Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve

Great dog park. Very nice crowd of dogs. Scenery is beautiful. Trails are near busy streets but there are many crossings to make getting around safer.

Nothing too major. Basically just a leisurely trail about 5 or so miles long. A model airplane air field and an open area for dogs to play. The rest rooms on the west entrance are decent but the ones on the east side are just glorified large pot-​a-​pottys.

Springbrook Prairie is freaking awesome. Seriously, it’s a gem in the midst of disgusting suburban sprawl and strip malls. (That said, if looking out across a beautiful, serene prairie and seeing a looming Wal*Mart in the distance is enough to make you cry, maybe… don’t put on your glasses when you stop by.)
The main path here is about 5.5 miles in a loop, which can’t really be shortened unless you want to take an out-​and-​back approach. There are mile markers every half mile, so that’s not terribly difficult to execute.
I, somewhat stupidly, decided to cut the loop shorter by running the eastern part of the loop and cutting off at Book Road. DO NOT GO RUNNING ON BOOK ROAD. Please learn from my experience. The speed limit is 50 mph and there’s no sidewalk. The shoulder is teeny-​tiny, and the grass next to it isn’t exactly on level ground (although it is well manicured).
Anyway, Springbrook Prairie is simply stunning. I’m not used to prairie (being that I’ve spent the majority of my life on the east coast in tree and mountain territory) and was expecting this place to be rather boring. I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of the tall grass and wildflowers, punctuated by an occasional short, stubby tree.

I really enjoyed this trail. It offers amazing views and makes you feel like you are out in the middle of the country. The entire trail is 7 miles, but you can alter that with the looping paths. If your really adventurous it connects to the Southern DuPage trail (found out by accident and had a ten mile detour oops).

Gorgeous! Absolutely stunning. These photos say it all.
I was struggling with writer’s block for a while. Sitting in this quiet preserve broke my funk.
If you’re traveling to Chicago and have car access… make sure you visit here. You will not regret your decision.

Amazing trail. This forest preserve is clean and beautiful. A great place to go for a run. Just watch out for the horse poop on the trail– horseback riding is allowed as well.

Beautiful reserve with simple gravel trails. It’s a great local place to spend a couple of hours enjoying the day. There is a model airplane field located in the reserve as well. Note that you do need an annual permit to fly there. The park allows leashed pets as well. There are restrooms located on the east side of the reserve, at the Plainfield/​Naperville road entrance.

I walked my dog at Springbrook, and we really enjoyed it. I assume my dog enjoyed it, because the paths are really nice and there are a lot of flowers/​long grass for him to smell and tinkle on. The views of the sky from the trail are really beautiful. It’s nice to have a relatively large slice of nature carved out in the otherwise real estate and business filled area.

If you do not understand the concept of a prairie landscape, it is possible that the words «forest preserve» may confuse you.
What this place is not: an actual forest. Look elsewhere in Chicagoland for a solitary walk in the deep woods, for you will not find it at this location. Know also that this is not truly the prairies of the old horizon folk, where it seemed that the earth was entirely composed of tall, swaying grass, and buffalo. You’ll need to head to the Dakotas for that.
What this is: a very nice preserve of wide open, beautiful green and golden space, teeming with life. The paths are a meandering 5.5 miles of crushed gravel that loop among tall grass, native Illinois vegetation, and a couple of handfuls of trees — all very well-​maintained by DuPage County.
This is where you can enjoy a purely Midwestern landscape, while riding or running, or just moseying along — taking in the sights and sounds of an Illinois prairie. Yes, this preserve is surrounded by busy roads, and you can hear traffic. Off in the distance, there are big box stores, homes, a golf course… This is Chicagoland, after all. But don’t let this stop you from visiting and appreciating this place, often. Head out on the path at dusk or dawn. Walk toward the interior of the preserve. Slow down and take the time to stop looking at the evidence of suburbia beyond the preserve, and you may be able to appreciate your immediate surroundings. You will hear the many species of birds that call this prairie home. You might see a deer, or a coyote. Butterfies. Hear an owl hoot at dusk. Enjoy watching the sun play off the grass and wildflowers.
If you are heading here to catch some exercise, remember that because this is a prairie, there aren’t that many trees to provide shade. If it is hot and sunny, wear a hat, bring water, and maybe avoid high noon. I’m not sure how one could manage to get physically lost here… the place is large, but flat, and you can usually see the edges of the preserve from wherever you are at.

