Sauk Trail Woods has something for everyone—a paved trail loop on the Thorn Creek Trail System, picnic groves shaded by giant oak trees, and a 29-acre lake for fishing and spotting migratory birds.

On this page:

• Locations & Things to Do
• Trails
• Fishing at Sauk Lake
• Nature Notes

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Locations & Things to Do

Sauk Trail Woods includes multiple locations:

• Sauk Trail Woods-North
• Sauk Trail Woods-East
• Sauk Trail Woods-Central
• Sauk Trail Woods-South
• Schubert’s Woods
• King’s Grove

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Trails

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Fishing at Sauk Lake

Sauk Lake is a 29-acre lake with a maximum depth of just over four feet.  It was created as an impoundment of Thorn Creek in 1923 when a dam was installed at 26^th Street. Due to heavy erosion and sedimentation from Thorn Creek, the game fish population is quite sparse, made up mostly common carp and bullhead. Smaller numbers of largemouth bass, bluegill and green sunfish are also present. 

• Fishing Map (PDF)

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Fishing Access

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Nature Notes

Sauk Trail Lake was formed when Thorn Creek was dammed and water filled the steep walls of the creek.

As Thorn Creek flows into the Little Calumet River, it’s a popular stopping point for migratory birds in late fall and early spring. Visitors have seen wood ducks, osprey, white-eyed vireos, yellow throats, yellow warbler, Acadian flycatcher, towhees and more. Hikers can see gray-headed coneflower, Rudbeckia and fragrant plants like mountain mint along the trial.

A marsh in the northwest corner of the preserve is home to aquatic plants and grasses. Adjacent to Thorn Creek and Sauk Lake, there is a rich mesic oak woodland with ravine system containing many plants including Penn sedge, Swan’s sedge, bloodroot, and Short’s aster.