Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie — Attraction in Wilmington

This is such a beautiful area. Loads if trails with several parking areas. The main visitor center is a personal favorite. When Covid restrictions relax, the indoor educational center is very well done. It explains the importance of our natural prairies as well as how the property is being restored after being used as a munitions arsenal years ago. They're bunkers still on the premises, but they are quite a distance away from the visitor center. Even though the indoor area may be closed, maps of the grounds are available outside the doors. Take a map as the place is huge!

I love the gardens surrounding the visitor center. Many beautiful areas with native plantings.

The big attraction is the herd of buffalo. They are impressive when you see the group off in the distance. The herd is confined and there is no danger if you see the animals. There is an observation pad about 2.5 miles north of the visitor center. They provide viewing stations to see the Buffalo.

I love this location at any time in the year. I think summer is when it is particularly beautiful. It is very hot in Illinois during the summer. Bring plenty of water and sun protection as it can get really intense if you walk during the midday heat. However, the beautiful flowers and all of the birds and butterflies make it so worth the discomfort.

You can being your bike and ride the trails as well. Fairly flat with only minor...

This is one of the best locations to get out and hike for the area. With natural views with the addition of overgrown man made structures throughout, there is always something to drive curiosity. From the Iron Bridge trailhead, you're greeted by the remnants of an old farmstead along with a grove of arching osage orange. Take the south trail out towards the bison viewing you'll experience fields of wildflowers and amazing 360' natural views. Head east at the junction takes you to rows of Bunkers with 1 found to be explorable. Experience the echo within, amazing to child and adult. Head west towards the iron bridge or buffalo viewing and see natural prairie, with flowers in yellow, pink, and purple. If you're lucky and take the low rolling trail out to the viewing station, you may just see the sizable herd of bison wandering the pasture. I can't say enough about the staff that we experienced on a rainy Sunday morning out exploring. Each individual their is not only engaging but friendly with my two hyper children, and exceptionally knowledge on both the...

This is such a hidden gem! I’m always on the lookout for national park and forest stamps for my passport book and found this place when staying with family nearby. I’ve never really spent time in a restored native prairie as we do most of our hiking in forests. This place blew my mind with how bio diverse it is! So many birds and butterflies. I added so many to my list. We didn’t see buffalo but didn’t expect to since they have very large pastures and it was extremely hot when we went. The folks in the visitor center were so kind and the store they have has some adorable and affordable gifts. Make sure you stop in and support our national forests, they need it more than ever! Especially places like this that are working hard to restore native grasslands to the US again. I’m so glad to see efforts like this taking off as a habitat restoration and bird nerd. I hope to be back again next time I’m in town and hopefully when it is...