Ray Lake Forest Preserve — Attraction in Wauconda

It's good as parks go, and well cared for. But to be honest there's not too much to do or look at. Some woods, but mostly open prairie. Maybe it's a birder location, but river locations elsewhere have more cranes and hawks. Other county trails have a lot more scenery, and if you want one with nice facilities then Independence Grove is the park to go to.

I think the appeal here though is that it's out of the way enough to get a quiet hike in. It's not as busy as some other locations.

Three stars, not because this is bad, but rather because Lake County Forest Preserves are usually that good. So it falls into the average...

Ray Lake is a more recently opened Forest Preserve. The scenery is not jaw dropping, but it is clean, green and peaceful. A trail can be used for hiking and biking. There is a 2 mi loop trail and a connection to the Ft. Hill trail and Lakewood FP. Long hills on the trail suggest that it's unsuitable for young cyclists. Looks to be a favorite trail for dog walkers as occasional droppings were seen. There is a nearby dog park near Lakewood. There are restrooms at the Erhart entrance and...

Ray Lake plays host to a secluded trail through a grassland around a very small lake. The circuit is about 2 miles making it a perfect hike to make sure you get some sweat going. It does connect to the Gilmer portion of Lakewood’s trails for a longer bike trail. Plenty of parking and an available restroom make this one of our go to trails when we need to get out and burn...