Sauk Trail Woods are located within the
Cook County Forest Preserves
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped nat ...
in
Park Forest and
Chicago Heights,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. They are part of the Thorn Creek Trail System. They contain miles of paved bike trails and off-trail dirt paths.
Sauk Trail Woods contains
Sauk Lake
Sauk Lake (also known as Sauk Trail Lake) is a small, freshwater lake located in Cook County, Illinois, between the municipalities of Park Forest, Illinois and Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is an enlarged portion of Thorn Creek created by a dam o ...
and
Thorn Creek. The topography is fairly hilly, featuring ravines and steep, eroded hillsides. The elevation is the highest on the outskirts of the preserve. Then, as one goes into the Thorn Creek River Valley, you descend steep hills and sandy bluffs. There is an abundance of ravines that have been cut by creeks flowing into the valley. Many of the ravines are surprisingly deep near the bottom of the valley. Most of the Sauk Trail Woods Preserve is covered by dense woods, however there are some open prairie areas. In the northwest section of the woods, there is a fairly large marsh, that is surrounded by thick pampas grass and shallow bogs.
The woods are located on the
Valparaiso Moraine
The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a landform left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glacial till and sand. The Valpar ...
, which accounts for the hilliness of the area. There are many parking lots with pavilions situated throughout the preserve.
See also
*
North Creek Woods
*
Cook County Forest Preserves
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped nat ...
*
Ned Brown Forest Preserve
The Ned Brown Forest Preserve, popularly known as Busse Woods, adjoining Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village and Schaumburg in Illinois, is a unit of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. It is named after Edward "Ned" Eagle Brown. A sec ...
References
External links
*http://www.fpdcc.com/
Forests of Illinois
Nature reserves in Illinois
Protected areas of Cook County, Illinois
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