Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve Guided Tour
Public Welcome Family Friendly Free Event Nature Walk/Hike
Kevin Collins, a former volunteer of this site, will lead a tour of Bluff Spring Fen. The Fen is an Illinois Nature Preserve located on the East side of Elgin, IL, which contains over 450 native plant species and should be a riot of color in early July.
The preserve is a one-hundred-acre mosaic of gravel hill prairies (Kames), sedge meadows, oak savannas, marshes, mesic prairies, and cold alkaline springs dotting the landscape.
The fen is a rare Illinois gem because of its composite of ecosystems: prairie, woodland, ponds, streams, and wetlands all in one location. As part of the Cook County Forest Preserve, this Illinois Nature Preserve is home to a rich diversity of various native plants, amphibians, insects, and birds.
Dress in clothing that will discourage ticks, long pants and socks recommended. There are no restroom facilities.
Directions:
Take Illinois Route 59 north to West Bartlett Road, turn left (west) to Gifford Road. Turn right (north) on Gifford and proceed to Bluff City Blvd. Make a left (west) and look for Bluff City Cemetery. Turn left through the main gate and take the road to the bottom of the cemetery (make no turns). There is a small parking lot that will fill quickly. You may park along the cemetery's numerous small roads.