Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve — Local services in Illinois

My mother, a 50-year-old woman, has lived in the Gurnee/Grayslake area for 15 years and is a regular visitor to the Rollins Savannah Forest Preserve. On 9/6/2025 at around 7:50 AM, while walking her small dog, she encountered a woman with a large, gray pit bull that appeared to weigh 60–70 pounds. The dog was completely untrained, highly reactive, and extremely aggressive.

Despite her attempts to remain calm and move her dog out of the way, the pit bull charged dangerously close. The owner, a thin woman, was clearly unable to control the dog. The situation quickly escalated to the point that my mother had nowhere to retreat, causing her to fall, bruising her shoulder and leg and scraping her hand on the hard dirt. She narrowly escaped, leaving behind her belongings, including her green coffee mug. Both she and her dog were at serious risk of being attacked.

This is a very dangerous situation that could easily have resulted in severe injury—or worse—especially if a child or family had been nearby. Park management must enforce strict leash and safety rules immediately. Uncontrolled, aggressive dogs put everyone at risk, and this incident serves as a serious warning to all visitors: the preserve is not safe from dangerous dogs without proper...

Nice wide gravel trails, even and totally flat which makes it a great place for bird watching. A few small ponds/marshes, mostly wide open plains. We did the main 3.5 mile loop around the middle and since there is no shade my huskies were roasting like it was the Sahara and it was only 50°. Large beautiful old trees in a very small portion make up about 10% of the trail for a brief reprieve from the sun. We went in Spring and it was very pretty, I would imagine it's really a sight to see when everything is in bloom. Small building with bathrooms and drinking fountains which will be great when theyvare turned on! Bring water with if you're walking...

This is one of Lake County's best preserves. The options for bicycling in and out of the park are amazing. Connections to the Millennium Trail, Gurnee and Prairie Crossing (and thus the Des Plaines River Trail) are awesome. The boardwalk north of Rollins is very fun to cruise over. The overlook on the north side is a cool feature. The facilities are nice. I think the only downside is that similar to Independence Grove, the vast wide-open spaces lead to lots of wind and not a ton of shade. And wind is not your friend when bicycling, but the savanna is a great change of pace from other more...