Itasca Nature Center

We made the mistake of coming here when 1-​a birthday party was going on and 2-​after it had poured. This made walking on some of the paths difficult as they were muddy. One path we completely could not venture down due to the mud. You can tell it’s lost it’s charm and some of the upkeep. It almost felt creepy seeing these empty cages where they used to keep birds of prey area. However on a nice day it was something to do, it’s probably better for little kids who don’t need a long hike. We ended up walking all the way around the pool, up by the fire/​police stations, and around a big hill and path there until that hit a dead end/​mud too. That was almost a better walk. But we might come back sometime.

I love nature. Being outdoors makes me happy. Being outdoors at home is awesome. That said, although I think I have a sweet patio set-​up at my apartment (does anyone want to give me a hammock to make it even better?), it’s incredibly tiny and faces the parking lot — so there’s not a lot of ‘nature’ in my ‘backyard.’ Because of this, I seek out nature centers, forest preserves, and farms quite often. I was excited to find this place not too far from where I live. It also has a couple geocaches (
) scattered about, so I was eager to bring my husband here a couple times.
This little nature center is tucked away in a lovely Itasca neighborhood. There is a small parking lot, a barn-​like building with an greenhouse/​workshed (the actual center), a little shelter with picnic tables, a bridge leading to a couple paths around the grounds, and some prairie. Trees surround the grounds and a little creek runs through. It’s cute. It’s small. It isn’t really much.
The walking path is quick. From looking at maps, it seems the grounds are bigger with three different trails, but we only found one short, paved trail with a couple paths leading towards the aquatic center and neighborhood. Maybe we didn’t look hard enough. At one point we thought we found more trails but ended up wandering through a private yard before realizing our mistake. Weird.
I can’t say much for what’s inside the center. Both times I came (weekends, during hours), the building was closed. There were a couple cage areas outside for birds or other creatures, but I never saw any. In fact, I didn’t see any animals here — just the occasional dragonfly or bumblebee. Oh, and there were some lovely ducks on the little creek that runs through the property.
Our visits were very short. And we picked up a geocache, which is always good.
I like places with quiet areas or long walking paths or animals to look at. This place didn’t really have any of those. It’s a nice little addition to the neighborhood, and maybe a good place to take your kids for a bike ride, but just isn’t for me.

Address is incorrect. It is on 130 forest ave. Nice place to bring the kids and take pictures.

I used to visit this nature center all the time when I lived in Elk Grove Village. It’s small, but very cute. There’s a turtle tank inside and birds of prey, like owls and kestrels, outside.
There’s a nice path where you’ll come across deer, turtles, and frogs, not to mention the usual birds and squirrels. It’s also a great place to see different insects like dragonflies.
Oh and keep a look out for the box elders! One year they were carpeting the ground.