Kane County 5.75 mile hike at Johnson's Mound in Elburn, option for 2.4 miles
Details
Optional post hike lunch:
Schmidt Town tap
107 N. Main st. Elburn
https://schmidtstownetap.com/
No reservations accepted
Separate checks ok per Kendall let server know
Summary
I last led a hike here July 2023, time to go back! This is a small preserve and mileage is limited.
If your not sure where Elburn is here are some approximate distances:
- About 35 minutes NW of Naperville
- About 47 minutes SW of Schaumburg
- About 20 minutes from St Charles
Its half forest and half meadow. I found the forest to be lovely and very thick old growth. The meadow is not just a grass field. It has some other interesting aspects to it such as areas being lined with trees on one side and open on the other. Farms surround some of the prairie and bushes pop out here and there. There are no water features on this hike. Its pretty deserted and you may like the gently rolling hills it offers. Mostly mowed grass and packed dirt or gravel some areas very wide and some single file. Be prepared for a few nice hills.
Expect trails of all sizes and shapes, from wide asphalt to narrow footpath. For about quarter mile there is no trail and walk thru native plants such as Mayapples and around trees. There is one log to cross over. It is not bushwhacking because vegetation is still low.
Hike 1:
Explores the southern section of the preserve where you'll see the mound from both above and below. There is a CCC shelter built in the 1930's and a face that someone carved into a tree many decades ago. Hopefully the large dryad saddle mushroom will still be there! Look for it when we come to the connector trail that separates the north and south sections. There are purple wild geraniums, phlox, Mayapples wild vilots and lots of other native Spring plants on this hike.
We'll end up back at the lot after about 2.4 miles
Hike 2:
Head north to the prairie section, not sure what will be blooming this time of year. I've not hiked this part in early May. Expect full sun in this section.
This hike is cross posted with Chicagoland Trailblazers Hiking Group
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/313076680
and my guest rsvp includes members of the group.
Manual Directions
Johnson's Mound is located on Hughes Road, approximately 1 mile west of Fabyan Parkway
The entrance is .5 miles west of Bunker Road while going west on Hughes road.
The general area is roughly a few miles south of route 38 (Roosevelt road) and 3,7 miles west of Randall road. My GPS via iPhone was accurate.
The closest intersection is going to be Bunker road and Hughes road.
They are two lane roads and this is farm country out here.