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  • Saturday, December 14, 2024
East Peoria:

Temperature: 27°

overcast clouds

High: 28, Low: 25

Humidity: 85%

Wind: 8mph E

The Fon du Lac Park District’s Spring Creek Preserve consists of 262 acres of wooded bluffs, bottomland, and old farm fields and is managed as a natural area with hiking trails.  The preserve is home to many species of birds, animals, butterflies, trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.   Access is from Spring Creek Road.  The parking lot is about 0.2 miles east of the intersection with Highway 116.  The park is rather new and is still under development, but a number of hiking trails are now mowed and maintained and are accessible from the parking lot.  The trails are marked with signs.

  • The Old Fields Loop is a gentle walk of about 2 miles. It goes around the edges of the three old farm fields in the bottomland, and then returns to the starting point.
  • The Woodland Loop makes a moderate climb through oak and maple woods to the top of the north bluff, which is about 200 feet higher than the parking lot. The trail continues eastward along the bluff top and then descends along a ridge to the bottomland again, eventually coming out on the Old Fields Loop.  It is about 1.5 miles in length.
  • The North Bluff Trail climbs the bluff more steeply than the Woodland Loop but offers nice views to the north as it traverses the bluff. It links up with the Woodland Loop after about 0.5 miles.
  • Added in 2022 – Mounds Trail, which runs between Grosenbach Road and the Old Fields Loop (Field A).  Along the way it circuits an ancient Indian mound and passes through a lovely ravine.  The Valley View, which overlooks the Spring Creek Valley and a new parking lot along Grosenbach Road.
  • New for 2024 –  Oxbow Overlook

 

Stream crossings are dry much of the year, but no footbridges are yet in place.

CLICK HERE – to download map (09-2024 updated)