Featured Preserve
FORT SHERIDAN Lake Michigan
Cemetery
W
hen renowned landscape designer O.C. Simonds (1855–1931) conceived
A Preserve
plans for the Fort Sheridan army base in 1889, he meticulously
SH ER
merged military needs with the
AN ID RD
OLD ELM RD
s und Gro toric ade His Par ional ark) t m (Na Land
land’s rolling terrain and ecologically sensitive bluffs and ravines while making breathtaking views of Lake Michigan a priority. Nearly 130 years
FORT SHERIDAN FOREST PRESERVE 250 ACRES | LAKE FOREST
PRESERVE AREA
BLUFF/RAVINE
WATER PRESERVE TRAILS ROBERT MCCLORY BIKE PATH ENTRANCE
P
PARKING
OVERLOOK
EXHIBIT
SELF-GUIDED TRAIL TRAIL ACCESS
ACTIVITIES & AMENITIES
later, Michael Haug, one of our landscape architects, considered many of the same philosophies when planning how the public would experience the site and learn from its unique history.
“When designing Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, I responded to its natural features and carried on Simond’s desire for ever-changing and open views, including the one to the lake.” —MICHAEL HAUG, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
BIKING FISHING
After the base closed in 1993,
HIKING
the U.S. Department of Defense
SELF-GUIDED TRAILS & EXHIBITS
conveyed 250 acres of land here to
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING TOILETS BENCHES PUBLIC PARKING
the Lake County Forest Preserves for public open space and recreation (see page 1 for detailed history). Our team of planners, ecologists and educators have been working ever since to restore the land, preserve its ecosystems and rich human history, and offer opportunities to recreate in nature. THE SAVANNA, RAVINES AND LAKEFRONT LOCATION ALLOW VISITORS TO OBSERVE ONE OF NORTH AMERICA’S BUSIEST FLYWAYS FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS. AT LEAST 236 SPECIES OF BIRDS HAVE BEEN SEEN AT THE PRESERVE. PICTURED LEFT: RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS).
GETTING HERE The entrance is on Sheridan Road at Old Elm Road and Simonds Way. Enter on Simonds Way, left on Leonard Wood Drive North, left on Gilgare Lane to parking area.