Ryerson Woods Forest Preserve

One of my favorite places to go to get some beautiful nature and to walk. There are trails for the whole family, and I usually see a deer or two. My kids love feeding the animals during the spring and summer, and the best part is that everything is free.

Beyond gorgeous land for hiking with friends and family! The trails are well maintained and there are some great spots for a picnic and lots of fun activities. I highly recommend this area for family adventures!

I visit this area for birding in the spring and fall. It is a nice quiet area with few visitors. The environment is great for all kinds of birds because of the riparian effect.
Ryerson has miles of hiking trails that ravine through the forest and along a running steam. The park has a neat little cabin but I’m not sure of is functionality. There is a building also that I have never ventured into buy I imagine it is quite informative.
My only suggestion is to be careful walking through the open field. I got ticks all over me and had to pick them off me all the way home.

Really lovely. Old old woods, trails, make a stop here in May next year, you all, and lend a hand when it is needed pulling Garlic Mustard, that scourge of the Woodlands. See you then.

This place is beautiful… im sad i never went here before. I did get lost tho i dont know if i would blame it on the trail… haha.

3 miles from my home lay the escape I was waiting for. A solitary walk in the woods :)
It was perfect to see the beginning of the fall hues on the leaves… you can sit by the river and watch the sunset…

Just call me 4-​star Freddy. Seems to be my favorite number. But I guess I should be happy I’m finding so many places to be a fan of.
This nature/​forest preserve/​hiking trial is one of the nicer ones I’ve been to in awhile. I joined friends for a Sunday morning «birthday hike», and I suspect we did a good 2 – 3 miles on the well-​groomed and well-​marked trails here. There are also a number of authentic cabins and farm buildings which I understand are used for educational purposes. The other nice thing is while it is a suburban preserve, you really have no sense of being in the suburbs with traffic noise, etc. And the suburban Riverwoods area is already pretty nice from a «woodsy» perspective.
The woods, the trails, the dam and the little rest areas are all really rustic and inviting, and quiet. There were very few people there on a Sunday morning. The welcome center has lots of information and staff to help with resources for other Lake County hikes. We learned that, for instance, the Des Plaines River runs 129 miles, and that there is a biking/​hiking path on the west side of the river from Lake-​Cook Road running for several miles north.
Frankly, I never suspected a walk along the Des Plaines River, which follows the peripheral trail, could be so nice. At one point, six or seven deer came flying through the woods about 25 feet ahead of us. It felt like a movie. Hollywood deer! Best of all, it’s just a 35 – 40 minute drive from my area of the city. A close, convenient and beautiful escape.