Waterfall Glen is a

forest preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in Downers Grove Township,

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

, between the towns of Darien and Lemont, covering . It contains several waterfalls on Sawmill Creek as it empties into the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American Her ...

. Rocky Glen Falls, the largest waterfall in the preserve, is actually a natural dam in the

valley glen Valley Glen is a neighborhood in southeastern section of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. Once part of Van Nuys and North Hollywood, it became a separate neighborhood in 1998. Valley Glen is home to Los Angeles Valley College an ...

. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps helped restore the waterfall to its naturally tiered state, after years of erosion due to runoff from a nearby mill. It completely surrounds Argonne National Laboratory. It is also home to a popular model airplane field, located in the southwest section of the forest preserve. Hikers can also make the interior trip to St. Patrick Cemetery nestled deep in the preserve. Waterfall Glen's tallgrass prairies, bogs, and Midwestern oak savannas contain 740 native plant species, 75 percent of all the plants known to grow naturally in DuPage County. Over 300 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles and another 300 species of invertebrates use the forest preserve, either year-round or during their migrations.

Natural history

Waterfall Glen's 773-acre "Bluff Savanna", which roughly covers the southern part of the preserve between Argonne National Laboratory and the Des Plaines River, is a natural Midwestern oak savanna. Waterfall Glen is one of highest ranked conservation areas in the county, it contains 422 native plant species, including one state threatened and 36 of special concern. Tall grass, ferns, and wild lilac bushes are common shrubbery found growing on the savanna. Many native insects, including giant grasshoppers and back window spiders, are known to nest in these shrubs. Individual black and white oaks, shagbark and bitternut hickories, and black walnuts range from 180- to 215-years-old. With Waterfall Glen being a wooded area having older trees, birds like pileated woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds, wood thrushes, broad-winged hawks, and barred owls, are attracted to the area and some species breed there. Ephemeral ponds make the savanna an essential habitat for amphibians such as salamanders, frogs and snakes. Sawmill Creek, which runs through the savanna, hosts a large crayfish population during the spring season. Larger fish and crustaceans can be found further downstream, closer to the

. Herds of deer, wolves, and coyotes roam freely and can be seen on the savanna during the warmer months.

History

Long before

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...

and

Louis Joliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...

paddled through the area, American Indians were living along the surrounding limestone bluffs, including today's Signal Hill, which served as a communications vantage point. By the late 1800s, the Ward Brothers’ mill was turning out lumber on Sawmill Creek, and Edwin Walker's three quarries were yielding tons of quality limestone for projects like the landmark Chicago Avenue Water Tower and Pumping Station. In 1925, the Forest Preserve District purchased its first 75 acres at Waterfall Glen, the Signal Hill and Rocky Glen areas. Rocky Glen soon became the site of the preserve's well-known tiered falls, which the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed in the 1930s near the original mill site. In 1973, the forest preserve added over 2,200 acres of surplus land from the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, at which time it was given its current name."Waterfall Glen"

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is a governmental agency headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois. Its mission is to acquire and hold lands containing forests, prairies, wetlands, and associated plant communities or lands capable of being re ...

Trails

The main trail is 9.5 miles long, 10 feet wide and made of crushed

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders and cross-country skiers can enjoy some of Waterfall Glen's scenic areas via four mapped trails, which contain almost 11 miles of limestone- and turf-covered routes. Visitors on foot can explore the narrow, unmarked footpaths that crisscross through Waterfall Glen, but these paths are not marked and may not meet with the marked paths.

References

External links

*Reviews o
Yelp
Nature reserves in Illinois Darien, Illinois Protected areas of DuPage County, Illinois Forests of Illinois 1925 establishments in Illinois Protected areas established in 1925 {{Illinois-protected-area-stub