Harms Woods

Harms Woods Nature Preserve along the North Branch Trail with colorful leaves in fall.
Harms Woods Nature Preserve along the North Branch Trail. Photo by Charles Edward Miller is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from original.

From walking and cycling to viewing beautifully restored habitats, Harms Woods has it all. This popular forest preserve is bisected by the North Branch of the Chicago River. To the east of the river, visitors can take advantage of the North Branch Trail; to the west of the river, visitors can walk along unpaved trails and enjoy spring wildflowers, butterflies and birds thriving thanks to years of dedicated restoration efforts.

On this page:


Locations & Things to Do

Harms Woods includes multiple locations:


Harms Woods-North

Entrance

Harms Rd & Old Orchard Rd
Cook County, IL 60077
(near Skokie)

Things to Do & Amenities

  1. Indoor bathroom open April 1 to October 31 depending on weather conditions.
  2. Portable bathroom open November 1 to April 30 depending on weather conditions.

Picnic Groves

  • Accessible Grove #5
    (with shelter)
    • Accessible May 1 to October 31.
    • Distance to parking: 375 ft
    • Distance to accessible indoor bathroom: 340 ft
    • Capacity: 300 people
  • Grove #6
    • Capacity: 100 people
Event Permits PageGrove PDF Map of Harms Woods-North

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • ALERT 11/07/2024 - 05/05/2025: North Branch Red Paved Trail will experience temporary closures between Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North (or approximately Glenview Rd to Old Orchard Rd) for infrastructure repairs. Trail users should use the yellow unpaved trail (just west of the Red Paved Trail) as a detour, which they can connect to at Glenview Road or at Harms Woods-North. North Branch Trail System - Red Paved near Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North.

Harms Woods-Central

Entrance

Harms Rd, south of Old Orchard Rd
Cook County, IL 60077
(near Skokie)

Things to Do & Amenities

  1. Portable bathroom open May 1 to October 31 depending on weather conditions.

Picnic Groves

  • Grove #3
    (with shelter)
    • Capacity: 300 people
  • Grove #4
    • Capacity: 200 people
Event Permits PageGrove PDF Map of Harms Woods-Central

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • NO ISSUES 3/16/2025: Open during normal hours.

Harms Woods-South

Entrance

Harms Rd, north of Golf Rd
Cook County, IL 60077
(near Skokie)

Things to Do & Amenities

  1. Portable bathroom open May 1 to October 31 depending on weather conditions.

Picnic Groves

  • Grove #1
    (with shelter)
    • Capacity: 300 people
  • Grove #2
    • Capacity: 100 people
Event Permits PageGrove PDF Map of Harms Woods-South

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • NO ISSUES 3/16/2025: Open during normal hours.

Glenview Woods

Entrance

Harms Rd, south of Glenview Rd
Glenview, IL 60025

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • ALERT 11/07/2024 - 05/05/2025: North Branch Red Paved Trail will experience temporary closures between Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North (or approximately Glenview Rd to Old Orchard Rd) for infrastructure repairs. Trail users should use the yellow unpaved trail (just west of the Red Paved Trail) as a detour, which they can connect to at Glenview Road or at Harms Woods-North. North Branch Trail System - Red Paved near Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North.

Calvin R. Sutker Grove

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • NO ISSUES 3/16/2025: Open during normal hours.

Harms Woods Nature Preserve

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • NO ISSUES 3/16/2025: Open during normal hours.

Harms Flatwoods Nature Preserve

Illinois Nature Preserve: This land is designated as one of the highest quality natural areas in the state by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. This status includes increased levels of legal protection and management. Learn more on the Illinois Nature Preserves Page.

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • NO ISSUES 3/16/2025: Open during normal hours.

Trails

North Branch Trail System

The North Branch Trail System offers paved and unpaved trails along approximately 20 miles of the North Branch of the Chicago River, making it a premier biking route in the northern suburbs.

Location: Chicago, Glenview, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie & Winnetka

Surface

Paved & Unpaved

Estimated Total Length

36.7 miles

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts

  • ALERT 11/07/2024 - 05/05/2025: North Branch Red Paved Trail will experience temporary closures between Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North (or approximately Glenview Rd to Old Orchard Rd) for infrastructure repairs. Trail users should use the yellow unpaved trail (just west of the Red Paved Trail) as a detour, which they can connect to at Glenview Road or at Harms Woods-North. North Branch Trail System - Red Paved near Glenview Woods and Harms Woods-North.
  • ALERT 02/27/2025 - 03/17/2025: Yellow Unpaved Trail will experience a temporary closure for pavement repairs at the bridge over the Skokie River, to the east of Erickson woods. North Branch Trail System - Yellow Unpaved near Erickson Woods.
*Please be a courteous trail user: Follow posted signs and our trail rules and etiquette.

pale-leaved sunflowers at Harms Flatwoods Nature Preserve
Pale-leaved sunflowers at Harms Flatwoods Nature Preserve.

Nature Notes

Visitors to Harms Woods, particularly west of the river, will be treated to an incredibly varied spring woodland wildflower display, including wild geranium, trout lilies, blue cohosh and white trillium. Because habitat restoration efforts have removed much of the invasive brush at Harms, abundant wildflowers feed butterflies and birds from spring through fall. Chorus frogs call from small ponds. Visitors have seen great crested flycatchers, chestnut-sided warblers, and Cooper’s hawks. Wait by the river a while and you may spot a mink as it splashes in the water.

East of Harms Road, Harms Flatwoods is a unique, often very wet woodland. Because it can be somewhat more buggy than many preserves, it tends to attract more dedicated naturalists than casual hikers. From the northwest corner (at Harms and Old Orchard), visitors can walk a gravel loop trail to see uncommon ferns and other flatwoods specialties. This area has also benefitted from significant habitat restoration.

Learn more about nature at Harms Woods:


Volunteer Opportunities

Harms Woods

Join North Branch Restoration Project volunteers as they remove invasive European buckthorn, brush and weeds from this fine oak woodland situated along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Harms Woods is notable for its rich native flora. The plant list includes over 350 native species, over 40 percent of which are conservative species found almost exclusively in healthy, intact ecosystems.


Harms Flatwoods

Harms Flatwoods is dominated by huge bur and swamp white oaks, with an understory of black ash, winterberry, hazelnut and other native trees and shrubs. Flatwoods communities are very wet in the spring and fall rainy seasons because a clay pan underlying the top layers of soil tends to hold water. Join North Branch Restoration Project volunteers in removing invasive species, allowing the rich understory of this unique ecosystem to thrive.