Forest Glen Preserve

Great, 10-11 mile loop trail for beginner backpackers like me and my 10 yo son. Also perfect for experienced hikers looking for a nice day hike. Well marked and maintained trail with plenty of small inclines/declines to get your heart rate up. Campground was practically empty when we went (early May). Highly recommend the observation tower. Great views! We will be back for sure

This was a nice backpacking trail.

It was a mix of easy and moderate hiking with the latter portion following East Camp being the most moderate.

We never found the visitor center, but we’re able to easily find the start of the river ridge backpacking trail. There were nice laminated placards to put in your car window for those folks who pre-planned to backpack.

The red trail marks and arrows are pretty easy to find as were the junctions. Only issue we had was at the crossroads of Old Barn Trail and Deer crossing, but we figured it out pretty easily with the map. Note—the map is not really to scale, but is otherwise helpful.

The Group camp area is nice and spacious and accessible via car.

The river is seen along the final leg to the East Camp. There is one trail to access it.

The East Camp has 5 sites and an outhouse. They are nicely space and have a picnic table and a fire pit.

Overall, the woods were quite beautiful. Our trekking poles came in very handy with some of the hills at the end. It was nice to over along the ridge, but also be in the valleys.

Would highly recommend for first time backpacking/campers. A nice one to start with.

You can also fish at the pond.

This was my first time coming to Forest Glen, and it was awesome. I registered for the backpacking trail, and made it an overnight trip. 12 miles for the loop, and it was harder than I thought it would be in flat Illinois. Lots of elevation gain between the ridges. I hiked 8 miles on the first day to the East Camp, and I would say that I preferred this campsite to the group camp. It was much more secluded, and there is no road access up to it.

I highly recommend to anyone who lives in the area, for either camping or just simply day hiking!

Lovely beech forest with some challenging trails with steep steps and other broad flat paths. My group enjoyed climbing the observation tower even though is a lot of stairs. Some spots hold a large number of bird species.

The eleven mile backpack trail is, as far as I have found, the most enjoyable and challenging hiking trail that east central Illinois has to offer. It can be easily done as a day hike or with an overnight stop at East Camp, which I found to be peaceful even with all five sites occupied. If you do backpack camp, easily accessible water sources are somewhat limited later on throughout the trail, so plan ahead and get water early.

This place is a really good beginners trail for backpacking with moderate challenges, almost all of the trail is shaded. We backpacked for 8 miles on first day and camped at site# 16 East camp. Next day, we backpacked 3 miles to the parking lot. We did notice the trails were marked. freshly painted. Highly recommended for those who are interested in backpacking or just day hike of 11 miles.

A Beautiful respite from the grind of Modern Times. A Wonderful step back to the Glorious Days of Old... when Deciduous Forest prevailed upon the Valleys and Tall Grass Prairies dominated the landscape.

Its a forest. You will see deers cows on the trails. The trails are not well marked though. Use caution in traversing through the trails.

Beautiful camp site! Quite and serene.

Nice places and trails.

Just took the backpacking trail. It is well maintained and very well marked. It is rated as moderate and has a great mix of strenuous climbs and easy flat hikes. Best views might not be on the trail as there is a pioneer settlement near the family campground that you should not miss.

Great place! Spacious tent camping sites in the woods! Very green, lots of trees, pretty view. Also nice that it’s shaded for camping in warmer weather. Also great trails and a large lake with a quaint covered bridge. Bathrooms are very clean and spacious.

This place was awesome! We did the backpacking trail. You just follow the red markers the whole way through the preserve. The women working in the visitor center were super helpful and extremely kind. There are pawpaw trees that bear fruit along the the trail! So many mushrooms (you can identify them using the picturemushroom app, but don’t eat anything lol)! Great wildlife and great campsites. I wish there was a well for water at the East Campground. Make sure you bring plenty with you! The bugs were really out at night so don’t forget bug spray either. When you finish the trail you can buy a patch. We also bought maple syrup made from the trees in the preserve and they came in beautiful glass bottles with sugar crystals inside. I will definitely do this trail again!

What a lovely serene place. Camped overnight in our RV. Rates were reasonable and everything seemed cleaned and park well maintained. Off the beaten path for sure and spotty cell service. Pay attention to open / close hours - they lock the gates so no pizza runs or getting out of the park early.

Nice quiet shaded campground. A perfect place to disconnect (as there’s no phone signal).

Really nice park with great places to walk.

A quiet place to enjoy the serenity of nature. Lots of nice trails that are well marked.

Beyond expectation! There are many deers and nice authentic trails.

This is a great idea for and outside get together. Playgrounds available, building and space to rent, big area for and outside play ideas like kickball soccer and many trails to experience. Great place for outdoor pictures and Don't forget to visit the famous tower when your out there

Looks to be well manicured and attended to. Not a lot of amenities, however, does seem to be a very active place with demonstrations and events regularly. We will be coming back to camp soon. Really like the fact that it appears to be a well hidden jewel.