Chicago: Prairie Wetlands Loop
Escape the land of skyscrapers on this 3.6-mile, fi gure-8 circuit where wildlife-rich wetlands mix with undulating meadows and forested tracts.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 5.9
Waypoints
PWL001
Location: 42.2526588439941, -88.3200073242188
Head E past manicured ball fi elds.
PWL002
Location: 42.2527084350586, -88.3183670043945
L into woods on gravel trail
PWL003
Location: 42.2548789978027, -88.3156814575195
L @ 3-way through dense woods and hilly terrain
PWL004
Location: 42.2548713684082, -88.3124771118164
L @ 3-way; more woods and hills
PWL005
Location: 42.2555694580078, -88.311149597168
L @ 3-way; ahead, goldenrods bloom in a deer friendly meadow
PWL006
Location: 42.2567710876465, -88.3108978271484
L @ 3-way into Sternes Woods
PWL007
Location: 42.2593307495117, -88.3108291625976
Bottom of bluffs; head onto gravel road through stand of walnut trees
PWL008
Location: 42.2617301940918, -88.3079986572266
Turn R, heading around a groundwater-fed wetland with grasspink orchids (endangered in Illinois) and lady’s slipper
PWL009
Location: 42.2597999572754, -88.305793762207
L @ 3-way through canopies of hickory and oak
PWL010
Location: 42.2584800720215, -88.3062973022461
L @ 3-way back through WPT 6, heading S; @ WPT 5, go L
PWL011
Location: 42.2517890930176, -88.3118362426758
R @ 3-way onto Prairie Trail
PWL012
Location: 42.250659942627, -88.3174209594726
Take L down RR-tie stairs, then head S, crossing two small bridges around pond with a mix of willow, bluestem grasses, and patches of red pine; continue .4 mi. back to vehicle