Lake Co. forest district gives hikers reward to work toward

The air is cool crisp and the leaves are an arboreal rainbow. If you live in Lake County, autumn is a great time to be outdoors.

So what are you doing inside? Get out there -- take a hike!

To encourage people to visit local forest preserves this fall, the Lake County Forest Preserve District is promoting a hiking program through Nov. 30.

People who hike on at least seven of 12 designated trails and record the dates of those excursions will be rewarded with commemorative, inch-high shields that can be affixed to walking sticks.

Dubbed Hike Lake County 2007, the effort is sponsored by Lake Forest Hospital.

The 12 eligible trails are at:

• Cuba Marsh near Barrington.

• The Fox River Forest Preserve near Lake Barrington.

• Grant Woods near Lake Villa.

• The Grassy Lake Forest Preserve near Lake Barrington.

• The Greenbelt, near Waukegan.

• The Hastings Lake Forest Preserve near Lindenhurst.

• The Independence Grove Forest Preserve near Libertyville.

• The Old School Forest Preserve near Libertyville.

• The Raven Glen Forest Preserve near Antioch.

• The Ryerson Woods Conservation Area near Deerfield.

• Van Patten Woods near Wadsworth.

• The Wetlands Restoration Project near Wadsworth.

The designated trail heads are marked with signs containing the Hike Lake County logo. White posts and signs mark the trails.

Hikers can record their journeys in official forest district travel logs available at the district's main office in Libertyville, the Ryerson Woods welcoming center, the Lake County Discovery Museum near Wauconda and other sites.

Trail logs can also be submitted online at www.lcfpd.org/hlc, the program's official Web page.

To earn a shield, you must submit a travel log by Jan. 31.

Special tags are available for dogs that accompany hikers on the trails, too. They can be purchased for $5 at the district's main office.

For more information, visit the Hike Lake County Web page or call (847) 367-6640.