottles, all sorts of garbage there. The actual trail surface is nice, short, about a mile. It's very loud because it's right up against the tollway so if you want quiet and fresh air, find another preserve. Usually people fishing but I've never seen anyone catch anything. Water is very clean. Too bad everything around it is not."

"Lake Carina is a lovely, small forest preserve. The path around the lake is a tidy 1 mile walk, perfect for a lunch break stroll. I know a lot of visitors really enjoy the fishing, but I think its a perfect place to check on the passing of the seasons! There is plenty of evidence of wildlife if you're a birdwatcher also."