Dozens of families went over the river and through the woods last weekend. But grandmother`s house was not the destination. After Lake County Forest Preserve President Andrea Moore and fellow commissioners cut a green ribbon, more than 500 nature lovers tramped down leaf-carpeted paths and across a couple of bridges just for the fun of it.
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The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held at the Half Day Forest Preserve between Lincolnshire and Vernon Hills, celebrated the opening of the southern section of the Des Plaines River Trail. A nine-mile trail that meanders past beaver dams, a canoe launch and fishermen`s haunts, the new path runs east of Milwaukee Avenue from Illinois Highway 22 on the south to Rockland Road on the north.
The It`s Fer Reel string band sent walkers off with a cheerful fiddling and strumming. But a few steps into field and woods and those sounds were quickly drowned out by noisy crickets and raucous birds.
”It`s really pretty in here. I don`t know how many people realize what a natural resource they have here,” said Long Grove resident Mark Marzano. But he`s doing his part to spread the word. Marzano organized a three-family expedition to the opening. ”It`s gorgeous. I definitely will be back,” said sister-in-law Joanne Marzano, also of Long Grove.
Susan and Steven Simon of Vernon Hills have already come back, and back, and back. ”This is our favorite spot,” Susan said. The Simons and their two sons, Ben, 10, and Daniel, 8, had traipsed the trail after the bridges were completed a couple of weeks ago. ”You`ll love it,” Ben said.
Opening the southern portion puts the forest preserve district closer to its dream. ”We hope to some day have a 49-mile trail extending the entire length of Lake County. We`re halfway there. We still have a few large gaps,” Moore said. The trail currently includes a nine-mile trail that extends from U.S. Highway 41 in Gurnee to the Wisconsin state line and intermittent trails in between the north and south sections, Moore said.
”Isn`t this exciting?” said Commissioner Carol Calabresa of Libertyville. ”We`ve worked long and hard to get this portion of the trail done,” Calabresa said.