Although Chicago-area residents might spend most of their time indoors during the frosty and darker winter months, the Forest Preserves of Cook County offers a myriad of opportunities to get outdoors, which improves not only your physical but also mental and emotional health.
Simply getting out of the house and going on a winter hike can do wonders for your fitness and disposition. An hour of hiking can burn 500 calories, and walking in nature can greatly reduce the possibility of conditions like colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure—and even reverse osteoporosis, research has shown. In addition, time spent outdoors preserves older people’s brain health while improving—by up to 50 percent—one’s attention span and creative problem-solving skills.
Nina Baki, public engagement and programs manager for the Forest Preserves, says her favorite hiking locations include Vollmer Road Grove near Country Club Hills, Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve near Willow Springs, Theodore Stone Forest (aka Ted Stone) in Hodgkins, and Deer Grove, the county’s first preserve, near Palatine.
Or if you’re feeling more hardy, consider winter camping in the Forest Preserves, available at Camp Reinberg, Camp Sullivan, Camp Bullfrog Lake and Camp Dan Beard. Whether you rent a cabin or pitch a tent, prepare for the cold weather by layering your clothes, including a bottom “base” layer with moisture-wicking material, along with changes of clothing and boots, and bringing one or more sleeping pads and an appropriately rated sleeping bags for additional warmth.
Other options for when there’s snow on the ground: Most nature centers provide free snowshoe rentals on a first-come, first-served basis. You need to make sure you get the right size, keeping in mind the total weight you will be carrying, including items like coats and backpacks.
Cross-country skiing can be found at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, which is open seven days a week from mid-December through early March, providing rentals, groomed trails and ski lessons; experienced skiers with equipment can hit any preserve they want. Sledding is available at eight preserves, four of which are lighted hills for those who would like to get their thrills after dusk.
Whether or not there’s snow on the ground, as long as temperatures have been low enough for long enough, the Forest Preserves offers ice skating at six lakes and ponds around the county on a “skate at your own risk” basis; it’s prohibited elsewhere, so check the list. Ice fishing is available at 20 water bodies in the Forest Preserves, also at your own risk, with a minimum of four inches of solid ice recommended. The Forest Preserves does not monitor ice conditions.
If you want some winter fun, but also a chance to duck indoors, the Forest Preserves’ six nature centers are always great places to meet up, since they have both terrific trails and a warm place to head inside, notes Baki. So, no matter how you want to experience nature this winter, the Forest Preserves has something for you and your health.