Des Plaines SFWA

The next park we visited over the summer of 2023 was Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area. This park is located in Will County, just off of interstate 55 in Wilmington. We visited on an overcast day, with the plan of exploring the nature preserve that is onsite.

The land was owned by the Federal Government before 1948, before being acquired by the Department of Conservation, and was mostly used by hunters. After 1975, some facility upgrades were made and the park turned into what it is today.

When you get close to the exit for this park, what you will discover very quickly is that Midewin National Prairie is practically next door. Looking on AllTrails, nearly every hiking option is going to be there. Des Plaines SFWA is definitely overshadowed by the National Prairie, especially with the introduction of bison in 2015. We do plan to visit Midewin at some point, even though it is not a state park, but this particular day we were focused on Des Plaines.

While Des Plaines SFWA does have an 80 acre nature preserve, the highlight of the park is actually all of the other activities. Fishing and boating are available, as well as many different dog training events throughout the year, but it seemed to us that the most popular activities were the hand trap and archery ranges, both of which were in use the day we went. We were not expecting it to be as busy as it was. In this same area, there is also access to a 12 mile equestrian trail.

We drove past all of that, in favor of finding the trailhead for the nature preserve. After parking, and walking a short distance to a small bit of river with a bridge crossing into more of the preserve, but there was a table positioned in such a way that would discourage people from crossing, and looking past that it seemed quite overgrown. After looking into it further, hiking is not really promoted in this park. According to the IDNR, visitors are encouraged to view the area, but all the plants and animals are protected and are not to be disturbed in any way. With how overgrown it was, we were concerned about ticks, so we stayed by the bridge, and watched nature there for a while.

This was also the second time we encountered power lines in close proximity, and were equally unsettled at the realization that we could hear the electricity. Anyone with a sensitivity to that, beware.

Aside from overgrown flora and very loud electricity, what we did see we really enjoyed. It was very pretty, with lots to see in the river. We saw a frog in the shallow water, as well as plenty of fish.

Returning to the main area, we walked a little bit of the equestrian trail and took a few more photos before heading back.

The brewery that we went to that day with the intention of featuring was MyGrain Brewing in Joliet, but it has since closed. So instead, we will recommend giving Mad Hatchet Brewing or Will County Brewing. Both are old favorites of ours, and are closer to the park than Joliet is.

All in all, Des Plaines SFWA was an interesting experience. If you are interested in recreation activities, it is a great option. On the other hand, hiking here is not the greatest, and it may be worth checking out Midewin down the road if a good hike is what you want out of your day.