Your Preserves

Print This Page

ALL PUBLIC BUILDINGS, RESTROOMS, PLAYGROUNDS AND DOG EXERCISE AREAS ARE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Preserves will remain open 6:30 am to sunset, but there will not be normal, regularly scheduled maintenance. Please pack it in, pack it out. Follow CDC guidelines for safe social distancing.

Learn more »

Heron Creek

Address

22890 N. Old McHenry Road
Lake Zurich, IL 60047

Hours

6:30 am–sunset, daily.

Picnic Shelters

Shelter A
Shelter B

Maps

Trail Map

Acreage

242 acres

Activities

Biking
Hiking
Picnic Shelter Rental
Cross-Country Skiing

Amenities

Picnic Tables
Playground
Drinking Water
Public Parking
Toilets
Trails
Picnic Shelters

Here you'll find valuable natural resources and sensitive wetlands in a country-like setting.

The preserve features a rolling landscape of scenic woodlands and open fields. The Indian Creek basin, which flows through the site, is an Advanced Identification Wetland (ADID), the highest wetland classification in Lake County. It offers exceptional wildlife habitat and plant communities including a sedge meadow.

Trails

Explore 2.5 miles of gravel trails for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing. Please keep dogs leashed and on trails at all times, and pick up after them. Learn about our off-leash Dog Parks (permit required).

Playground

An innovative playground provides a colorful series of tunnels, slides, ladders, bridges, decks and swings for children to climb and explore. The playground has two separate areas, one for ages 2–5, and one ages 5–12. Much of the playground is ramped for handicapped accessibility. There is also a sand pit, and lookout stations with views into the woods.

The Natural Scene

More than 116 species of birds appear here, including a resident population of waterfowl and herons. Six state endangered bird species, black tern, black-crowned night heron, yellow-crowned night heron, osprey, Forster's tern, and three state threatened bird species, brown creeper, pied-billed grebe and red-shouldered hawk have been found in the area.