Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve
Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve features 274 acres of rolling terrain, bluffs, ravines, and mature trees set on the Lake Michigan shoreline, along with the 18-hole Fort Sheridan Golf Course (currently closed for renovations). Over the next few years the Lake County Forest Preserves will be renovating this unique site to preserve its valuable ecosystems and provide new opportunities for public access to Lake Michigan .
New trails and a temporary parking area are now open at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. These trails offer the first official public access to this section of the Lake Michigan shoreline in over 100 years. Two asphalt-paved trails provide 1.3 miles for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. An additional 0.3-mile woodchip trail is open for hiking and cross-country skiing. For a map and virtual tours of the trails, click here.
In addition to the golf course renovations at Fort Sheridan, future restoration efforts will focus on the unique natural habitats located on the Preserve.
The Preserve is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to sunset.
The Natural Scene
A unique Lake Michigan natural resource, Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is of national significance. Its bluff areas contain the largest and best remaining examples of natural open prairie-like vegetation that once occurred along the lake bluffs in Illinois. One of its six rare ravines – Janes Ravine – is one of the few remaining examples of mesic and dry-mesic upland forests. The ravines and lakeshore provide a protected home for several endangered and threatened species.
Fort Sheridan Golf Club
The golf course is now closed to the public so that work can begin to accomplish the goals set forth in the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Master Plan, approved by the Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners in April 2003.
As with other Lake County Forest Preserves golf courses, the Fort Sheridan course will be managed according to Audubon Sanctuary guidelines that promote wildlife habitat and reduce water, energy, and chemical usage.
Location
Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is located in southeast Lake County, adjacent to the communities of Highland Park, Highwood, and Lake Forest . The entrance is located at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Elm Road, just north of Half Day Road (Route 22). 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.
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