4.5 or 1.75 mile Fall Colors hike at Tekakwitha & Jon Duerr preserve, Fox river

Optional post hike lunch
TBD

Summary
3 years ago (late Oct) when I led a hike here Tekakwitha woods was a brilliant shade of gold!

Meet in the parking lot of Tekakwitha woods. About 2 miles are in Tekakwitha woods. The ground is not level here and tree roots hide up under the leaves. There are tripping hazards in sections of this hike.

There are some very pretty ravines around here. Portions of this hike are on a dirt path right along the bank of the Fox River. This small section has both there and back and a loop. Multiple types of trails, some areas are asphalt, crushed gravel or single file dirt trail. Some are well manicured and some rustic. I consider it easy unless you have limited mobility. Will have to step over a few logs maybe 18 inches high at most.

After about 2 miles we'll take the Fox River trail for a short bit. A very long scenic bridge will come into view. Here you will see islands in the middle of the Fox river. The bridge goes out to one of these little islands then continues over to the other side. This is very cool!

Once on the other side we'll head into Jon J. Duerr forest. The River Bend trail is the one featured on this hike. The trails here are asphalt or gravel.

We'll take a brief stop at an off trail location to visit a log structure someone built and the ravine next to it. This hike goes down a gravel/asphalt service drive. Its very deserted and feels like its in the middle of nowhere. Find a grassy trail a bit to the left after we arrive near some forest preserve district buildings. This section not as scenic as the first but adds steps.

This hike is cross posted with Trailblazers group https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/310532630 and my rsvp includes members of that group.

Location
Tekakwitha forest preserve
35W076 Villa Marie Rd.
St. Charles, IL

The parking lot drive is right in front of Anderson grade school

Directions
GPS will take you through residential neighborhoods, this is correct.
Some of this area is hilly and the roads may have blind spots. Please exercise extra caution when pulling out on to busy intersections.

Websites
https://kaneforest.com/location/tekakwitha-woods
https://kaneforest.com/location/jon-j-duerr