Fort Sheridan's Trails & Exhibits
New trails and parking area are now open at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, providing the first official public access to this section of Lake Michigan shoreline in over 100 years.
The 1.3-mile Lake Michigan Trail runs from Old Elm Road at Sheridan Road through the Preserve to Lake Michigan, where visitors can enjoy 0.75 miles of shoreline owned and managed by the Lake County Forest Preserves. Swimming and boating are not allowed on this section of Lake Michigan.
A 0.3-mile asphalt educational trail loops around the Preserve's historic parade grounds, and a 0.3-mile woodchip trail provides scenic views. The trail also features an expansive trail bridge over an ecologically sensitive ravine.
The new trails and bridge are part of the Preserve's Master Plan, approved in 2003 by the Lake County Board of Commissioners to improve public access to Lake Michigan and preserve natural resources including restoring 65 acres of native prairies and plantings and stabilizing ecologically sensitive ravines.
Download Fort Sheridan Trail Map
Learning opportunities
Designed and built by Taylor Studios, several interpretive exhibits along the trails explore the fort's unique natural resources and rich military history. An oversized Red-Tailed Hawk's Nest educates visitors about this raptor's unique characteristics and allows them to see through the “eyes” of a hawk at an adjustable viewing station. Further down the Lake Michigan Trail, and overlooking the lake, is a Coastal Artillery Exhibit. This exhibit is a replication of the firing positions located at the fort, which were used by the Army for training purposes through World War II. Adjacent to this exhibit is an exhibit on Bird Migration, complete with viewing scopes and interpretive panels about the migrant bird species that frequent the lakefront.
To access the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, take Old Elm Road east of Sheridan Road, turn left on Leonard Wood Circle North and left again on Gilgare Road.
The Preserve is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to sunset.
Take an Audio Tour of Fort Sheridan
Download the following files to your MP3 player:
Fort Sheridan Audio Tour - MP3 Transcript
Fort Sheridan Artillery Exhibit - MP3 Transcript
Fort Sheridan Hawk's Nest - MP3 Transcript
MP3 Download instructions:
On a PC, download each audio file by right clicking on the MP3 link and saving the file to your computer.
On a Mac, download each audio file by control-clicking on the MP3 link and saving the file to your computer.
Take a Virtual 360° Tour by clicking on the images below. QuickTime plug-in required - Download QuickTime
Once window opens, click on image and drag to navigate.
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| Coastal Artillery Exhibit |
Hawk's Nest |
Parade Grounds |
Ravine |
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