REMARKABLE FACTS ABOUT CHICAGO NATURE
Fact 1: Chicago is a Natural Paradise!
(Experience the Magic of Nature Near Your Home)

Use this photo gallery to take a short tour of Chicago nature and you’ll discover that the title is true: Chicago is a natural paradise!

With over 350 square miles of natural areas within about an hour’s drive of downtown Chicago, the Chicago region is certainly a natural paradise. In fact, the Chicagoland area is remarkable for its biological richness and natural beauty that emanate from its prairies and fens, woodlands and wetlands, sand dunes and savannas. Knowing this should make every Chicagoan crack a smile that stretches from ear to ear. Imagine how you can use this knowledge for attaining greater peace and prosperity:

• During the week, ease your stress by finding a nearby preserve and taking regular walks.
• On the weekends, get away from it all by planning local nature excursions with friends and family.
• During the summer, instead of vacationing in popular national parks where people are everywhere, save lots of money and avoid travel stress by staying home and planning multiple outings to our wondrous and lightly traveled preserves.
• Meet passionate people, have a lot of fun, and help make Chicago nature even better by volunteering at a preserve of your choice.

“Evening falls upon the land. Perched high on cattails above the orange wetland, a competitive chorus of red-winged blackbirds relentlessly hails, ending the day exactly as they began it. Just above the tree line, a great blue heron flies home to roost. Squadrons of dragonflies, once aggressively buzzing the skies on sorties, helicopter into the camouflage of low‑lying grasses to spend the night. Shapes of white-tailed deer silently slip into the open prairie. From across the slough, I hear the forlorn lament of a clandestine coyote. Appearing from behind the brush, it sees my human figure and then nervously vanishes into the thicket. In the final light, a peculiar silhouette flickers against the fading sky. With pointy wings flitting, a bat dances in the heavy air, mere feet above my head. These are just some of my experiences in the wilds of the region known as Chicago.”—Excerpt from my book, My Journey into the Wilds of Chicago.

Now, I invite you to step outside and explore the natural wonders that surround you. Use this website to find magic and awe in the place you call “home.”

Thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you on the trail.

—Mike