Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area: Day trip and travel information.
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From Chicago go south on the Stevenson (I-55) past
Joliet to exit 240. Go west on Pine Bluff-Lorenzo Roadabout 5 miles to the
park entrance. Turn right to enter the park. At the Goose Lake Sign go
straight to get to Heidecke Lake boat ramp or turn right to get to the
parking lot.
Watch
for deer as you drive to the visitor center. Sometimes they are near the
road and other times they are hiding in the tall grass. It helps to have
binoculars. Many other animals and birds inhabit the area. The visitor
center has examples of the of wildlife you can expect to see if you look
carefully.
Two
trails start from the visitor center. The Tall Grass-Marsh Loop Trail is 3.5
miles. It has a floating bridge that crosses a small lake near its halfway
point. The Prairie View Trail is a 3.5 miles loop that meanders through the
tall grasses to a series of small lakes often visited by water fowl. 
From
the Visitor Center, which has many exhibits, one can see the marsh in
front of the windmill. The height of the lake in front of Cragg cabin changes
considerably with the seasons. In the dry season you can see the large
flat rocks that are usually below the surface. 
If the visitor center is closed, the sign just behind it has info on
all the trails. The small lake to the north where the cabin is and the duck
blind pond on the long trail are the home of many water birds. The Visitor
Center has a deck on top where you can view the entire area and a "touch
me" exhibit for kids inside.
The edge of the prairie is bounded by forests which show their fall colors in
late September. Dead, often burnt trees result from prairie burnings which
are part of the natural cycle of growth. Use the trail map above to plot your
course.
Along
the trail you will see, depending on the time of year, many flowers and
grasses. There are several major fields of milkweed which put many seeds
into the air in the fall. Kids, even big ones like to shake the dry pods
casting seeds to the wind. Insects and birds abound most of the season.
Expect pheasent to flee from the underbrush as you walk by.
You
will see many tracks of animals, especially after a rain when the trail is
still muddy. Ducks and geese can be heard and observed as one approaches the
small lakes at the half-way point of the Prairie View Trail loop or the
floating bridge on Marsh Trail as well as on the Duck Blind Trail.
The geese
are very loud and can be seen on the lakes or pecking at grass shouts along
the paths. Dotting the park are Hawthorn trees springing up between the
grasses. On warm afternoons, you can see small snakes and hares sunning
themselves near the edge of the path.
Wildflowers abound in the spring and some, like the dasies cover whole fields. If you are into photography, bring a macro lense and enjoy the small creatures and many types of flowers. Bring the big lense and capture the many varity of birds that call the park home for a piece of the year.
Depending on the time of year, the grasses and reeds can be quit
formitable. They are often taller then the people walking on the paths
between them. Their colors change as the rainy spring turns into
the dry fall. The tall reeds and grasses near the lakes hide deer and birds.
As you walk the path notice how the light plays with the grasses giving them a
special luminesence. Finally the path will loop back to the starting point.
I hope that you have enjoyed this trip through one of the states last prairie
areas as seen through my eyes
[GLP]
[OdClub]
[WisRiv]
[SR SP]
[Ill WW]
[DesP]
[Buffalo]
[P R]
[PR NW]
[PR NE]
[PR SW]
[PR SE]
[PR Cul]
[PR Vie]
[El Yun]
[PR San J]
[U B]
[IITPhoto]
[IIT]
[DASH]
[Bridge]
[PJ Page]
[Other]
[Fishing]