Dupage Policy Journal

Embrace winter with a variety of outdoor activities available in the DuPage forest preserves. Residents have multiple options to enjoy the season.

Thrill-seekers can snow tube down the 800-foot run on Mount Hoy at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville when there is more than 3 inches of packed snow. The hill is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends from Dec. 2 to Feb. 25 and during District 200 school holidays, which are Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, Jan. 8 and 15, and Feb. 19, if conditions allow. Only District inner tubes are permitted, with rentals available at the base of the hill for $10 per tube per day, ending at 3:30 p.m.

Visitors can also explore Blackwell and Fullersburg Woods forest preserves by snowshoeing when there is adequate snow on the trails. Snowshoe rentals are offered at the Blackwell tubing hill (when open) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for $10 per day each location. For availability at Fullersburg Woods, call 630-850-8110.

For cross-country skiing enthusiasts, rangers groom over 50 miles of trails across various forest preserves including Blackwell in Warrenville, Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook, Danada and Herrick Lake in Wheaton, Greene Valley and Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Mallard Lake in Hanover Park, Meacham Grove in Bloomingdale, and Waterfall Glen in Darien.

Ice fishing, ice skating, and sledding are permitted at most forest preserves except Spring Creek Reservoir in Bloomingdale and Herrick Lake in Wheaton; sledding is not allowed at Mount Hoy or closed landfill sites at Greene Valley and Mallard Lake.

The Forest Preserve District does not monitor ice conditions; visitors engage in activities on ice at their own risk with guidelines suggesting a minimum of four inches of clear ice for one person or eight inches for a group.

Dog sledding is available under adequate snow conditions on Thunderbird Spur Trail at Greene Valley and several trails north of Mack Road at McKee Marsh area of Blackwell.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has connected people to nature for over a century with its numerous forest preserves and extensive trail network attracting more than five million visitors annually. For further information call 630-933-7200 or visit dupageforest.org.

###