Waterfall Glen, IL

Waterfall Glen’s prairies, savannas and oak-maple woodlands contain 740 native plants species, 75 percent of all the plants known to grow naturally in DuPage County. As a result of this rich variety, more than 300 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles and another 300 of invertebrates use the forest preserve either year-round or during their migrations. https://www.dupageforest.org/places-t…

Most of our videos are filmed in a full 360 arc, this means you should be able to use your device to move the video around and up and down. If you are having issues or if you are watching with VR goggles, click over and watch our Hike360vr playlist directly on YouTube.

We started at the main parking lot and circled around clockwise. The first point of reference is the 91st St. Marsh.

In 1925, the Forest Preserve District purchased its first 75 acres at Waterfall Glen, the Signal Hill and Rocky Glen areas. Rocky Glen soon became the site of the preserve’s well-known tiered falls, which the Civilian Conservation Corps built in the 1930s. In 1973, the preserve got its single largest addition — more than 2,200 acres of surplus land from the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. That same year, the District named the site Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, not after the familiar falls but in honor of Seymour “Bud” Waterfall, an early president of the District’s Board of Commissioners. https://www.dupageforest.org/places-t…

As it turned out, we were able to enter the Rocky Glen area from a different approach and found a lot of people enjoying the water.

By the late 1800s, though, the Ward Brothers’ mill was turning out lumber on Sawmill Creek, and Edwin Walker’s three quarries were yielding tons of quality Lemont, or Joliet, limestone for projects like the landmark Chicago Avenue Water Tower and Pumping Station. In 1907, the Lincoln Park Commission, a predecessor of the Chicago Park District, had its own 107 acres with a small nursery and a considerable supply of topsoil, which it used to fill in the shoreline along Lake Michigan to create the Lincoln Park area. https://www.dupageforest.org/places-t…

I love trains and we were careful to do a safety check before filming.

Forest Preserve District restoration efforts have also benefited Waterfall Glen’s 120-acre Poverty Prairie, a stable, diverse community with more than 339 native plant species and resident animals from meadowlarks and gray catbirds to western harvest mice. This dry prairie contains several native grasses, including poverty oat grass, which gives the area its name. https://www.dupageforest.org/places-t…

A large open field in the southwest section of Waterfall Glen is a popular spot for local model aircraft enthusiasts. For information on access to this area and use by qualified clubs, contact Visitor Services at 630-933-7248.

Waterfall Glen surrounds Argonne National Laboratory, one of the country’s premier science and engineering research centers. https://www.anl.gov/tour-the-lab

A closing recap, a little over 10 miles.

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