BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF THE NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND BLOG (FOUNDED IN 2017) AND BOOK
I had a great day at Wolf Road Woods (Wolf Road, south of 95th Street, Cook County, IL 60480, near Willow Springs) on Wednesday. I hiked in some of the most rugged natural areas in the county, and I mostly (I say “mostly”) beat the rain. I hiked 3.5 miles and climbed the equivalent of 15 floors if my phone can be believed. I saw a pileated woodpecker, some stunning wildflowers, and a coyote (in the rain). Not a bad way to spend a late-fall day—rather than doing any work.
I had a late morning appointment in Oak Lawn, so I had to work in a limited hiking timeframe before the rain. As I waited for my appointment, I kept looking at the radar and watched the huge blobs of green, orange, and yellow heading for Chicago’s western suburbs. The weather didn’t look good, but when my appointment ended, I took a short drive to Wolf Road Woods. The sky looked ominous, but the rain held off for much of my hike.
Wolf Road Woods offers a lot of activities—both active and sedentary. Here are five things that you can do at this gem of a Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) nature spot:
Go Hiking
The trails are steep at times and your legs will burn, but the paths at Wold Road Woods offer a great workout and very rewarding views of sloughs, hills, and forests. There are flatter trails, too. There are miles of trails in the area bordered by 107th Street to the south, Archer Avenue to the west and north, a tiny bit of 95th Street to the North, and Wolf Road to the east. You can hike on the Brown, Red, Orange, Purple, and Blue Trails. Trail surfaces consist of dirt, grass, and the occasional stones. You can access the Orange Trail as you enter the preserve. The 5.5-mile Orange Loop Trail will take you past sloughs and ravines, up towering hills, and take you through some of the most rugged acreage in this area. The Brown Trail trailhead is located at the far western end of the preserve’s parking lot. It passes Tomahawk Slough and allows you to connect with all the other “color-named” trails.
These winding and often interconnected trails can be confusing, but the FPCC has addressed that by installing trail location numbered signs and preserve maps around the area. These are great, but some need to be replaced in certain locations since the trail numbers have been rubbed off the maps.
My Hike
I hiked on portions of the Brown, Red, Orange, Purple, and Blue Trails—although the Brown and Orange were my main trails. The Brown Trail gradually ascends from the parking lot and provides excellent views of Tomahawk Slough to the north. I then headed south on the Red Trail to meet up with and head west and then north on the Orange Loop Trail. The short Red Trail passes through an area that’s recovering from a prescribed burn a few years back. It was the only area where I still saw many blooming flowers, including pokeweed, butterweed, red clover, black-eyed Susans, goldenrod, and daisy fleabane. The Staghorn sumac was also stunning along the trails and near the sloughs. Areas of the Orange Trail rail are considered some of the most challenging paths in the FPCC. If you visit, you’ll hike on narrow, rocky, root-laden, dirt trails that wind, climb, and descend—and do the same thing repeatedly. Lots of fun if you like great scenery, a good workout, and views of oak and other trees, ravines, and Saganashkee Slough across 107th Street.
Go Mountain Biking
I’m not a mountain biker, but this preserve and the area east of Wolf Road are some of the most-popular mountain biking areas in FPCC. I saw only two riders on the trails, but I’m sure this area is much busier during better weather. You can start your mountain biking adventure from the Wolf Road Woods parking lot or travel 1.6 miles to the northeast to enter the trails from the Maple Lake-East—Mountain Bike Staging Area (Entrance: 95th Street, west of Willow Springs Road/Flavin Road, Cook County, IL 60480).
Enjoy Birding
More than 180 bird species have been recorded at Wolf Road Woods, according to eBird. I spotted a pileated woodpecker (I think; see bad photo below) busily pecking away at a tree in one of the ravines and heard others as I hiked. The Merlin app told me that white-breasted nuthatches, American robins, bluejays, and red-bellied woodpeckers were living the high-life somewhere above me as I hiked. In addition to most of the aforementioned bird species, eBird reports that some of the bird species that have been recorded more frequently than their regional average include red-headed woodpeckers, tufted titmouses, cedar waxwings, hairy woodpeckers, golden-crowned kinglets, red-tailed hawks, sandhill cranes, and great blue herons.
