Starved Rock Country

New scenic Fox River view part of Dayton Bluffs hike Saturday

Event marks the 10th anniversary of the preserve’s founding

By Charles Stanley
The Ottawa City Council authorized a grant application for a project at the 253-acre Dayton Bluffs Preserve that would be put towards putting in accessible parking to replace a gravel lot and provide paths instead of woodchip and grass-covered trails.

(Shaw Local News Network)

A new dramatic high-up view of the Fox River from a recently completed overlook will highlight a Saturday morning tour of the Dayton Bluffs Preserve in Ottawa.

The event will mark the 10th anniversary of 253-acre preserve’s founding as a partnership between the city of Ottawa and the Conservation Foundation.

A short program at 9:30 a.m. will feature comments on how the preserve developed from former Ottawa mayors Bob Eschbach and Dan Aussem and representatives of the Conservation Foundation.

Between map displays at the Dayton Bluffs Preserve in Ottawa are a rules sign noting dogs must be leashed and a dispense for plastic bags to be used for cleaning up dog waste. Rules at Dayton Bluffs Preserve are the same as for any other city park.

(Shaw file photo)

The program also will honor the 60th anniversary of the Illinois Nature Preserve System. Dayton Bluffs Preserve has been designated as a State Land and Water Reserve.

Two hikes will commence at 10 a.m. A half-mile hike estimated to take 45 minutes will feature a visit to the scenic overlook, including views of prairie flowers, a shady oak woodlands and newly created seasonal wetlands.

A two-mile hike estimated to take up to two hours will travel though prairie and woodlands, featuring views of wetlands, wildflowers, wildlife, the Fox River and experience areas of rugged terrain. This trail loop will include a steep downhill incline and may be considered a moderate to strenuous walk.

Blue bells have bloomed recently at the Dayton Bluffs Preserve in rural Ottawa along the Fox River.

(Julie Barichello - jbarichello@shawmedia.com)

“Our volunteers have done extensive research into these peoples and restored both the trail and area around the Native American burial mounds and the Daniels Family Cemetery, a pioneer cholera cemetery,” said Brook McDonald, president and CEO for The Conservation Foundation, a private not-for-profit land and watershed conservation group based in Naperville, Illinois. The Conservation Foundation focuses on land preservation and watershed protection in the outlying Chicago counties of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will.

“About 100 acres of the Dayton Bluffs Preserve were farmland at the time we purchased it, and now those fields are bursting with native prairie species, bluebirds, butterflies, and other wildlife, thanks to the meticulous care and management, including prescribed burns, seed collecting, and dispersal by our volunteers, the Friends of Dayton Bluffs,” McDonald said.

(Submitted photo)

The Dayton Bluffs Preserve is located in Ottawa at 2997 Route 71, south of the I-80 and Route 71 interchange on the west side of the road.