Sauk Trail Woods
Encyclopedia
Sauk Trail Woods are located within the Cook County Forest Preserves
in Park Forest and Chicago Heights, Illinois
. They are part of the Thorn Creek Trail System. They contain miles of paved bike trails and off-trail dirt paths. Sauk Trail Woods contains Sauk Lake
and Thorn Creek
. The topography is fairly hilly, featuring ravines and steep, eroded hillsides. The elevation is the highest on the outskirts of the preserve. Then, as one goes into the Thorn Creek River Valley, you descend steep hills and sandy bluffs. There is an abundance of ravines that have been cut by creeks flowing into the valley. Many of the ravines are surprisingly deep near the bottom of the valley. Most of the Sauk Trail Woods Preserve is covered by dense woods, however there are some open prairie areas. In the northwest section of the woods, there is a fairly large marsh, that is surrounded by thick pompus grass and shallow bogs.
The woods are located on the Valparaiso Moraine
, which accounts for the hilliness of the area. There are many parking lots with pavilions situated throughout the preserve.
Cook County Forest Preserves
The Cook County Forest Preserves are a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are set aside as natural areas. Cook County contains Chicago, Illinois, and is the center of a densely-populated urban metropolitan area in northeastern Illinois...
in Park Forest and Chicago Heights, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. They are part of the Thorn Creek Trail System. They contain miles of paved bike trails and off-trail dirt paths. Sauk Trail Woods contains Sauk Lake
Sauk Lake
Sauk Lake is a small, freshwater lake located in Cook County, Illinois, between the municipalities of Park Forest, Illinois and Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is an enlarged portion of Thorn Creek created by a dam on the south side of 26th Street, which borders the lake to the north. It is...
and Thorn Creek
Thorn Creek
Thorn Creek is a tributary of the Little Calumet River that travels through Will and Cook counties in northeastern Illinois just south of Chicago. It starts in the high land of the Valparaiso Moraine before dropping to the lower elevations of the Little Calumet River valley. Along its path it has...
. The topography is fairly hilly, featuring ravines and steep, eroded hillsides. The elevation is the highest on the outskirts of the preserve. Then, as one goes into the Thorn Creek River Valley, you descend steep hills and sandy bluffs. There is an abundance of ravines that have been cut by creeks flowing into the valley. Many of the ravines are surprisingly deep near the bottom of the valley. Most of the Sauk Trail Woods Preserve is covered by dense woods, however there are some open prairie areas. In the northwest section of the woods, there is a fairly large marsh, that is surrounded by thick pompus grass and shallow bogs.
The woods are located on the Valparaiso Moraine
Valparaiso Moraine
The Valparaiso Moraine is a terminal moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is a band of high, hilly terrain made up of glacial till and sand that reaches an elevation of near 300 feet above the level of Lake Michigan at its maximum height in Indiana and 17 miles wide at its...
, which accounts for the hilliness of the area. There are many parking lots with pavilions situated throughout the preserve.
See also
- North Creek WoodsNorth Creek WoodsThe North Creek Woods or North Creek Meadow is located within the Cook County Forest Preserves in Lansing, Illinois. The woods are connected to the other forest preserves of the Thorn Creek Trailsystem. They are named after North Creek, a tributary of Thorn Creek that runs through the woods...
- Cook County Forest PreservesCook County Forest PreservesThe Cook County Forest Preserves are a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are set aside as natural areas. Cook County contains Chicago, Illinois, and is the center of a densely-populated urban metropolitan area in northeastern Illinois...
- Ned Brown Forest PreserveNed Brown Forest PreserveThe Ned Brown Forest Preserve, popularly known as Busse Woods, adjoining Elk Grove Village, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois, is a 3,700-acre unit of the Cook County Forest Preserve system...