Forest Preserve Begins Annual Woods Walk Challenge

BOLINGBROOK, IL — The Forest Preserve District of Will County kicked off its annual Woods Walk challenge on Sept. 1. The challenge, which runs through Nov. 30, encourages you to explore different trails during autumn.

The free program is for all ages, and is sponsored by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Woods Walk is celebrating its 24th anniversary this year, and the popular challenge is the Forest Preserve District’s longest-running program, the preserve said in a news release.

“I think it’s a popular program because people can complete the hiking challenges on their own timeline,” said Eilleen Koran, the Forest Preserve’s recreation coordinator. “It also gives people a reason to break out of their routines, hike at different preserves and make new outdoor discoveries without ever leaving the county.”

Participants who complete seven of 10 preselected trails will earn a medallion that can be pinned to a backpack or tacked on to a walking stick, the preserve said. The medallions change each year and have become collector’s items for longtime Woods Walk hikers.

“This year’s medallion features the silhouette of a white-tailed deer, which is the state animal of Illinois,” Koran said.

The 2026 Woods Walk trails range from 0.5 to 4.25 miles in length.

“We choose a range of trails to encourage people to explore paths throughout the county and discover new preserves that they haven’t visited before,” Koran said in a release. “There are a variety of habitats that these selected trails feature. Hikers will go through grasslands and forests and along wetlands and streams. Each hike offers something new to explore and cool things to see.”

All the hikes are under 5 miles so that people can squeeze them into their busy lives, she added.

This year’s featured trails are:

• Hidden Oaks Preserve, Bolingbrook, 1.25 miles
• Keepataw Preserve, DuPage Township, 0.5 miles
• Prairie Bluff Preserve, Crest Hill, 2.75 miles
• Rock Run Preserve — Paul V. Nichols, Joliet, 2 miles
• Joliet Iron Works Historic Site, Joliet, 2.5 miles
• Hickory Creek Preserve — Hickory Creek Barrens, 3.5 miles
• Plum Valley Preserve, Crete Township, 2 miles
• McKinley Woods — Kerry Sheridan Grove, Channahon, 1.5 miles
• Monee Reservoir, Monee Township, 2.25 miles
• Forked Creek Preserve — Ballou Road Access, Wesley Township, 4.25 miles

To get started, you can download the free Goosechase app on your smartphone and search for Woods Walk once the program begins Sept. 1. The app will allow you to track your walks.

You can also track walks using a hard-copy travel log available at the following Forest Preserve locations: Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon; Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook; Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville; Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township; and Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet, the preserve shared.

The deadline for submitting a completed travel log is Dec. 7.