Hike McDonald Woods in Lake County 5 miles, shorter options to be determined

I haven't led a hike here since November 2022, time to go back!

Optional post hike Lunch
to be determined

Summary:
This preserve is partially wooded and goes around a few lakes. The hike is pretty easy, flat paths, not asphalt. Its a small preserve but possible to squeeze about 5 miles out of it. Its a pretty trail and very pleasant hiking!

Map pin
https://maps.app.goo.gl/roQaMk1zsuehd88b8?g_st=ic

Millennium Trail is not an option. It goes half a mile thru a subdivision. They called it a trail on the web site but alas, it was not a trail at all. Or at least not the kind of trail I was looking for!

This hike is cross posted with Chicagoland Trailblazers Hiking Group https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/308323494 and my guest rsvp will include members of that group.

From the website
https://www.lcfpd.org/mcdonald-woods/

Description from the website
Behold the gentle, rolling grassy terrain of this scenic preserve.
The dips and rises here were formed by the advance and retreat
of immense ice chunks during the last Ice Age.
When the weather warmed, grasslands dominated.
In autumn, big bluestem and switch grass turn amber
brown and yellow, swaying to the music of the wind.

McDonald Woods is a perfect place to hike, bike and cross-country ski.
Trails here connect to the Millennium Trail and other community hiking and biking paths.

Gravel: 3.8-mile loop trail winds around the woods and wetlands.
Woodchip: 0.3-mile trail is open for hiking and cross-country skiing and
leads to a basswood and sugar maple forest, glowing yellow in autumn.