Directions to Parking
Middlefork Farm Nature Preserve has several entrance points on the south side of Middlefork Drive and the north side of Acorn Drive. Park at the west end of Middlefork Drive next to the Elawa Farm buildings and walk east along the drive to the first trail entrance.

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Columbine, Roundheaded Bush Clove, Prairie Blazing Star, Rattlesnake Master, Compass Plant, Meadow Rue

 

In June 2008 Lake Forest Open Lands in partnership with Lake County Forest Preserve District and the Wildlife Discovery Center hosted the first ever Bioblitz in Lake County. A Bioblitz brings together local scientists to identify as many plants and animals as possible in a 24-hour period. Over 1,000 species were identified, confirming the abundant biodiversity existing in this preserve.

 

In April 2008 migrating whooping cranes were sighted on Lake County Forest Preserve District's portion of the Middlefork Savanna. Restoration efforts by both Lake Forest Open Lands and Lake County Forest Preserve District have made Middlefork Savanna a suitable stop over for whooping cranes and other important migratory bird species. 

 

The whooping cranes were on site for two days and were first identified by local birdwatchers. The cranes were banded, and one wore a radio tracking system from the International Crane Foundation, who confirmed the sighting. The International Crane Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requested that the District close the Preserve to provide protection while the cranes were on the ground.

Whooping cranes are the tallest flying bird in North America. They are five feet tall with a seven to eight foot wingspan. With the exception of black wing tips and a black mark above their bill, their plumage is snow white. Except for a small non-migratory population, breeding birds had disappeared from the United States portion of the historic breeding range by the 1890s. The only remaining natural flock of whooping cranes breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories, Canada and winters in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, along the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. For more information on this species, please visit the International Crane Foundation's website at http://www.savingcranes.org.

 

Middlefork Nature Preserve represents the largest and most complicated land preservation project done by Lake Forest Open Lands, resulted in the preservation of 120 acres of a 200-acre parcel purchased by Lake Forest Open Lands in 1998. The property was formerly a working farm, and grazing, plowing, drainage, and buckthorn invasion had heavily impacted virtually all the land. Lake Forest Open Lands sold 60 acres of floodplain along the middle fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River to the Lake County Forest Preserve District, which added it to the 500-acre Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve to the west. Lake Forest Open Lands has begun the restoration of the remaining sixty acres, including prairie, two savannas, and two wetlands. One wetland is completely new, while the other required the removal of drain tiles, acres of brush, and large stands of non-native grasses and weeds.

 

Visitors will enjoy the sweeping views of the Middlefork Valley while standing among the 200-year-old bur oaks and shagbark hickories that dot the savanna. It's a great place for a relaxing walk at sunset.
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Conservation Science