Have a Picnic
There are two picnic groves (which need to be reserved before use):
- Grove #1: Capacity: 100 people
- Accessible Grove #2 (with shelter): Capacity: 200 people and accessible May 1 to October 31.
Resources: Map of Groves and Permitting Web Page
Enjoy Winter Activities
Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are great outdoor options at Wolf Woods after a good snowstorm. The FPCC publishes a guide to winter activities and events in its preserves.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
I’d planned to hike for another 1.5 hours or so, including to the north and northwest of Tomahawk Slough. But the rain was nearing the woods. At first, the strong winds, a few raindrops, and buckets of leaves falling from the trees fooled me into thinking that the storms had arrived. But I was able to walk some more in “rain peace.” The frequency of the raindrops gradually increased, but I was protected for a while by the canopies of the massive trees. But then the rain won out, I donned my rain poncho, but soon realized that it had a big hole in its side (which I Macgyvered), and I began the 35-minute walk back to my car. I was pelted by sheets of cold rain—from above, sideways, and any other direction that can quickly soak a hiker. As I walked in the heavy rain, I spotted a coyote on the trail far ahead—a nice grace note to a now-soaking-wet day. It had been a while since I walked in the rain in the woods, and it felt good.
I saw a lot of Wolf Road Woods, but there’s more to enjoy in this vast, hilly reserve—including Red Gate Woods at the far northern edge of the bordered area that I discussed earlier in this article. At Red Gate Woods, buried deep in some of Chicagoland’s most rugged and dense forest, rest the remains of the world’s first nuclear reactor at the original site of Argonne National Laboratory, which was a major nuclear research facility for the Manhattan Project during World War II. You can learn more about this site by reading my article, “Red Gate Woods: Hawks and Hills, Sloughs and Snakes, and Ghosts and Buried Nuclear Waste, Oh My!”
Before You Go
Open year-round, sunrise to sunset.
Dogs are allowed (on-leash only).
No fishing.
There’s ample parking on site.
Portable bathroom(s) are open by Memorial Day in spring through Labor Day in fall, weather permitting. An accessible portable bathroom is available.
Nearby Nature Destinations
Pulaski Woods Offers Opportunities for Hiking, Mountain Biking, Picnicking, and Stargazing, Plus Splendid Views of Bullfrog Lake JUST NORTH (Unit 1) AND ACROSS WOLF ROAD (Units 2 and 3) FROM WOLF ROAD WOODS
Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve: The Wildest Place in Cook County
Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center: Not Your Parents’ Little Red Schoolhouse
McClaughrey Springs Woods: Beautiful Spring Flowers and Fall Colors and a Birding Hotspot
Spears Woods: Room to Roam Amidst Rolling Hills, Sloughs, and Oak Woodlands
Swallow Cliff Woods: Exercise and Go Sledding on a 100-Foot Bluff
Copyright (text): © Andrew Morkes
Copyright (photos): © Andrew Morkes, except the following bird photos: cedar waxwing, Bill Thompson, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); great blue heron, George Gentry, USFWS; hairy woodpecker, Laurie Sheppard, USFWS; pileated woodpecker, Jim Hudgins, USFWS; red-headed woodpecker, Ann Marvinn Patterson; white breasted nuthatch, Bill Thompson, USFWS
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 writer and editor 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.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 80 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, College Readiness: The Vault Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors, the Vault Career Guide to Consulting, 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 those in the Careers in the Building Trades, Hands-On Careers, Social Media Today, Woman in STEM Careers, Getting Started, and Cool Careers in Science series). Many titles that I have written and edited have received positive reviews in Booklist; Voice of Youth Advocates; Library Bookwatch; CHOICE, a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association); and other publications.
Here’s a list of the environmental- and clean energy-focused titles that I’ve written or co-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)
- Women in Environmental Sciences (Women in STEM Careers)
Articles about my work have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Practical Homeschooling, and other publications. My photographs of musicians, artists, and the natural world have been published in several books. My poetry has been published in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review. As an amateur artist, I’m pleased to say that four of my paintings were included in the 2025 Beverly Art Walk. Additionally, six of my photographs were featured in the 2026 Beverly Art Walk.