Hannaford Woods/Nickels Farm Forest Preserve
Sugar Grove, IL
Description
Hannaford Woods lies just west of Aurora's expanding boundaries and partly within the rambling borders of Sugar Grove. A winding, gravel-bottom stream known as Blackberry Creek courses throughout the western portion of the preserve. The Virgil Gilman Bike Trail, which extends some eleven miles from the Fox River in downtown Aurora to the Waubonsee College campus, generally follows Blackberry Creek.
There are a number of rich meadows and wetland pockets along the creek and some attractive shrubbery patches of Hazelnut and Dogwood. Over half of the preserve is woodland, containing magnificent trees that hearken back to the specimen of pre-timbering days in Kane County. Species such as Red, White, and Burr Oak along with Bitternut Hickory and Black Walnut can be found here.
Hannaford Woods is located on Merrill Road, approximately 1 mile east of Route 47.
Amenities
- Bike & Nature Trails
- Nature Preserves
- Picnic Areas