I appreciate native landscape in my neighborhood which is diminishing so quickly in this area. The limestone trails are good for bikers, runners, walkers and ski in winter.
Without much shade you are completely exposed to the elements although there are a couple sheltered areas near the parking lots off 83^rd St and the other at Naper-​Plainfield. There are restrooms in these areas as well.
I am glad the park district is offering more community involvement through the support of volunteer servicing and educational opportunities for all ages focusing on environmental resources and sustenance of natural ecosystems.
I also appreciate the natural log benches that are offered every mile or two for people who are there for expressionistic opportunities and need to gather or adjust camera equipment or drawing materials.
I thank the crews for maintaining the property as well as they can in budget. I enjoy watching the burns, the youth groups, and other volunteers who clean up litter. I do wish the wildlife was more prolific as I’ve noticed a decrease over the years especially in the monarch butterfly and kestrel populations.
I will always return here or drive through just for a taste of the serenity and greatness of nature right in my neighborhood.

This is a 5.5 mile looped trail. The trail is an 8 foot wide crushed limestone path that goes around a prairie. The first thing I noticed was there were no trees along the path to provide any shade! This is a nice trail for exercising, but I did not feel secluded in the wilderness. First, you could see across the prairie to the other side of the trail. Then there was too much traffic noise from the bordering streets of 75^th Street and Plainfield Road. Again, this is a great exercising loop for the locals.
The most memorable moment was when I crossed this wooden bridge. I felt as if I were walking into a beautiful picturesque painting! It really was awesome!

I love to run here! Great path!

Beautiful native prairie right in the middle of Naperville! I spend many days running and riding the trail here. I love how close this is to everything, yet you can feel like you’re in the middle of nature here. I love watching the birds, coyotes, and other wildlife while I’m here. I’m going to give a quick rundown of the terrain for runners.
Parking is available off Naper-​Plainfield between 75^th and 87^th, or you can park off Book Rd & 83^rd. As the main spur of this trail is a circle, it makes no difference which side you park on. There are bathrooms at both parking lots, so you’re covered.
The total elevation change on the path is no more than 50ft, so it’s pretty flat. If you choose to run from East to West (clockwise if you’re facing 75^th St.) the path will be more downhill. In all the main spur is 5.5 miles, with one additional branch that goes East to Modaff Rd. There’s no shade on this path whatsoever, so it gets real hot in the summer. Given how open the space is, there’s a healthy amount of wind on a daily basis. There are also two spots where you have to cross the street @ Book Rd. I like to ditch spare water at the street crossings.
Last, please pick up your gel packs. Every time I’m out here the trail is just littered with them. It’s easy to stash your used ones in a pocket or your hydration belt. Destroy the competition, not the Earth!

For those who enjoy walking on nature trails, this is a good one. There is a 5.9 mile main loop on crushed limestone that offers some good prairie views. The trail is pretty wide, so even if there are bikers or runners, they don’t disturb walkers. I didn’t see any maps, although there might have been some that I missed. I used Google maps and the My Tracks app to make my way, so not having a map didn’t bother me. For about 90% or more, the trail is open to the sun, so bring some sunscreen and carry some water. I would give this five stars, but being so close to some busy roads for around 30% or so of the walk detracts from the enjoyment of nature a bit. Still, it is a nice place and I recommend it to those who live nearby.

This path is okay. I agree with most of the reviews. The issue is really this… you can get lost. I hate paths that are hard to read. I’m a runner and I really don’t want to think about my route — i want to run and then turnaround and come back.
This path is so hard to run on because –once you start running the path has these different color shapes (like that is way for me to navigate around) –give me a break.
So I set out to run 5 miles — on a hot 80 degree day…
I’m on 3^rd mile and I come to a place in the path rather I should go right or left. On the right is a red circle on the left a blue triangle.
So I’m like — I’ll just turn right and follow the red circle — then I get to another split in the road and it’s a yellow star and orange square.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
I’m not a hard core camper, mountain climber, explorer, etc. So I don’t get a thrill of going on a new route and getting lost and trying to navigate back with visual cues, shapes, wind direction, sun guages, etc –
Get a clue — How come I’m the only one that has an issue with this.

