Oxbow Prairie

Interestingly, of all the ecological restoration sites on the North Branch of the Chicago River in Cook County, this area is the least familiar to me.  I returned Saturday morning at sunrise, after having visited the area the week before and being greeted by a freshly-awaken garter snake.  I didn't have my camera with me that day so I used my camera phone to document our meeting.

So Saturday I decided to kind of scout the Oxbow Prairie. This is an area roughly surrounded by was was once a northern loop of the Chicago River.  It contains both low wetlands and a sloping prairie hill.  The entire area was once part of the Bunker Hill Country Club, which functioned from the 1920's until the late 50's/early 60's.  Most of what was once country club land has been developed as an interconnected series of picnic groves.  These areas are bustling throughout the spring and summer months as tens of thousands use the area for parties, picnics, and other social functions.  The Oxbow Prairie was also treated this way until conservationists stepped in to dedicate the area as natural area due to its fragile nature.  Now, semi-cutoff from the rest of the preserve, this area sees considerably less traffic and has been restored to a great extent.  Here are a few shots from my very early morning visit (I can only get there so early, as the gates are locked until the CCFP guys unlock them).

Nearby, an old staircase that leads to nowhere (this was the site of a home a long time ago).