St. James Farm Forest Preserve — Attraction in Illinois

I like it here. I come here often at least every other day. Usually Sat mornings before 9am. The photo of the lot however was taken on a Sun afternoon. Much busier.

It has a path that goes around about 1.6 miles. Half the path is a straight then it curves before it crosses the road and the path continues. The other half of the path is winding. Both beautiful.

The birds are always singing. Lots of them and a peaceful melody while on the path. Path is clean. Seldom do I see it needs attention. The grass are always kept short. I love walking barefoot there.

This place has a full working restroom. It’s clean as well. It does not smell at all. I’ve not seen any attendant on the weekdays, but this past Sunday there was someone that greeted me there.

Definitely a regular place I go to when I’m switching the days with West Dupage Woods.

*If your receiving a momentary exchange for having a photo shoot you’d need a...

A great place for a walk to enjoy the scenery, and very popular for photography and events like weddings and 5k runs. With lots of old beautiful trees planted in rows, 3 ponds, art installations, and a large woods to explore, St James a great place to check out. This is the former estate of Brooks McCormick, a philanthropist and industrialist who was the CEO of International Harvester truck and tractor co. There is a heavy focus on horses, with lots of paddocks, stables, a riding arena, and horse related art on the property. The southern farm field was a steeplechase track in the past, and the farm was filled with horses along with a school for disabled people to learn about riding horses. I hope over time that the forest preserve can bring it back to what it was like during those years, as they currently do not have horses...

We visit here numerous times a week. As stated below, it is a great place to go when you have a reactive dog. The grounds are so wide open it makes it easy to divert when you see other dogs and people. So far… fingers crossed… We have not had any issues with ticks in the years that we have been going. Blackwell just across the street is god awful when it comes to ticks. On dogs and people. Even if you stay on the paths. Night and day between the two in that sense. Sometimes they have the buildings open which is nice to look in a little at some old items and descriptions. Really no activities for human children… Which we are fine with… But if you are bringing some just be aware there is nothing in that sense to...