Sugar Grove Nature Preserve
Photo by Jordan Goebig
A tucked away gem in Central Illinois, Adam and I loved taking the fun kids in our life over to Sugar Grove Nature Center, located in McLean, Ill., to walk the trails and check out their center. Many of the trails are short, but through beautiful prairie and woods - making this an ideal place for trail running and families with children.
The Trails
Sugar Creek has about nine, color-coordinated trail systems ranging in length from about .5 miles to 2 miles long
All of the trails interconnect in some way. We walked almost all of the trails and got to about 6ish miles.
Overall, the trails are flat and wide. A majority is through wooded area, but there is about a mile or so of prairie. The trails are well-maintained and marked with color-coordinated directional signage. There are trail maps available at preserve and online. There is also a 5-mile trail run mapped out with separate signage. If you get lost on here, maybe hiking isn’t your hobby…..
Things We Love
The blue and orange trail is particularly beautiful. This is through densely wooded area, and on a perfect spring morning, all we could hear were the birds chirping.
Throughout the trail systems, you’ll stumble upon many old, large trees. If you’re a fan of big trees, you won’t be disappointed.
There’s a lot of love and pride taken into maintaining this nature preserve, and it really shows. The trails are fantastic for walking, there are a number of educational signs about the different tree types (and we learned something new - about seeps). There is an Imagination Grove for children to run around and play at, and the Central Illinois Beekeepers have hives out there. It was fun to watch the bees coming and going.
Things to Know
There are picnic shelters and bathrooms available at Sugar Grove Nature Center. In non-COVID times, the center offers lots of programming and educational opportunities. Their website is undergoing renovations, so I’d highly encourage those interested to follow them on Facebook.
This is a popular hiking/running spot, so make sure to get out there early if you want to avoid lots of people.
Dogs are allowed in this nature preserve (of course, we’d never go somewhere Emmy wasn’t supposed to be!).