Roughly 4 square miles of forest preserve. It's not in any particular town - unincorporated DuPage County between Darien and Lemont. This is the major outdoor activity place in the area. If you don't want to walk very far to see the Rocky Glen Waterfalls then there is a Waterfall Parking lot that's off of Bluff Road from Route 83 and I believe you will see signs pointing tot he Rocky Glen Waterfalls off of the Rocky Glen Trail Further down I also saw the Sawmill Creek Bluff Overlook, which is an interesting site to see. Yes three miles is a hike however was rewarded in seeing the actual waterfalls and enjoying watching families relaxing and playing in the water. It was a good opportunity to hike and walk along the Main Trail, which is comprised of crushed gravel and enjoy the lush green trees along the way. Fortunately there are maps available at the Information sites and I ran into a lady walking her dogs who pointed me in the right direction, also there were signs pointing in the direction of the waterfalls. The Rocky Glen Waterfall was three miles from where I parked and it took me awhile to find it. There are a few ares within the forest preserve where you can park, I decided to park in the parking right off of Northgate, which is Mile 0.0. It is a very well-maintained forest preserve.įirst time visiting Waterfall Glen so decided to check it out. But, all in all, Waterfall Glen has a fantastic trail system providing great enjoyment of the outdoors. One negative about the trail is the one major road crossing at busy Cass Avenue at Mile marker 9 (almost the end of the loop). Another nice feature in the preserve is a model-airplane field at Mile 3. There is a Des Plaines River overlook at Mile 5, but the view is mostly shrouded by trees. Miles 5-7 are quite hilly and have more bugs. About the loop trail, I would say the best stretch is the first five miles starting from the main parking lot at Cass Avenue and I-55. The beautiful Sawmill Creek Bluff Overlook is not too far from here also. The waterfall is a prime attraction in the forest preserve so the small lot gets pretty full. This parking lot provides the closest access to Rocky Glen Waterfall (half mile walk). There are several access points for the loop trail with ample parking space, except the parking lot on Bluff Road. The scenery is beautiful all through with varied vegetation. The main trail is the loop trail which is about 9.4 miles long, and traverses through level meadows and challenging hilly sections. Occasionally, informative placards are posted along the trails about local history and biodiversity. The well maintained and well marked trails are wide enough so that two way traffic is not an issue. The trails are paved with fine crushed stone. I have biked and hiked the beautiful trails here quite often. If it fits with your itinerary, it's definitely worth the stop.Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien is an awesome place for recreation in nature. This was one of our many highlights on our trip to Ireland. I've been to more impressive falls, but this was a great respite in the midst of a few days of visiting medieval ruins and historical sites. It didn't take long to find our way back from the falls, but it was not immediately obvious from the trail markers how to do so. We opted not to purchase a map to the grounds since it didn't seem that large, but we actually did get turned around at one point. They took a bunch of selfies and the walking route near the falls themselves felt like a short, but very manageable hike. We all loved touring the grounds and the gardens en route to the Waterfall that gives the spot its name.īoth my kids (15 year old daughter and 10 year old son) really enjoyed this spot. The entry fee was very reasonable though I can't recall exactly how much anymore. On arrival, we purchased a family entry from the lonely hut at the entrance to the Glen which was manned by a local teen. Then it was on to this somewhat hidden gem. We first drove to Thomastown for breakfast at the Blackberry Cafe which I also highly recommend. This was one of them, but it fit our schedule on the day we left Kilkenny and headed to Dingle. On our recent trip to Ireland from the states, my daughter had researched a few places which I thought we simply wouldn't have time to see.
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