McDowell Grove Forest Preserve

There’s always a great day to visit McDowell. I recently lead a photo tour here and the landscape never disappoints & neither do the lovely people who walk by us with their dogs! So friendly! The spring is vibrant with color and my favorite season here is autumn with bright red contrast for great photography.

Beautiful park with miles and miles of trails. Most of the trails are crushed limestone but they also have some single track and wider dirt trails. There’s also a small lake to run around and a dam at the other end of the park. The parking lot is a great size and was recently repaved. Check this place out!

Perfect place for a nice quiet walk when the weather is nice outside. Not too many bugs and have great area for family picnics. It's beautiful during fall as well. If you follow the long trail ...along the way you find a huge flower field which is so beautiful during spring time...the hidden water dam where some people fish during the warmer months follow the small river some more and it will lead you to Naperville downtown area which I think its pretty cool.

Great for walking, running or biking.. Walking paths are mostly green grass which adds to pleasure of walking. I spent almost 2 hours and enjoyed every moment of it. The longest trail is close to 4 miles, so it's not a big deal to walk through the whole preserve within that period of time..

Such an amazing find in the McDowell road area. Very well maintained, has washrooms, gravel paths which are well packed and not dusty, some grass paths if you’d like to walk in the jungle and relax, and ample free parking space.

Nice option if you’d like to walk, jog, or ride your bike around.

Make sure you read the instructions in the parking area when you arrive, so you know what to expect in terms of rare but probable sightings of wildlife and poisonous plants.

Also, should bring water and food along as there’s nothing inside the area.

Overall, its a great place to go with family over the weekends!

Love this place. Don't miss the trail to the lake, which is on the other side of the river, across the bridge.

An gem of a walking place. Love the place, it's cool breeze, lovely atmosphere. Only regret is this place was so close to my house just few hundred feet and took me so long to explore it. Lived across the forest preserve for so long but took two years to take the narrow hidden pathway nestled across the crossing of Raymond and River Road.

Great trail with tons of wildlife to see! Grass, Gravel and little trails in the forest to walk or bike.

Beautiful preserve. I've visited several times. Looking forward to seeing how everything turns out with the bridge construction. It will be nice not having to travel over the one lane bridge. Lots of wildlife. I've seen butterflies, deer, and a snapping turtle.

Very beautiful heavily wooded forest preserve with plenty of trails along the DuPage river. Well-equipped park with pavilions, picnic tables, port-a-potties, etc. But for me the main attraction of this forest preserve is the boat launch! Great spot for putting in or taking out, with a wide concrete ramp and easy vehicle access, this is a great base for a day of paddling adventure!

Gravel and dirt/gravel trails. Can get a 3 mile loop in one lap. As you run the area changes from water, shade and sun. Pretty river and openfield . Limited parking.

Beautifully maintained forest preserve and trails. We walked the west branch dupage river trail to warrenville and it was just lovely.

Just beautiful! The trees are so tall you feel like you have been taken away to a mystical land. All different types of different species of plant life and organisms growing all around. Beautiful scenery and a river area small trails off the main trail but beware venturing too far off the trails I to the forest the burrs will attack! 😂 Haha! But there's picnic benches to eat at, grassy areas, decent parking just a wonderful place to unwind and take a break from the busy world and get some real quiet time.

Great place to walk and enjoy nature.

Most beautiful place along the west branch Du Page river.
Ideal for a walk/ biking and just spend some time in quiet with nature. Really very peaceful vibes in this place! Love it!

Photo by : @theamazingexposure ( instagram )

One of the nicest nature preserves In dupage county with tons of wildflowers and wildlife. I even saw a coyote hunting ducks

Amazing place for geocaching- if you ever want to spend a day on a few nice units, spend it here.

Has a few nice trails and most have some sort of loop. There is also a long bike trail with gravel, but the rest is mowed grass.

As far as views and landscapes go, it is very lovely considering how close it is to the city and has several prairie sections and wooded areas. Also has a dam, but I never really went that far.

Overall, great place to go with a few friends (or by yourself if you choose) and is fun way to spend a few hours when in the Naperville area.

Great place for birding and relaxing walk in nature.

Great place to run and bike in the middle of the bust suburbia of Naperville. Runs along the river and brings you all the way to downtown if you want to run down the entire path. My run was peaceful and invigorating at the same time!

Beautiful place to go for a picnic or date. Lots of interesting little things to explore.