It’s time you rode the Buffalo Creek trails!
By
Sue Montgomery
Posted: 2020-07-06T17:52:00Z
More than five miles of smooth, wide limestone trails make Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve a truly great family destination! Younger riders will enjoy cycling the flat expanses of trail, crossing various bodies of water and experiencing nature up close.
Colorful wildflowers abound. Trails are well marked and almost entirely flat with broad, expansive vistas. Depending on when you visit, you may see herons, egrets, and lots and lots of prairie-loving birds. The west side is tall-grass prairie; trails on the east side include several wide board-walks and bridges that connect a series of lakes whose size and depth vary depending on recent rainfall amounts.
Originally tallgrass prairie interspersed with wetlands, the George Popp family began dairy farming the land in 1884 then switched to farming grain crops such as wheat, soybeans and corn. Land acquisition and prairie restoration here began about 40 years ago with an eye toward eventual flood mitigation. Tree plantings and other improvements are ongoing.
Getting to Buffalo Creek is a snap. It’s an easy bike ride from Palatine via the Palatine Trail and Arlington Heights’ wide, designated bike-route streets. There’s an unofficial entrance trail on Lake Cook Road across from the north end of Wilke Road. But to cross Lake Cook and enter here, you’ll have to wait until a car on Wilke triggers the traffic light. There are no pedestrian buttons yet. (For update, see below)
Check https://www.lcfpd.org/buffalo-creek for other entrances, vehicle parking information, pictures, and more. Though the newer trails are still officially “closed,” and not yet shown on the website, all the trails are fully usable and being enjoyed by bikers and walkers alike. Enjoy!
[Photos courtesy of Lake County Forest Preserves]
UPDATE: Per the 8-24-20 Daily Herald:
Path construction into the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve in Lake County was approved with construction set to begin any day now, linking the north side of Lake-Cook Road near Wilke Road in Arlington Heights with the Buffalo Creek trail system. The new 8-foot-wide gravel path and other improvements including painted crosswalks, push button activated traffic signals, and accessible ramps should be ready for walking and biking in the fall. For more details, check the Daily Herald article:
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20200824/new-trail-will-link-arlington-heights-to-buffalo-creek-preserve
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