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Keepataw Preserve

The 215-acre Keepataw Preserve, acquired by the District in 1978, offers a unique feature among District properties: a sheer, 60-foot bluff carved from limestone deposits mined around the turn of the 20th century. A quarter-mile path leads from the parking lot to a scenic overview of these bluffs and the extensive wetlands that spread out beneath in the Des Plaines River Valley.

Kiln at KeepatawLook off into the distance and you'll see the ruins of a kiln that was used during the quarrying. The lowland habitat is a true wetland, with spring water seeping out of the bluffs onto the land. This habitat is home for a variety of plant and animal species, including the endangered Hines Emerald Dragonfly.  Natural resource management activities ongoing since 1993 have focused on enhancing and monitoring this habitat, in addition to removing exotic plant species invading the site's wetlands and bluff.

In 2010, the District will perform the restoration of upland prairie and savanna on a 9-acre section of disturbed invasive successional old field/woodland. View more information about this project here.

The District has partnered with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and local municipalities towards the future construction of a bicycle trail across the Des Plaines River to the Centennial Trail from Keepataw Preserve.  Eventually, the vision is for trail connections to extend south along I-355 to link with the Spring Creek Greenway Trail, and north to the DuPage County trail system.

Photograph Courtesy of John Trilik
Location
Keepataw Preserve is located on Bluff Road, 0.75-mile east of Joliet Road, in Bolingbrook.
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For Information
815.727.8700
Hours
8:00 a.m. to Sunset
Recreational Activities
Hiking/Running
Wildlife Viewing
Maps & Brochures
Keepataw Preserve Location Map
Preserves
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Copyright © 2010 The Forest Preserve District of Will County
17540 W. Laraway Road, Joliet, IL 60433
815.727.8700 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Weekdays
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