Danada Forest Preserve

Danada is another gorgeous forest preserve in Wheaton, which is part of (as I like to call it) the Emerald Necklace of forest preserves along Butterfield. (Starting at McDowell Grove FP, you can head north into Warrenville Grove FP, hop onto the IPP, go through Herrick Lake and end up at Danada).
The trails are all really well-​marked (unlike some other forest preserves, I’m looking at you Greene Valley) and maintained. West of Naperville Road is a lot of open prairie, horse trails, and the Forest Preserve District HQ.
East of Naperville Road is my favorite part for running. The rather serpentine trail winds up from the parking lot to Butterfield and parallels Leask for awhile. There’s a gorgeous pond and if you pretend that none of the businesses are there on Butterfield, it’s like being in a nature-​filled oasis of beauty.

I had a weirdly hard time finding the trail, but once I was on it, it was awesome. A great place for a hike. I want to come here again like right now and explore it some more! Beautiful place! Also if you like horses you’ll probably see some which is always fun.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County does a great job keeping the Danada Forest Preserve on my list of places to relax. According to the District’s website, «the preserve is the home of Danada Equestrian Center, which is surrounded by 825 acres of rolling terrain that encompass wetlands, woodlands and prairies.»
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What i know is there are a lot of trails that are well-​maintained. Some are in Prairie areas, and some forested area, and some go around the beautiful Rice Lake. As you can see from the photos that I uploaded, the trails are wide and well-​maintained and perfect for running. You have to be a little careful where you step because of the horses. Where as the dog walkers pick up after their dogs, the horse riders leave «things» on the trail now and then.
There are signs directing you which way to go. You can’t really get too lost, because you’re actually in the Chicago suburbs. If you strayed too far off the preserve you’re going to be at Chipotle anyway. But, on a cool winter evening with lots of snow here, it’s like you’re in a whole other world.
In Danada, there are three or so miles of trails, and there’re links to the regional trail that connects to four other forest preserves.
Visit and have fun!