This much I know: I’d like it that on my 80^th birthday I got a bicycle, preferably a big blue beauty with high handle bars and classic wear and tear. A basket holstered on the bars for all of the yarn, fresh baguettes and fresh flowers that I bought at a farmers market. And a snazzy straw hat because those UV rays can be damaging on aged skin.
Flashback to the present where I am not dashing in and out of alleys or along the narrow streets but through the vast amount of prairie lands in the suburbs. Sans bicycle.
There are some days where you just need to get off of the lazy bones, and get yourself outside. Even with this newfound gym membership, the sun was out and it wasn’t too drafty so why not tread some pavement and clear the conscience.
I parked myself off of Naperville/​Plainfield Rd, snagged the sunglasses and busted out tunes by Kesha. She’s the guilty pleasure of working out, since she’s such a dirty girl and all and when you work out. You’re just getting plain dirty. Though in this case, it was walking so the dirty-​ness will be taken up with the gym later. The paths are clearly marked and coming from someone who is used to having paths littered with really bad unmentionables, I was completely impressed with the cleanliness of the gravel lanes throughout the prairie.
The paths seem endless and the prairie is a prime area to zone out and collect your thoughts. Or have a meeting or walking date in motion. Fall is definitely here and can be seen across the open fields with the many trees that have leaves turning to a more golden hue instead of the rich greens. Along the paths that stretch very far and are at a comfortable level with slight inclines here and there, everyone is friendly and if they’re not on their ipod either or whizzing by on their five speeds, they will give a warm greeting.
For those of you who have mechanical planes, there’s a section just for you. A gated and freshly mowed plane field with fully marked lanes and a landing strip.
So apart from having really great open paths that aren’t filled with raging Lance Armstrong followers and grimy garbage and homeless bums, there’s a little bit for everyone. This including a mini picnic gazebo that would be a great way to end a little adventure.
This girl isn’t a 5 speeder so I’ll keep anticipating that birthday but until then, I’ll strap on the tennis shoes and get my groove on, pavement style.
P. S. If you park off of the Naperville/​Plainfield there’s washrooms. Just in case you needed to know.

Great Place for a Hike, Run or Bike Ride. Loop Trail of crushed limestone that is about 6 miles long, with an additional 1.5 mile spurr. You can do the loop and spur for a 9 mile ride, or an additional loop for 15 miles.
This is a prairie, so there are not many trees. Expect it to be windy at times, and there is very little shade on a hot sunny day.
Small parking lot off Naperville/​Plainfield Road or a much larger parking lot with nice bathrooms off 83^rd Street just West of Book.

Great place to spend a weekend morning, running or cycling. I only wish that there was a circuit on each side of book road instead of the circuit going all the way around the entire park. No biggie. i do agree w/​other Unilocalers that there does seem to be alot of poo in the middle of the path. I thought it was from all the dog walkers but i suppose it could be from wildlife as well.
I’ve never had issues with parking, there’s a clean bathroom w/​water at the two main lots. nice oasis in the middle of the suburban sprawl.

I’m really glad that the proposal ten years ago to add an artificial lake fell through. I mean, what the hell? What a disaster that would be; think of all the traffic.
The park district has put a lot of work into this place in the past five or six years. There is not a lot of places in Naperville to get active; the Riverwalk is fine, but mainly for walking or jogging, and even that is a pretty short distance.
I’m glad they moved the dog park over to Book Road, it was kind of destroying things. Now if they could just move the model airplane field, that would be great. Those things are cool, but also noisy and bothersome. It doesn’t really fit into the natural atmosphere and since the recreational road winds through the field, I could easily imagine some people/​model plane collisions.
The wetlands is an amazing project. They used to be located in what is now the subdivision on the other side of Naper-​Plainfield. When developers in the 80s wanted to build there, the city made them relocated the wetlands, which considered one of the best mitigated wetlands in the state.

A very nice project by the FPD of Dupage County. The main parking lots are located on Naper Plainfield south of 75^th, and on 83^rd Street west of Book Rd.
The «main» loop of crushed limestone is about 6 miles — but there is a total of about 13 miles in the preserve. It’s one of the better places for a run/​walk/​bike/​CC Ski in the western burbs, save for the fact that it’s a prairie, meaning… well, it’s freaking flat.
There’s probably a total of 3 hills you’ll «feel the burn» (burn is a little too aggressive of a word).
Things are kept interesting though — the path isn’t completely straight, it’ll wind around the entire prairie, taking you over some streams, crossing some streets, up and down some hills, by the off-​leash dog park, and passing the model aircraft field.
There are a couple pavilions along the path, near each parking lot.
There are usually a couple packs of deer on the prarie, and Cooper’s Hawks are not uncommon.
The only real drawback of this place is the FPD refusal to put in path to access the interior of the prairie. There is sort of an unofficial path (known as «the path») but I’m sure eventually that will get shut down, so get out on «the path» while you can.