Have you ever wanted to visit fpdcc.com? This is your opportunity! www.instagram.com, and this year we are excited to discover the beauty of Swallow Cliff Woods. We plan to spend about 3-4 hours there, with the itinerary (hiking, picnicking, etc.) decided by the attendees. Let’s have a chill Saturday Funday!

UIU will coordinate a carpool to ensure everyone can go. It's a 45-minute drive to the location, so we plan to leave the city around 8am. Be sure to bring your water bottle.

Carpool Pick up & Drop off Location: Jewel-Osco | 1224 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 

Swallow Cliff Woods is best known for its 100-foot-high bluff and demanding stair workout. It rewards visitors who explore beyond the stairs. Take a short walk (or a long hike) on the unpaved trails of the Sag Valley Trail System and experience woodlands, marshes, and sedge meadows filled with bird songs—especially during spring and fall migrations.

 

Date: Saturday July 13, 2024
Time: 7:30am - 1pm
Location: Swallow Cliff Woods
Carpool Pick up Time: 7:30am to 8:00am
Carpool Pick up & Drop off Location: Jewel-Osco | 1224 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 

It is about a 45 minute drive to to get to Swallow Cliff Woods 

Swallow Cliff Woods is best known for its dramatic “front lawn,” which leads up a steep, 100-foot-tall bluff. The bluff creates one of the best sledding hills in the county and also one of its toughest and most scenic stair workouts. On top of the bluff, trails pass through this quiet 800-acre preserve. Hikers enjoy wandering the hilly, forested terrain complete with stream crossings, grand old oaks and flocks of migratory birds around the numerous wetlands.

At 15,000 acres, the Palos Preserves in southwest Cook County are the largest concentration of preserved land in the Forest Preserves. Thanks to more than three decades of habitat restoration, they also hold some of the highest-quality natural areas in the county. These trails join many popular sites, such as the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Pulaski Woods, Saganashkee Slough and Maple Lake which is home to a mountain bike staging area that provides access to almost 40 miles of unpaved trails.