Oak Forest Heritage Preserve provides opportunities to learn about this preserve’s diverse cultural and historical significance while traversing a nearly 2-mile paved loop trail. The site offers healthy and restful activities such as walking, birding and wildlife watching.
On this page:
Locations & Things to Do
Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-West
Entrance
Things to Do & Amenities
Hours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- ALERT 02/01/2024 - ?: Cook County is set to demolish outdated buildings on the Oak Forest Campus. During construction, the west entrance of the Forest Preserves’ Oak Forest Heritage Preserve will close. However, alternative access points through the east entrance and the Don Gorman Fieldhouse parking lot of the Oak Forest Park District will remain open, ensuring continuous accessibility to the Oak Forest Heritage Preserve. To access Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-East from the Oak Forest Campus, turn right onto IL-6/159th St, then make right turns at Pulaski Rd/Crawford Ave and Fieldcrest Dr. For the Don Gorman Fieldhouse at 4412 Henry St, turn left onto IL-6/159th St, then left onto IL-50 S/S Cicero Ave, and follow Fieldcrest Dr and Craig Dr to Henry St. Oak Forest Heritage Preserve Trails - Brown Paved Loop and Purple Paved Spur near Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-West. More information >
Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-East
Entrance
Things to Do & Amenities
- Parking
- Portable Bathroom
- Trail Access
- Hiking & Walking
- Bicycling
- Dogs
(on-leash only) - Cross-Country Skiing
- No Fishing
- Birding Hotspot
Hours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- NO ISSUES 3/17/2025: Open during normal hours.
Oak Forest Heritage Preserve Trails
Surface
Paved & UnpavedEstimated Total Length
2.5 milesHours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- ALERT 02/01/2024 - ?: Cook County is set to demolish outdated buildings on the Oak Forest Campus. During construction, the west entrance of the Forest Preserves’ Oak Forest Heritage Preserve will close. However, alternative access points through the east entrance and the Don Gorman Fieldhouse parking lot of the Oak Forest Park District will remain open, ensuring continuous accessibility to the Oak Forest Heritage Preserve. To access Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-East from the Oak Forest Campus, turn right onto IL-6/159th St, then make right turns at Pulaski Rd/Crawford Ave and Fieldcrest Dr. For the Don Gorman Fieldhouse at 4412 Henry St, turn left onto IL-6/159th St, then left onto IL-50 S/S Cicero Ave, and follow Fieldcrest Dr and Craig Dr to Henry St. Oak Forest Heritage Preserve Trails - Brown Paved Loop and Purple Paved Spur near Oak Forest Heritage Preserve-West. More information >
History
The Forest Preserves acquired the 176-acre Oak Forest Heritage Preserve site in 2010 for its important ecological, cultural and historical value.
Since the last retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier, approximately 14,000 years ago, the land area that includes Oak Forest Heritage Preserve has been a place of significance. This is due largely to its location at the transition between a morainal ridge left behind by the retreating glacier and the flat, open land of the Chicago Lake Plain, approximately 25-30 feet below.
The elevation of the moraine above the plains offered Native American inhabitants refuge from the heat and humidity of low-lying swamps, views of sweeping prairie fires and potential enemies, and ready access to nearby woodlands for harvesting materials for housing and sustenance. In this position, the recessional edge also provided the best trail location for travel and trading. The value of this location to Native American culture was confirmed in 1958, when an archaeological investigation uncovered eight houses and mapped an entire Native American village—the first to be identified in northeastern Illinois. The site appears to have been occupied around approximately 1680.
In 1910, the Cook County Work Farm/Oak Forest Infirmary opened its doors, serving as a poor farm and home for the county’s indigent population. The site later transformed into Oak Forest Hospital and later, the Oak Forest Health Center.
In addition to the poor farm, the Oak Forest Infirmary property also served as a tuberculosis treatment center and burial site for the county’s indigent and many of those who died at Oak Forest Hospital. Written records of these burials have been preserved by Cook County, beginning March 4, 1911, and continuing through November 17, 1971.
Fishing at Pogie Lake
Pogie Lake is a 14-acre waterbody.
*Features accessible fishing area.
- Distance to accessible parking: 110 ft
- Currently no accessible bathroom