17 DANADA FOREST PRESERVE HIKE

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

LENGTH: 5 miles

CONFIGURATION: 2 loops

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SCENERY: Savannas, prairies, marshes, and a lake

EXPOSURE: Mostly open with some shade

SURFACE: Dirt and crushed limestone

HIKING TIME: 2–3 hours for both loops

DRIVING DISTANCE: 28 miles from Millennium Park, downtown Chicago

ACCESS: All year 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: No

FACILITIES: Water, restrooms, an equestrian facility, and banquet accommodations

MAPS: Maps available at trail board at edge of parking lot and on the DuPage County Forest Preserve website, dupageforest.com; USGS topo Wheaton, IL

SPECIAL COMMENTS: To learn about programs offered by the Danada Equestrian Center, call (630) 668-6012 or visit danada.info.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES

Latitude 407884

Longitude 4630038

Directions

From Chicago, take I-290 west to I-88. Follow I-88 for 12 miles until reaching Naperville Road. Follow Naperville Road to the left (north) for 0.8 mile; turn right at the sign for Danada.

Public transportation: Take the Union Pacific/West Metra Line to Wheaton. From the Wheaton station, it’s about a 5-mile bike ride along trails to Danada. In Wheaton, take the Prairie Path west as it runs beside the train tracks. When the Prairie Path forks, take the Aurora Branch left. At Butterfield Road, turn left and continue to Herrick Lake Forest Preserve. From Herrick Lake, follow the Regional Trail into Danada.

IN BRIEF

Nestled in an unlikely spot between subdivisions and I-88, Danada Forest Preserve offers some terrific hiking through wide-open prairies and gently sloping savannas. Once a training ground for top racehorses, Danada still caters to equestrians with an array of programs.

DESCRIPTION

Before the county acquired this 753-acre forest preserve, the land hosted a farm and a racehorse training facility owned by commodity trader Daniel Rice and his wife, Ada. After buying the property in 1929, they began raising wheat, corn, and livestock. Over the years, they built a 19-room mansion, a greenhouse, an employee boarding house, a swimming pool, formal gardens, a 26-stall Kentucky-style horse barn, and a horse-exercise track. The Rices entered their first horse in the Kentucky Derby in 1949. Fourteen years later, their horse Lucky Debonair won the Derby with the third fastest time in the history of the race. The following year their horse Abdicator took second place. The Rices sold their racehorse interests in the early 1970s for an estimated $5 million.

Once DuPage County bought Danada in 1980, it was reborn as a hiking and biking destination, as well as a place for beginning and intermediate equestrians to learn horse care and riding. Today, the Danada Equestrian Center offers an assortment of classes, lectures, trail and sleigh rides, and even a summer riding camp for kids.

Start the shorter 1.25-mile section of this hike on the wide gravel path known as the Regional Trail. Pick up the Regional Trail to the right of the mansion, and head east past the main barn and past trail marker 15. At marker 16, take a narrow trail on the right, which leads into a beautiful lightly rolling savanna known as Parson’s Grove. To hike the perimeter of the grove, stay to the right at the next four trail intersections. Once in the savanna, it’s difficult to miss the birds chattering continuously among the tall grasses and the abundant oaks. As the trail proceeds, the savanna undergoes subtle changes in the concentration of oaks and the varieties of grasses. On the trail surface, look for coyote scat—usually consisting of fur (coyotes are known for marking trails and even trail intersections with their scat).

The narrow path meets again with the Regional Trail 0.7 mile into the hike, at marker 17. Turn right and continue straight ahead, beyond the mapboard and the two-track intersection, for an expansive view of Rice Lake and the surrounding suburban development. Also visible is the continuation of the Regional Trail, which runs a mile along the shore of the lake to the intersection of Butterfield Road and Leask Lane. To the left is a trail leading up a small hill that provides an even better view of the prairie and the 40-acre man-made lake. After taking in the view, head back along the Regional Trail for 0.4 mile to the trailhead.

The longer 3.75-mile section of this hike begins by following the Regional Trail through the tunnel under Naperville Road, west of the parking lot. Coming out of the tunnel, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District Headquarters is on the left. Also on the left is Heroes’ Grove, a planting of 9 burr oaks and 11 white oaks dedicated to American heroism demonstrated on 9/11. After passing a gravel service road, the trail runs by horseracing starting gates and the beginning of the horse exercise track. After the gates, there’s another gravel service road on the right, which leads a half mile north to a small, 1950s-style model farm that operates in the northeastern section of the preserve.

As the trail enters Danada’s wide-open prairie, hikers may want to refer to a sign along the way that will help them identify common prairie grasses such as goldenrod, big bluestem, compass plant, and Indian grass. This flat, grassy landscape draws in the birds, particularly swallows, goldfinches, and sparrows. Also common are brown-headed cowbirds, a member of the blackbird family known as a “brood parasite” because the female lays its eggs in the nests of the other birds, often to the detriment of the host’s young.

At 1.2 miles from the parking lot, a marshy area appears on the right. Just after the mileage board, take the fork to the right. Clusters of trees and shrubs start to interrupt the grassy prairie just before reaching an intersection at 1.7 miles. At the intersection, stay left. Finish the loop at 2.3 miles and turn right, heading back the way you came. Follow the Regional Trail 0.9 mile back through the savanna and prairie. After passing through the tunnel, the parking lot is straight ahead.

NEARBY ACTIVITIES

For those who want more of the open vistas seen on the prairie hike, continue beyond the final loop to the Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, which offers several miles of hiking.