22nd annual Will County Woods Walk challenge begins Sunday

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s annual Woods Walk hiking challenge begins Sunday, Sept. 1, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 30.

Participants who hike at least seven of 10 designated trails earn a special medallion that can be pinned to a backpack or walking stick. The 2024 medallion will feature a bald eagle for the first time in the challenge’s history.

“We were thrilled at the hatching of seven eaglets in four nests in the preserves this spring and wanted to commemorate the boom,” Em Wilcher, the Forest Preserve’s recreation coordinator, said in a news release announcing the event.

Brittany Schaller, who now works for the Forest Preserve District as an interpretive naturalist, said Woods Walk was the first program she participated in when she discovered the Forest Preserve back in 2011. She has completed 10 more since then.

”The best thing about this program is that you don’t have to reserve a specific date or time to complete these hikes,” Schaller said in the release. “You can complete the hikes whenever you feel the urge to be in nature within the three-month time frame.”

This year’s trails are:

• Forsythe Woods Nature Trail at Forked Creek Preserve – Forsythe Woods, Florence Township: 0.5 mile*
• Evans-Judge Nature Trail Loop at Evans-Judge Preserve, Custer Township: 1.5 miles
• Spring Creek Greenway Trail at Messenger Marsh, Homer Glen: 2.2 miles*
• Plum Creek Greenway Trail at Goodenow Road Access, Crete Township: 2.2 miles
• Hickory Creek Bikeway and LaPorte Road Nature Trail at Hickory Creek Preserve – La Porte Road Access, Mokena: 2.2 miles*
• Wauponsee Glacial Trail at Sugar Creek Preserve, Joliet Township: 2.6 miles*
• Normantown Trail at Vermont Cemetery Preserve, Naperville: 2.9 miles
• Rock Run Greenway Trail at Hammel Woods – DuPage River Access, Shorewood: 3.2 miles*
• Old Plank Road Trail at Washington Street Access, Joliet township: 3.2 miles*
• Spring Creek Greenway Trail at Hadley Valley – Bruce Road Access, Homer Glen: 4.4 miles*

Starred trails feature routes that are easily extended to lengthen a walk. More details, including trail maps, are included in the Woods Walk booklet, available at Forest Preserve visitor centers and online starting Sunday.

Trail information is available on an interactive GIS map.Walks also can be entered into the free Goosechase smartphone app. Simply download the Goosechase app either on iOS or Android devices and join the 2024 Will County Woods Walk Challenge to get started.

The deadline to submit a completed travel log is Sunday, Dec. 8.Funding for Woods Walk is provided by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

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