BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG
On a beautiful, mostly sunny day in the mid-70s last September, I was lucky enough to visit three stunning nature areas in Chicagoland: Marengo Ridge Conservation Area (in McHenry County), Coral Woods Conservation Area (McHenry County), and Freeman Kame-Meagher Forest Preserve (Kane County). (These are the hikes that you remember and savor on a January 2025 day on which the temperature reach a whopping 2 degrees Fahrenheit.) I’ve already written about Marengo Ridge and Coral Woods, but I’d love to tell you more about my hike and some of the other things that you can do at Freeman Kame-Meagher Forest Preserve.
Freeman Kame-Meagher Forest Preserve is a 1,269-acre preserve that features a diverse range of natural environments—from high-quality sedge meadow and oak woodland, to wetlands. Glacial kames reaching 80 or so feet in height loom over a significant portion of the preserve. Kames are large hills of sand and gravel that were deposited along the front of slowly melting glaciers about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Hiking is one of the most-popular activities at Freeman Kame-Meagher Forest Preserve. There are nearly 6 miles of mowed trails at the preserve, with eight trails (some that connect) ranging in distance from the 0.27-mile Camping Loop Trail to the 1.54-mile West Loop Trail. There are several parking and usage areas at the preserve.
I first stopped at “Forest Preserve Entrance-40W346 Freeman Road, Gilberts, IL 60136,” where I walked the North Central Loop Trail (0.37 miles). This was a pleasant, but not wow-inducing, hike in a marshy and grassy area with some rolling terrain. In the same area, you can also take the West Loop Trail (1.54 miles), which I was unable to traverse due to time constraints.
I’d mainly traveled to Freeman Kame to hike in its rugged interior areas that feature the kames. So, I got in my car and traveled a short distance east on Freeman Road to the “Camp Tomo Chi Chi Knolls-40W095 Freeman Road” trail head. (Camp Tomo Chi-Chi Knolls, which is located in the preserve, is a 260-acre area devoted to youth group camping and recreation.) There’s a parking lot just off the road, with a locked gate to a road that travels to the camp. I walked the road for a few minutes until I reached the North Forest Trail (0.93 miles, to the west of the road). The trail travels through forests of oak and pine along the base of several kames. Acorns were everywhere on the ground, and I enjoyed the sound of birdsong and some early fall colors. Some of this trail—with its sandy soil, towering trees, and glacial kames—reminded me of hiking in Wisconsin or the Upper Peninsula. The best part was that I was alone on the trail the entire time. The North Forest Trail takes you through the campground and its facilities until you can get back on the main road heading north to the parking lot. To extend your hike in this area, you can also connect to the South Woodland Loop Trail (0.8 miles), as well as the Central Meadow Trail (0.82 miles). Here’s a trail map.
The Railroad Prairie Trail (0.72 miles) is at the top of my return visit list. It travels at the edge of an Illinois Nature Preserve and other ecologically rich and protected areas. Illinois Nature Preserves protect the highest quality natural lands in the state. “These lands are the last remnants of the Illinois wilderness,” according to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that this area provides “a rare example of the natural vegetation that once occupied the rugged glacial outwash topography of northeastern Illinois. Freeman Kame has a high diversity of amphibians and reptiles, with 18 species documented at the site. The cattail marsh hosts a diverse assemblage of wetland birds.”
Here are a few other things you can do at the preserve.
Go Birdwatching.
Nearly 160 avian species have been sighted at Freeman Kame, according to eBird.org. Examples include Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Nashville Warblers, Eastern Meadowlarks, Ring-necked Pheasants, and Double-crested Cormorants. Here’s a complete list.
Go Horseback Riding
Most horse trails at the preserve feature mowed grass paths. A few protected areas are off-limits to horseback riders. Click here for a map of restricted areas.
Fly Your Drone or Model Aircraft
You can do so at a special field at the south end of the preserve. Click here for a map of the area.
Go Fishing
Fishing is listed as an option at the preserve’s website, but Freeman Kame is not “A River Runs Through It,” kind of fishing spot. One reason: there are no rivers at the preserve, but there are a few ponds. A representative from the Forest Preserve District of Kane County (FPDKC) told me that Freeman is a challenging location for fishing. They said that “two of the places that stand out for potential fishing are the pond near the Meagher parking lot and the pond near the shelter in Freeman South, off Tower Hill Road.” I also learned that the district does not stock these ponds, nor has it conducted surveys to determine the species that live in them. The FPDKC representative guessed that there would likely be sunfish, bluegill, and perhaps largemouth bass in the aforementioned ponds. Note: Fishing is prohibited in the Illinois Nature Preserve and other ecologically rich and protected areas. (Also, a quick shout-out of thanks to the rep from the FPDKC, who promptly responded to my information request.)
The FPDKC offers a list of more than 20 other sites in the district that offer better fishing options, as well as rules and regulations, on its website. Fish that are common to Kane County include bluegill, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and common carp.
Copyright (text) Andrew Morkes; except quotes from the Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Copyright (photos) Andrew Morkes; except bird photos: Double-Crested Cormorant, Matt Poole, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Great Horned Owl, Bill Moses, USFWS; Red-Tailed Hawk. Mark Bohn, USFWS; Egrets, Alex Galt-USFWS; Eastern Meadowlarks, Jim Hudgins, USFWS; Nashville Warblers, David True, USFWS; Ring-Necked Pheasant, Tom Koerner, USFWS; Dark-Eyed Junco, Courtney Celley, USFWS; Red-Headed Woodpecker, MarvinnAnn Patterson; Great Egret, Doshkov, National Park Service; Black-Capped Chickadee, Courtney Celley, USFWS; Egret (main), Doug Racine, USFWS; Red-tailed Hawk, Krista Lundgren, USFWS
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Looking for some other great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.
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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES
I have been a writer and editor for nearly 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I’m also a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 60 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).
Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:
- Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
- Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
- Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Environment (Getting Started series)
- Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)