LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve — Attraction in Illinois

What a magnificent way to enlighten the public about methods of food making. While I have had pancakes and syrup, on this trip we learned how natives evaporated sap to find the energy in sugar left behind. Early American explorers refined this technique with a Spile to more efficiently extract sap during the morning as it came up the maple tree and extract again as it came back down from giving nutrient to budding flowers. We used a tool to bore a hole in test maple wood. We learned to wait 10-20 years until a tree is 10 inches around to get good sap. We learned that 3 weeks during early spring is the only time to get the sap clear, and brown towards later in that season. We bought a giant bottle of the finest sugar water I have ever tasted. Thank you, Leroy oakes. Wonderful...

A beautiful area. The nature center, which is housed in the remodeled farmhouse and looks very nice, displays the exhibits that were previously displayed at the Tekakwitha Woods nature center, which closed down. Plenty of hiking/walking/biking trails throughout the area. Other points of interest on the property are the Pioneer Shoal School and the Durant house museum. A nice creek also runs through the property and is a great way to cool off on a hot day, just turn left after you pass the barns and park near the pavilion. Take the gravel trail to the left of the footbridge and walk down the hill. Overall, it is a very nice and well...

What better place to review for my 101st review than a place I've been 101 million times? I LOVE Leroy Oakes, but please does start coming to visit me here, especially if you're a litterer. All peaceful and environmentally conscious people and creatures welcome however. I initially started hanging out @ Leroy in high school, mostly after school with friends in either the spring or fall. A couple times we grilled out in the summer, as they have a fire pit and pavilion. The park is pretty big, and there is a large hill that leads down to a creek. Not sure what the creek is named but it's nice to wade in when...