Get Directions to Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
Vast, unpredictable, and wild: Owls, turtles, coyotes, and swarms of bees. Endless flowers and black oak trees. By a lake called Michigan and a river named Dead, come to this place if only one choice you have.
Late-summer morning light strikes the tops of indian grass, western sunflower, and rough blazing star at the sand prairie along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois.
Features:
- Black oak savanna, sand prairie, marsh, sedge meadow, marsh, and beach
- The Dead River
- An true outdoor experience
- Greatest plant diversity in Illinois
- Vast and wild
- Wildlife galore: coyote, deer, owls, hawks, toads and frogs, snakes, turtles, deer, butterflies, dragonflies, and more
Highlights:
- May: Grand displays of wild lupines in the savanna and sand coreopsis in the prairie
- August: Rough blazing star
- Animals, butterflies, birds
Best Times to Visit:
- May through September for the flowers
- Come any day of the year and, after your first step, your worries will start to lift
Mike’s Thoughts: Designated as Illinois’s first nature preserve and a National Natural Landmark, Illinois Beach Nature Preserve may be the richest and most biologically diverse preserve in the state. Wild and rich, Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is a place like no other, full of mysteries, full of surprises, full of life.
Notes: The entrance to the nature preserve is located within the South Unit of Illinois Beach State Park, just before you reach the resort.
Learn more about Illinois Beach Nature Preserve from these websites:
