Waterfall Hero Hikes: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is an 20,000-acre tallgrass prairie preserve in Will County near Wilmington. It is the largest conserved area in the Chicago Wilderness. The land was purchased by the federal government in the run up to World War II to build a munitions plant and a network of bunkers to store the munitions. The facilities were also used during the Korean War and Vietnam War. In 1993, the Army determined that they had no further use for the land and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie was established in 1996 with a mission to restore tallgrass prairie habitat. Restoration efforts are underway at several areas, including the South Patrol Road Prairie and Iron Bridge Prairie. In 2015, a herd of bison were established to study the effects of their grazing on prairie restoration.

Map:

Trails:

Group 63 Spur:

Group 63 Spur is a 1-mile trail that bisects the Group 63 Trail loop. The trail runs from northeast of the intersection with Henslow Trail to near Bunker Group 63-1. Several other bunkers are visible from the trail, but they're not open.

Group 63 Trail:

Group 63 Trail makes a loop around the bunker group. I didn't hike the entire thing. Bunker Group 63-1 and a couple other bunkers are open.

Route 53 Trail:

Route 53 Trail runs parallel to the road from Henslow Trail at Iron Bridge to the Welcome Center. The trail runs along the western edge of the bison pasture and the Southwest Bison Overlook is along the trail.

Points of Interest:

Bunker Group 63-1:

Bunker Group 63-1 is one of the bunkers that you can go inside. It's along the eastern end of Group 63 Trail near the intersection with Group 63 Spur.