A forest preserve since 1942, the 126-acre Russell Woods offers many recreational and environmental opportunities. The Natural Resources Education Center staffed by educators from the University of Illinois Extension Outdoor Education Programs serve over 5.000 children and adults every year on site and with classroom visits and field trips to other forest preserves. A diverse flora occurs in both the upland forest and the low wet woodland which is sixty feet down the bluff and across the river. The river itself is a prime fishing site, but is also so rich in other aquatic species, especially native freshwater mussels that this site is designated a “unique aquatic resource” by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Natural History Survey. The preserve has three enclosed shelters an open air shelter, a playground, a sledding hill, and 2 ½ miles of trails, including one trail in the western part of the preserve that connects to the South Branch Prairie and Hoppe Heritage Farmstead.
Russell Woods is also part of the G2K Trail, this hiking trail that travels from Carroll Park in Genoa west to the Village of Kingston.
A forest preserve since 1942, the 126-acre Russell Woods offers many recreational and environmental opportunities. The Natural Resources Education Center staffed by educators from the University of Illinois Extension Outdoor Education Programs serve over 5.000 children and adults every year on site and with classroom visits and field trips to other forest preserves. A diverse flora occurs in both the upland forest and the low wet woodland which is sixty feet down the bluff and across the river. The river itself is a prime fishing site, but is also so rich in other aquatic species, especially native freshwater mussels that this site is designated a “unique aquatic resource” by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Natural History Survey. The preserve has three enclosed shelters an open air shelter, a playground, a sledding hill, and 2 ½ miles of trails, including one trail in the western part of the preserve that connects to the South Branch Prairie and Hoppe Heritage Farmstead.
Russell Woods is also part of the G2K Trail, this hiking trail that travels from Carroll Park in Genoa west to the Village of Kingston.
