South Chicagoland Preserves
for Free Weekend Getaways & Outdoor Adventures

Gensburg-Markham Prairie (Markham Illinois)

Conveniently located amidst the urban sprawl is a large, luscious prairie. Just exit the tollway, enter the magical gate, and leave your worries behind.

Kickapoo Woods and Prairie (Riverdale Illinois)

In an urban locale where there is little nature exists, the prairie here provides a wonderful oasis where peace can be found.

Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve (Hopkins Park Illinois)

Life abounds under the dome of black oaks of this rare sand savanna. From glass lizards and six-foot snakes to enigmatic gophers and their omnipresent mounds, to flowers of all fashions, this is not a refuge—this is paradise.

Powderhorn Marsh and Prairie (Chicago Illinois)

A beautiful gem hidden within Chicago’s city limits with a unique topography formed by the forces of Lake Michigan. Once inside and surrounded by nature, you may very well forget that you’re in the city at all.

Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve (Monee Illinois)

A springtime woodland adventure: Listen for rapid, hollow percussions of woodpeckers. Watch wary warblers as they flash about and perch only for an instant. And inhale the essences of bluebell and leek along the winding creek.