Solar lights to guide Lakewood trail users
The more than 150 miles of trails in the Lake County Forest Preserve system wind through diverse terrain from restored prairies to wetlands and marshes to heavily wooded areas.
But of all this natural bounty, a single trail less than two miles long soon will feature an amenity found nowhere else in the system.
Sometime this week, the last of about 40 small solar lights will be affixed to posts along a 1.6-mile trail loop adjoining the Winter Sports Area in the Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda.
Introduced as a test program to run until March 11, when clocks are set an hour ahead, the district’s first lighted trail is intended to allow hikers and skiers to get some exercise without stumbling about in the dark on short winter days.
“This is a very popular cross-country ski area,” explained Mike Tully, the district’s director of operations and public safety. “We’re already open, and we thought it would give people a chance to use the cross-country trails at night — at least a portion of it.”
The trail will be the only one in the system officially open in the evening but not open to bicyclists or equestrians, Tully added.
Visitors won’t be bathed in bright light. The solar fixtures, which during the day gather a charge lasting up to 10 hours, will provide more of a puddle of light as a guide along the 14-foot-wide path.
“The goal is you’ll feel comfortable following the lights and end up back at the parking lot,” Tully said.
Most forest preserve facilities close at dusk. One notable exception, however, is the Winter Sports Area off Fairfield Road near Route 176. The facility is supposed to be open until 9 p.m. but had remained closed until Jan. 12 because there was no snow for sledding.
With that detail solved, the lighted trial adjoining the parking lot at the winter sports area is set to debut. It is a spur of the Millennium Trail, a work in progress that is planned to stretch 35 miles through central, northern and western Lake County.
The location also was chosen for the test program because forest preserve ranger police are on duty until 10 p.m. and will patrol the path to make sure it’s safe and no one gets lost.
The intent is to expand recreational opportunities and showcase the district’s largest preserve. The test project will cost the district about $1,000, and no extra staff will be needed.
“This isn’t our crazy idea to light up a trail at night. The public has been asking for this for years and years,” said Bonnie Thomson Carter, a forest commissioner and former board president.
Lisha and Bruce Peterson of Hawthorn Woods said they immediately noticed the small, square solar lights affixed to wooden posts during a recent walk with their dogs.
“I’ve noticed when we come later, we’ve had to hurry back — it gets dark quick,” said Lisha Peterson. The couple plan on taking advantage of the new feature.
Tully said the idea came from the McHenry County Conservation District. The Woodstock-based organization last year illuminated a 1½-mile trail through prairie at the Pleasant Valley and this year opened a milelong section through a restored savanna at Hickory Grove Conservation Area in Cary.
“We added a second one this year due to the ease and popularity of the first one,” said Wendy Kummerer, communications manager for the district.