Where to see prairies – Tallgrass Prairie

Although the majority of original prairies in Illinois have been destroyed, there are still a number of areas where people can see prairies. Some are former pioneer cemeteries that were laid out on the original prairie. Many of these are part of the system of Illinois nature preserves. Information on these can be obtained from the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.

Some of the author’s favorite natural prairies are:

Anderson Prairie Park (Christian County)
Ayres Sand Prairie (Carroll County)
Belmont Prairie (DuPage County)

Bluff Springs Fen (Cook County)
Bonnie’s Prairie (Iroquois County)

Braidwood Dunes & Savanna (Will County)

Braidwood prairie — Braidwood Dunes and Savanna

Denby Prairie (Macoupin County)

Desoto Prairie (Jackson County)
Foley Sand Prairie (Lee County)
Freeport Prairie (Stephenson County)
Fults Hill Prairie (Monroe County)
Gensburg-Markham Prairie (Cook County)

blazing star and goldenrod flowers in Gensburg Markham prairie — Blazing star and goldenrod flowers at the Gensburg-Markham prairie.

Gensburg Markham prairie in August — The Gensburg-Markham prairie in August.

Gensburg Markham prairie in July — The Gensburg-Markham prairie in July.

Goose Lake Prairie (Grundy County)
Hanover Bluff Hill Prairies (Jo Daviess County)

Hanover Bluff Nature Preserve in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Note the hill prairies just below the tops of each of the three hills. Photo taken from the eastern edge of the Savanna Army Depot / Lost Mound Area by Kenneth R. Robertson, Illinois Natural History Survey

Hanover Bluff hill prairie — Northernmost hill prairie at Hanover Bluff.

Scott McKay hill prairie — Scott McKay stands at the top of the northernmost hill prairie at Hanover Bluff Nature Preserve.

Harlem Hills Prairie (Winnebago County)
Henry Alan Gleason (Mason County)
Hooper Branch Savanna (Iroquois County)
Illinois Beach State Park (Lake County)

The James Woodworth Prairie in Glenview, Illinois, is 5-acre remnant of a black soil tall-grass prairie owned and managed by The University of Illinois at Chicago
Lake-In-The-Hills Fen (McHenry County)
Loda Cemetery Prairie (Iroquois County)

yellow flowers in fall — The Loda prairie in fall.

Lockport Prairie (Will County)
Long Run Seep (Will County)

man standing amid prairie vegetation — Long Run Seep

Manito Prairie (Tazewell County)

white and yellow prairie wildflowers — Manito Prairie.

Nachusa Grassland (Lee County)

Prospect Cemetery Prairie (Ford County)

prairie wildflowers — Prospect Cemetery Prairie

two people tending a prairie controlled burn — A controlled burn at Prospect Cemetery Prairie.

Revis Hill Prairie (Mason County)
Roberts Cemetery Savanna (Montgomery County)

Robinson Park Hill Prairies (Peoria County)
Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak (Mason County)
Searls Park Prairie (Winnebago County)
Shoefactory Road Prairie (Cook County)

Site M or Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area (Cass County).
Thomson-Fulton Sand Prairie (Whiteside County)
Tomlinson Pioneer Cemetery Prairie (Champaign County)

prairie vegetation amid grave markers — Tomlinson Cemetery prairie

wildflowers amid grave markers — Tomlinson Cemetery Prairie

Twelve Mile Prairie (Effingham, Fayette, and Marion Cos.)
Wells Cemetery Prairie (Champaign County)

Weston Cemetery Prairie (McLean County)

Wolf Road Prairie (Cook County)

Restorations and Reconstructions

Because of the rarity of natural prairies, a number of prairie restorations and reconstructions have been developed in Illinois. A few of these are given below:

Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois

Mesic prairie and gravel prairie restorations at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

flower bed at Chicago Botanic Garden — Landscape prairie plantings at the Chicago Botanic Garden in early May, including shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia).

College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn (DuPage County)

prairie plants — Prairie plants at the College of DuPage.

FermiLab, Batavia (DuPage County)
Forest Glen County Conservation Area, Westville (Vermilion County)

Funks Grove, southwest of Bloomington (McLean County)
Goose Lake Prairie, Morris (Grundy County)
Meadowbrook Park, Urbana (Champaign County)
The Morton Arboretum Schulenberg Prairie, Lisle, Illinois (DuPage County)

man crouches amid short prairie plants — Prairie plants, including shooting stars (Dodecatheon meadia), at Morton Arboretum in the early in the spring, after the prairie has been burned.

prairie dropseed — Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) at Morton Arboretum in the late fall.

Morton Arboretum prairie landscape — Morton Arboretum in fall.

Peck Farm Park in Geneva, Illinois has an ongoing prairie restoration.
Rexroat Prairie, Virginia (Cass County)
Rock Springs Prairie, Decatur (Macon County)
Weldon Springs State Park (DeWitt County)