Be a Trailblazer: Hike Hammel Woods

Editor’s note: We want you to Be a Trailblazer this year, so we will be hiking at various preserves throughout the year and documenting it for you. Journey along with us as we blaze a trail through the preserves and hopefully encourage you to do the same.

If you’re making a list of preserves to visit in the autumn, right when fall color reaches its peak, Hammel Woods should be at or near the top of the list.

Sure, a case could be made for other preserves — anyplace with Woods in the name for starters, but many others too — but Hammel Woods is one of the best for a simple reason: The trails here don’t just skirt the edges of the forests, they cut right through it, allowing you to become immersed in the color of the season.

For our autumn hike, we started at the southern parking lot at Hammel Woods — Route 59 Access and continued to the dog park before making the return trip. You can do this entire hike on the DuPage River Trail, which is paved, but you would be doing a disservice to the season if you didn’t do at least part of the hike along the preserve’s natural surface trail if you are able to.

You can opt onto the Hammel Woods Nature Trail, as it’s officially known, at several points along the paved trail, and the earlier the better in our opinion. Once you are on the dirt trail, you’ll feel like you are truly in the forest, not just along the edge of it. Plus the trail offers nice views of the DuPage River, which runs adjacent to the forest.

The nature trail travels about 1½ miles in total, and it does include some elevation changes. The official trail mostly stays up along the ridgeline, but there are many non-official footpaths that cut down toward the river. Avoid these if possible because they are not official trails that are maintained by the Forest Preserve District.

It's along this dirt trail that the forest really seems to reflect the season. This isn’t just true in the fall. Every season is made better underneath the tall trees along this stretch. In the winter, it’s the quiet of the season you will notice. As spring emerges, it’s the opposite. You’ll hear birds chirping at every turn, and the entire area seems to be humming with activity. By summer, the leafy green canopy is a respite from the summer sun, and in fall you won’t want to miss the forest resplendent in warm shades of yellow, orange, red and brown. Note: The Hammel Woods Nature Trail can be difficult to follow in late fall and winter, when fallen leaves obscure the path.

It's no surprise that the autumn views at Hammel Woods can be spectacular because it’s among the oldest Will County preserves. Messenger Woods Nature Preserve takes thehonors as the Forest Preserve District’s oldest property, but 147 acres of Hammel Woods were the District’s second and third land acquisitions, in 1930.

As you walk the woods here, you’ll see the full complement of fall colors, but it’s yellow that dominates the landscape. The golden hue feels like sunshine on a cloudy day and adds to the warmth on a sunny one. While you’ll see pockets of orange and red and brown all around, it’s yellow that comes to mind when you think of Hammel Woods in the fall.

For our walk at Hammel Woods, we were joined by Forest Preserve District recreation coordinator Em Wilcher, who often spends time at the preserve through a variety of recreation programs offered during the year. She said one of the things she enjoys about Hammel Woods is its accessibility — it’s easy to get to, located off Interstate 55 in a populated part of the county. There’s also a lot to do there — not just hiking and biking but also kayaking and canoeing plus camping.

We visited on a seasonably warm and sunny October afternoon, so the wildlife viewing wasn’t as good as it might have been even a few hours earlier or later in the day. We saw several blue jays — their bright blue hue more noticeable against the fall backdrop — and one deer quietly making its way through the woods. Geese and waterfowl were visible at several spots in and along the DuPage River. We heard other animals as well — birds chirping, though not as many as in the spring and summer, and squirrels creating their own soundtrack as they moved across the fallen leaves.

Despite the relative quiet of the wildlife during our hike, past visits have shown us that Hammel Woods is teeming with wildlife. We’ve seen raccoons here, and coyotes too. And from the bird world, we’ve seen and heard warblers and countless other songbirds, plus bald eagles soaring over the river. We’ve even heard an owl or two here.

If wildlife viewing is your reason for visiting Hammel Woods, one good place to stop is the parking area near the old picnic shelter. The picnic shelter has been closed because bats have taken it over (We tried to relocate them to a nearby bat condo, but the effort was rebuffed by the bats.), but there are a few picnic tables outside where you can sit and enjoy nature.

The large grass clearing here is a good place to see deer congregating, particularly in the morning and evening. And if you are able to stay until just before the sun sets (the preserve closes at sunset), you may get lucky enough to witness the bats flying out of their roost to feed.

Anywhere you can get close to the river can also be a good spot for seeing animals in action, particularly waterfowl and wading birds like egrets and herons. Among the best places to see the riverfront up close is near the kayak and canoe launch at the southern edge of the preserve.

Hiking Hammel Woods

Route: We started our hike on the DuPage River Trail near the kayak launch at the lower parking lot and continued to the Hammel Woods Dog Park before heading back.

Distance: 3 miles

Time: 1 hour

Weather conditions: A sunny and seasonable fall afternoon.

Difficulty level: The paved trail here is mostly flat except for a gradual elevation change near the south end of the preserve.

Trail notes: The natural surface trail that runs adjacent to the paved trail is a nice change of scenery, particularly in fall.

Don’t forget: Wear layers. We were happy to be able to take off a sweatshirt after the weather warmed up when the sun came out.

(Photos by Anthony Schalk)