McHenry County, Hike Marengo Ridge Conservation Area, 5.5 miles, optional picnic

I discovered this place while hiking with my son in June of 2020 and its a real treat! Worth the drive.

Pack your own lunch and optionally bring a dish to share. Bring a lawn chair in case picnic tables are not available. Chat a bit as we eat lunch in a beautiful area. My intent is to keep it simple.

Summary
Located in McHenry County, this preserve features over 800 acres of oak and hickory woodlands interspersed with spruce, aspen, ash and sumac.
The first part of the hike will be in the open prairie area, about 1.5 miles.
The second part, about 4 miles is thick, green lush forest on grass or hard packed dirt trails. Some trails are about 6 feet wide while others are narrow single file. They are all well-maintained by the county and very little mud.

There are just a few barely noticeable marsh areas here and there. I rate some sections of this as a moderate hike due to many tree roots popping up out over the trail. They range from 1 to 4 inches high. Areas are not flat and you must be comfortable walking about 2 miles of uneven surface on a single file trail. They label it as rugged terrain. The rest is all flat beautiful mowed grass trail with thick forest on either end. There are very few small inclines on this one and I did not need hiking poles.

This hike is cross posted with Trailblazers group https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/308887194 and my guest rsvp will include members of that group.

Location
2411 N. Route 23, Marengo
Meet at shelter 1 in front of the restrooms.

Directions
Its a small entrance with a sign right off of route 23. There is a big barn with Silo about 1/4 miles north.
Its north of route 20 and a few miles south of Kishwaukee Valley rd.
We are not meeting at shelter 2, please continue. Once you turn in to the Forest preserve drive shelter 1 is only .3 miles.

Where to meet
Meet at shelter 1 in front of the restrooms. Please drive by shelter 2 and continue to the next parking area. My cell is 847 757-1230.

Website
https://www.naturallymchenrycounty.com/listing/marengo-ridge-conservation-area/520/