Leaf Peeping is Hitting Its Peak. Here’s How to Take Advantage of Fall Color Season Close to Chicago

Science & Nature

Leaf Peeping is Hitting Its Peak. Here’s How to Take Advantage of Fall Color Season Close to Chicago

Patty Wetli | October 26, 2023, 5:27 pm

River Park, Chicago. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

With freezing temperatures right around the corner, fall’s spectacular display of gold, orange and red is about to come to an end. So we’ve rounded up some resources to help you enjoy what’s left of leaf peeping season.

Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden are two premiere foliage destinations, and they take their status seriously. The arboretum’s manager of plant records, Ed Hedborn, publishes a weekly online fall color report for Morton, detailing which trees to look for and where to find them. The Botanic Garden maintains a list of top spots and colorful walking routes within its grounds.

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(Courtney Celley / US Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County has added a “fall color” filter to its interactive trail map. Searching the term will turn up a staff-compiled list of spots most likely to feature dramatic fall color. These include Deer Grove, Thatcher Woods, River Trail Nature Center and, for a different experience, Orland Grassland, where late-blooming native perennials and grasses put on a unique show.

Prairies sport fall color, too. (Courtney Celley / US Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

Further afield, the state’s tourism site, Enjoy Illinois, has its own fall color report and map, as well as recommendations for top sites to visit.

Information is broken down by northern, central and southern sections of the state, with updates from individual counties on the status of their foliage.

LaBagh Woods, Cook County forest preserve. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

For a been-there, done-that perspective, check out guides from local hikers and parents.

Among their fall color favorites: Matthiessen State Park, LaBagh Woods, Cap Sauers Holding Nature Preserve and the forest preserves of Winnebago County.

If Winnebago County (aka Rockford) hasn’t been on your radar, forest preserve staff point newcomers to highlights in the region including Seward Bluffs, Rock Cut State Park and Kishwaukee Gorge Forest Preserve.

North Branch Chicago River. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

And don’t sleep on your local neighborhood parks. What they may lack in acreage, they make up for in the wow factor department.

This week, Autumn's Awesomeness is on display at Promontory Point. This past Sunday in Chicago's Hyde Park. #chicago #autumn #ilwx pic.twitter.com/MlPSEKIVnu

— Barry Butler Photography (@barrybutler9) October 25, 2023