Scenic outlook at Greene Valley opens April 30
You can see a soaring hawk, launch a model glider and see the Chicago skyline from 190 feet above the ground at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville.
The Greene Valley overlook opens for the season Saturday, April 30, and will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 30, weather permitting, although Environmental Protection Agency activities may cause it to close without notice.
The access drive is off Greene Road, south of 79th Street, and visitors can park at the summit, where district staff members will be on hand to answer questions and provide binoculars and a spotting scope for views of far-off vistas and migrating birds.
Visitors with valid district permits can launch nonpowered crafts from the top; permits are available online at dupageforest.org or through Visitor Services at (630) 933-7248 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
For a more "down-to-earth" exploration, hikers and bikers can use the 1.9-mile Hawk Trail, which circles the hill's base.
The overlook rests on top of a closed landfill, which operated from 1974 to 1996. A gas-to-energy plant converts methane the landfill produces into energy, which powers thousands of area homes. Revenue from the landfill's former disposal operations and the gas-to-energy plant - not tax dollars - funded construction of the recreational improvements and continue to fund the maintenance of the overlook.
"You feel like you're on top of the world on this beautiful vista," said Forest Preserve District Commissioner Linda Painter, District 3.