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Forest Park Nature Center

  1. Peoria Heights
  2. Forest Park Park
  3. Peoria Parking
  4. Park Forest Park

Reviews, get directions and information for Forest Park Nature Center

Forest Park Nature Center

About

Trails open dawn until dusk, every day of the year. No pets allowed, no biking, group running, and no smoking. Must stay on the trail. Be Safe!

Description

A Peoria Park District facility, Forest Park serves as the doorway to more than 500 acres designated as part of the Illinois State Nature Preserve. The center provides visitors with more than seven miles of trails that lead through dense forest, along trickling stream beds, and over dramatic hillsides — easily offering outdoor enthusiasts one of the area's most intimate brushes with Mother Nature. The a-frame trail head features a small natural history museum, nature store, and a room dedicated to bird-watching. Trails and museum are free and open to the public. NO PETS ALLOWED

Impressum

*The Nature Center is proud to be a site along the Illinois River Road.

~ working towards an awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the natural world

Our Vision
To foster connections between people and the natural world, encourage
people to discover their own sense of place, and inspire them to be a force for positive environmental change.

Our Mission
Forest Park Nature Center nurtures an enhanced awareness, appreciation,
enjoyment and understanding of the natural world by providing innovative
programs, eco-conscious products, interpretive facilities, and access to high quality natural areas. We strive to produce an environmentally sensitive citizenry who cherish Central Illinois’s unique natural heritage and are conscious of the fragility and beauty of life on our planet.

Address: 5809 N Forest Park Dr, Peoria Heights, Illinois 61616
Phone: (309) 686-3360
Email: gro.skrapairoep@ofnicnpf
Parking: Lot
State: IL
City: Peoria Heights
Street Number: 5809 N Forest Park Dr
Zip Code: 61616
categories: sports & recreation, environmental conservation organization


Opening Hours

Monday: 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday: 09:00 - 17:00
Friday: 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 17:00
Sunday: 13:00 - 17:00

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Reviews
Amazing hiking trails. On the strenuous side, hill-wise, with lots of rest areas. So much wildlife late June around dusk. Turkeys, deer, squirrels, many birds calling. Wonderful tree variety. Trails are well marked. Robin's Wake is the farthest in but well worth it if you have the time! It was remarkably uncrowded when I went, saw maybe a handful of other hikers in the two hours I was there.
Went for a nice walk in this trail. Got to see some deer, squirrels, and a few different birds. Very nice to walk it during this time of the year. Nice shade provided by the tall trees and the cool air of fall made the walk super enjoyable. Would definetely recommend it to others. Is like a 3 mile loop and I had forgotten my walking tennis shoes wh3n we flew in so only had flip flops for the walk. So that's what I used for it and was pretty good. Besides getting my feet a little dusty from the dirt in the trail lol Is a very easy trail in my opinion. I would suggest it to others, espcially family with kids since the trail is pretty begginer type. Restrooms: Inside the.office area. Dog-friendliness: No dogs allowed
Ahh. My favorite place to hike. I can spend all day here on the trails. It's nice and clean and every now and then you get to see some deer or a wild turkey. I can't wait to get out and enjoy some sun again. Restrooms: They have very clean restrooms in the big building at the entrance. You can't miss it. Picnic area: There's a small picnic area under shade to the right of the entrance.
Nice nature center with interesting and informative educational material about local flora and fauna. I think they have kid's programs at times. The trail around it is fairly easy but does have a few hundred feet incline.
Review Date: September 29th, 2013 I remember coming here a few times as a kid on field trips. It was awesome as kid. They taught us about animals, bugs, nature and everything else outdoorsy. Then we got to hike a smaller trail as a group. Maybe this is what caused me to be such an avid outdoors person. Coming back here after about 2 decades was a huge nostalgic trip. Nothing had changed from what I remember as a kid. I’m sure things have been changed and updated since the early 90’s, but it still retained that feel and look I remember as kid. The main building has set hours, but I do believe you can hike there before they open, as long as you follow the rule of ‘no hiking before sunrise and after sunset’. Don’t quote me on that. Inside the building is a small gift shop. There are quite a few learning activity areas to enrich yourself on local foliage and fauna. They hold a lot of events here, so you are surely able to drop in once a week and encounter some fun activity going on. There are plenty of trails to hike. If you want a quick hike, they have short trails. If you desire something challenging, you can hike some tough trails. Just be careful, I know a few people who have wandered off the path and ended up in a business area of Peoria Heights. The last time I was there, they had a 100-mile hike challenge. It was $10-15 to sign up and you record your hiking distances in a book there. Once you reach 100 miles, you get an award of some sort. I think it was a t-shirt and a certificate. Ive been wanting to sign up for it since I learned about it. But life gets busy. :/ Parking is plentiful but be warned; its a popular place, so there is usually a good amount of cars there at all time. But you shouldn’t have a problem most of the time finding a parking spot. If you are native to the area and haven’t been here, do yourself a favor and check it out. If yo are from out of town, also do yourself a favor and stop by for a quick hike. You won’t regret it.
Beautiful nature preserve with open welcoming visitors center with gifts, exhibits, community info, loaner hiking sticks and clean indoor restrooms. Even when the visitors center is closed. We visited Mother's day and while it was steady it did not seem busy. Dog free is important to note. Wonderful place to observe birds and more natural growth forest area. We crossed a few little bridges but everything was currently dry. I would like to visit again after some rain. Medium trails were a challenge for my knees but the park had a really nice easy trail loop that goes across the street and is accessed by a public way through a private companies parking lot. The visitors center is attended and the staff lady I met was very helpful and kind.
I took my daycare kiddos to the Forest Park Nature Center for a free nature hike for young children which was organized by Susie from the library. There we meet another Susie and Carrie. Carrie took us around the trail were we saw much wildlife and beautiful plants, she was also very knowledgeable about her plants too with was nice! During our hike we were in the shade alot so we didn't have to worry too much about getting overheated. Afterwards we went back to the center and Carrie pulled out a turtle so the kiddos have some one on one interaction. Found out that the beautiful tree that is inside the building was actually created by the same company that created the "Tree of life" at Disneyland which is beyond cool! There were also some very cool pictures and things to learn from inside! Thank you everyone for all the hard work you do and for providing this free activity for my littles!
This is a fantastic place to visit if you love trails! As a trail runner, I found the outer loop trail a fantastic workout with plenty of elevation changes and variety of terrain. It was almost exactly a 5K run around the park, and the route included some very challenging hills, but the trails are in terrific shape. Very well-maintained, with lots of signage and lines of travel stairs vs inclines, for example. I wasn’t able to see everything on my run, so I’ll definitely be coming back again as a visitor from the Quad Cities.
The hiking here is surprisingly difficult and beautiful. I saw 2 wild turkeys and 2 deer! And several squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. Very good hiking for Peoria!
This is my favorite place to hike in the Peoria area and holds a special place in my heart. My fiancé and I went here on some of our first dates, and we got engaged here. I also recently had my bridal shower in the nature center building. Love it! The only sad thing is that dogs are not allowed.Visited onWeekendWait timeNo waitReservation recommendedNoPrice for adult entryFree
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