Waterfall Glen Hike, ~5 miles (or less if you like) Out & Back

The weather on Tuesday morning is forecast to be 76 degrees at 10:00 AM and 80 degrees at noon. It looks like it will be somewhat humid too but with zero percent chance of rain.

Per the DuPage Forest Preserve website, the 2,503-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve is one of the most ecologically impressive parcels of open space in the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, if not northern Illinois. It is also one of the District’s most popular forest preserves, known for its Rocky Glen waterfall, Sawmill Creek bluff overlook, and extensive trails. Waterfall Glen offers gently rolling to hilly terrain with 11 miles of trails popular with hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders and cross-country skiers.

The path consists of a nice, wide crushed limestone trail of 9.5 miles in total length, but we plan to hike about five miles out and back: to the Rocky Glen Waterfall and then southwest to the Scenic Overlook, returning to the parking lot. We'll probably stick to the limestone trail since I'm not very familiar with this area, but if someone else is and would like to lead the group on some of the smaller trails, that would be fine. Of course, you can turn around earlier if you want to hike less than 5 miles. If anyone wants to hike all the way around for the full 9.5 miles, that's an option too.

We will meet at the Waterfall Glen Parking Lot (NOT the Main parking lot), along Bluff Road off Route 83 in Lemont. Please ensure you park in the correct parking lot. The lot has recently been expanded, so there's plenty of room to park.

Here is a map of the trail: https://www.dupageforest.org/hubfs/Places-to-Go/Documents/Forest-Preserves/Waterfall-Glen-map-2020.pdf

Here is the Dupage Forest Preserve information on the trail: https://www.dupageforest.org/places-to-go/forest-preserves/waterfall-glen.