Editor’s note: We want you to Be a Trailblazer this year, so we will be hiking at various preserves throughout the year and documenting it for you. Journey along with us as we blaze a trail through the preserves and hopefully encourage you to do the same.
Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve is one of the Forest Preserve’s largest preserves. Choosing a path for a hike at Goodenow Grove is difficult because there are so many great trails and routes to explore. We opted for a hike along the Plum Creek Greenway Trail to the big bridge because the iconic structure is a sight to see in any season.
We started our hike from the trailhead at Goodenow Grove’s campground. From there, it’s about 1.1 miles to the big bridge, making it less than 2.5 miles roundtrip. If you and your family are up for a slightly longer adventure, you could start from the preserve’s Plum Creek Nature Center.
Goodenow Grove is one of the best preserves for birding, and it didn’t disappoint on our winter hike. We saw a few cardinals and dark-eyed juncos, plus a robin, a tufted titmouse and even a red-tailed hawk flying overhead with a small rodent in its talons.
Hiking Goodenow Grove
Route: We started our hike at the Goodenow Grove campground and took the Plum Creek Greenway Trail to the big bridge and back.
Distance: 2.34 miles
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Weather conditions: A cold, sunny winter day with a variable breeze.
Difficulty level: The trail is all limestone. It is mostly flat except for a gradual incline at the start of route that is, of course, a gradual downhill walk at the end. We walked at a leisurely pace and stopped frequently along to way to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. We also spent a few minutes enjoying the scenery on the big bridge.
Trail notes: This isn’t a busy trail compared to others in the Forest Preserve. It is one of the few trails in the preserves that allows horseback riding, so don’t be surprised to find horse poop along the trail.
We heard plenty more birds than we saw. Blue jays and hairy woodpeckers were among the most vocal birds on our hike, but we also heard plenty of tufted titmice, American goldfinches and cardinals, plus an American tree sparrow, a northern flicker and even a horned lark — a first for us.
If you don’t consider yourself an expert birder, there are plenty of tools to help you learn more on your hike. Our tip: Have someone with a smartphone download the Merlin Bird ID app so you can learn more about the birds you hear on your hike. The app has a sound recording function that uses your phone’s microphone to record bird calls and songs and identify them in real time. This can help you learn different bird calls and also make you more aware of the different species that are present as you hike.
Our hike was on a cold day, so beyond the birds, we didn’t see too much wildlife. We saw a few squirrels making their way up and down tree trunks, but that was it on this winter day. We did see evidence of other wildlife in the form of nests high up in the trees, animal tracks crossing and alongside the trail and scat in a few spots.
The path to the big bridge is mostly forested, but there is one open prairie area. The different habitats make the walk a more interesting one. It was in the open area that we heard and saw more birds, but animal tracks and other signs of animal life were more abundant in the wooded areas.
The big bridge itself is along a forested part of the trail, and that adds to the beauty of the spot. It truly was the highlight of our hike, and it was a good place to stop for a few minutes to take a closer look at the nature all around us.
The 267-foot-long wooden bridge spans a ravine that is 40 feet deep. As you cross the bridge, you feel like you are in the tree canopy, and it gives you an excellent view of the forest and creek below.
The big bridge is a perfect spot for appreciating the season and imagining the other seasons to come. On our walk, the ground below was covered with snow and the creek was partially frozen, but we could imagine shades of green returning to the forest floor and tree canopy and the creek overspilling its banks after spring and summer rains. We could even picture fall color creeping into the canopy many months from now, when the growing season begins to wind down yet again.
Both a bench and a picnic table are situated at the southern end of the big bridge, making it the perfect spot for a picnic lunch, a water break or a place to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Generally, we prefer looped trails to out-and-back hikes because you don’t have to retrace your steps on a looped trail, meaning you don’t see the same sights twice. That brings us to our second tip, courtesy of some of the Forest Preserve’s top-notch interpretive naturalists: When you are hiking an out-and-back trail, try to limit yourself to looking to one side of the trail on your way to your destination. On your return trip, look at the other side of the trail. We tried this on our hike, and although we did sneak some peaks to the other side, it genuinely did make the return trip more interesting and enjoyable.
Words to know
Canopy: The uppermost trees of branches of trees in the forest, forming a continuous later of foliage.
Iconic: Something symbolic if a person, thing, place, idea or period of time.
Ravine: A deep, narrow gorge with steep sides.
Scat: Waste droppings, particular those of carnivorous animals.
Our hike took just over an hour, but we could easily have spent more time exploring Goodenow Grove. There are several more trails across the preserve, plus the preserve’s Plum Creek Nature Center is worth a visit at any time of year. The nature center includes seasonal interactive nature exhibits, an area where you can watch birds come and go from the always stocked bird feeders and some resident reptiles to help visitors young and old learn about and appreciate wildlife. If you don’t pass it on your hike, Snapper Pond is a short walk from the nature center, and it’s a different experience in each season.
Winter is a particularly great season at Goodenow Grove — especially if it’s cold or snowy because the preserve is one of only two preserves where sledding is permitted and the only Will County preserve where ice skating is allowed.
Ice skating is permitted at Snapper Pond when conditions allow. Ice skating is at your own risk, but Forest Preserve staff checks the pond’s ice thickness daily once the pond opens for skating.
The sled hill opens for the season on Dec. 1, and sledding is permitted when conditions allow. Sledders can bring their own sleds and tubes, and tubes are also available for rental at the nature center. You can also rent snowshoes at the nature center.
Plum Creek Nature Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays. To check on skating or sledding conditions, you can call the nature center at 708-946-2216.
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