BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG
I want to thank my “Nature in Chicagoland” readers for visiting my blog in 2025. I’m grateful to those who take the time to read my stories and correspond with me about nature in Chicagoland. I continue to love writing this blog (which I’ve published for nearly nine years), and wish I had more time in my daily life to do so.
In 2025, I visited many new nature destinations in the Chicago area including Spring Valley Nature Center and McClaughrey Springs Woods. And I revisited many spots that I love such as Cap Sauer’s Holding Nature Preserve, North Park Village Nature Center, Dunning Read Natural Area, Crabtree Nature Center, and Illinois Beach State Park, as well as two great spots in the Driftless Area of Illinois: Big Sky Nature Reserve and Galena Gateway Park.
While I love hiking in the Midwest, I traveled with my family twice to Ireland. There are plenty of articles and guidebooks out about Ireland and its amazing natural beauty, lovely people, and fascinating culture, so I’ve not written about our trips. I do recommend visits to Galway, Killarney (including Killarney National Park), Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula, Kinsale, Kilkenny, and Donegal if you visit. Of course, there are plenty of other interesting and beautiful spots, but these are some of my favorites.
When not visiting nature locals near and far, I also did some interviews and tributes. I interviewed Rob Cheney, a local stand-up paddleboarder who has created a petition to encourage Forest Preserves of Cook County to allow stand-up paddleboarding in its preserves. Stand-up paddleboarding, with the appropriate use of personal flotation devices (where required), is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and should be allowed in appropriate lakes, ponds, and other water spots in Forest Preserves of Cook County properties. If you agree, click here to sign Rob Cheney’s petition. Chicago Sun-Times Outdoors columnist Dale Bowman retired after nearly 30 years of telling us about great nature spots, fishing, and other nature-related topics. I wrote an appreciation of his excellent articles about the natural world and the people who enjoy it. His work will be missed, but you can still access his work on the Sun-Times‘ website. I love spotlighting local conservationists, writers, visual artists, and nature advocates who are also inspired by Chicagoland nature or nature in general. These people entertain, inspire, and educate people about our natural world, and it’s great to celebrate their quality work. I look forward to writing new articles about artists, writers, and filmmakers in 2026. You can read past interviews with creative folks and others at the Interview section of this blog.
I continue to receive a great response to my own book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit, which covers amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. I look forward to telling you more about amazing places to visit in Chicagoland—hopefully in a second volume this year or next.
Two of the biggest astronomical stories in Chicagoland last year were the ubiquity of Northern Lights sightings in Chicagoland and areas further south and the appearance of Comet Lemmon. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report that the sun has reached its maximum phase in its 11-year solar cycle. My son and I chased the lights in November, and here’s my story about our chase: Sometimes the Quest is Part of the Fun: Thoughts on Chasing the Northern Lights. And this story provides tips on finding the Northern Lights in Chicagoland and some photos from some great sightings in 2024: Thoughts On Chasing the Northern Lights and Other Celestial Phenomena in Chicagoland . . . and 30+ Tips/Resources to Help You Find Them. Finally, I saw Comet Lemmon from my yard in Chicago. While I did not experience the spectacular view enjoyed by others in dark sky areas, it was still thrilling to view a comet that last appeared in our skies more than 1,100 years ago. Northern Lights– and comet– mania hit Chicagoland last year, and it was exciting to see so many people outside and engaged with our natural world—rather than on their phones or engaged in other distractions.
But let’s get back to the most-popular stories at “Nature in Chicagoland.” Here were the most-popular nature destination stories in 2025 as selected by my readers (you can click on the links to read the articles). I’ve covered the most-popular non-nature stories here: The Most-Popular Non-Nature Stories at My “Nature in Chicagoland Blog” in 2025. In those stories, I wrote about family memories (and the loss of my beloved mother), talented writers and singers, the loss of a beloved family pet, and the personal and professional excellence of Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg after he passsed away from cancer.
I wish you a happy and healthy year outdoors!
1. Swallow Cliff Woods: Exercise and Go Sledding on a 100-Foot Bluff
2. McClaughrey Springs Woods: Beautiful Spring Flowers and Fall Colors and a Birding Hotspot
3. Chicago Sun-Times Outdoors Columnist Dale Bowman Retires: An Appreciation
4. Freeman Kame-Meagher Forest Preserve Offers Rolling Hills, Great Hiking, Birdwatching, and Much More
5. Sometimes the Quest is Part of the Fun: Thoughts on Chasing the Northern Lights
8. Petition Seeks to Bring Stand-Up Paddleboarding to Forest Preserves of Cook County Properties
Copyright (text/photos) Andrew Morkes
(except paddleboarding photo, copyright Rob Cheney; Dale Bowman column photo, copright Chicago Sun-Times)
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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’ve been a professional wrestler of words for more than 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 also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.
My poetry has appeared in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 70 teen and young adult-oriented books about college planning and careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, The Vault Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series), Lerner Publishing, and Mason Crest (including Detecting Misinformation on Social Media, Detoxing from Video Games, The After Life, and Sports and STEAM: Arts).
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)