Spitler Woods State Natural Area is a
state park located adjacent to
Mount Zion, Illinois. The state park is located within the
Decatur, Illinois metropolitan area. The eastern two-thirds of the state park is a listed state natural area noted for its
old-growth forest grove of
white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
and
hickory. The park is managed by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...
(IDNR).
Spitler Woods contains two trails totaling in length. Hikers can investigate the
loessy soil forming the banks of ''Squirrel Creek'', one of the tiny tributaries that eventually come together to form
Lake Decatur and the
Sangamon River
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...
. The woods are filled with
squirrels, who eat the
acorns and other mast shed by the old-growth hardwoods. Although
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
live in the natural area, hunting is forbidden.
The preserve includes many tree species, such as white oak (''Quercus alba''), chinkapin oak (''Q. muehlenbergii''), bur oak (''Q. macrocarpa''), black oak (''Q. velutina''), red oak (''Q. rubra''), sugar maple (''Acer saccharum''), shagbark hickory (''Carya ovata''), bitternut hickory (''C. cordiformis''), mockernut hickory (''C. tomentosa''), black walnut (''Juglans nigra''), basswood (''Tilia americana''), American elm (''Ulmus americana''), slippery elm (''U. rubra''), Ohio buckeye (''Aesculus glabra''), sycamore (''Platanus occidentalis''), hophornbeam (''Ostrya virginiana''), black cherry (''Prunus serotina''), and white ash (''Fraxinus americana'').
[Roovers, Lynn M. and Stephen R. Shifley. 1997. "Composition and Dynamics of Spitler Woods, an Old-Growth Remnant Forest in Illinois (USA)." ''Natural Areas Journal'', Volume 17, Number 3.] Other woody plants include bladdernut (''Staphylea trifolia''), spicebush (''Lindera benzoin''), pawpaw (''Asimina triloba''), blackhaw (''Viburnum prunifolium''), eastern redbud (''Cercis canadensis''), hawthorn (''Crataegus spp.''), Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''), and poison-ivy (''Toxicodendron radicans'').
The park is adjacent to, and has signed access from,
Illinois Route 121. It is named in honor of Ida B. Spitler, who donated Spitler Woods to the state of Illinois in 1937.
The park's headquarters is 705 Spitler Park Drive, Mount Zion IL 62549.
References
External links
*
State parks of Illinois
Protected areas of Macon County, Illinois
Protected areas established in 1937
1937 establishments in Illinois
State Natural Areas of Illinois
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