MIKE MILLER

April is one of the best months to take a 4-mile ramble through Singing Woods Nature Preserve. Walking the perimeter of the trail system will give you a glimpse of all of the varied habitats. It’s a long hike through moderately difficult hill trails, so come mentally and physically prepared. (Click here to download a trail map.) Let’s start our virtual hike together at the parking lot at the Tawny Oaks Field Station on Singing Woods Road …

From here, take the sidewalk south towards the gravel path that heads back towards Singing Woods Road. This is Forest Trail and will take you along the wooded uplands for a quarter mile before it plunges down a steep north facing slope. The woods becomes deeper and the April sunshine is reaching the forest floor at a steep angle. The trees are not fully leaved out, and the slope is covered with dense stands of Spring Beauty. Its white flowers are tinged with pink stripes and the flowers are abuzz with tiny bees.

A White Oak along the eastern end of the Skunk Cabbage Trail at Singing Woods Nature Preserve.
MIKE MILLER

Once you reach the bottom, don’t cross the creek at the first trail intersection, hang a right and take the Hill Prairie Trail along the south side of the creek. You will be walking through a rich woodland valley graced with a myriad of spring wildflowers. If you gaze to your north, you will see a south facing slope basking in the sunlight. Few trees grow there, and a hill prairie still is slumbering in the early spring. Its flowers won’t be blooming until June, so save that trail for a later date. Continue along the valley and cross the creek on a bridge constructed on a huge, downed log. Follow the valley until the next trail intersection. Take the right fork on the Shagbark Trail.

The creek valley is wide here. The main creek is joined by several smaller streams and Cottonwoods, Sycamore, and Hackberry trees grace the forest. Birdsong greets you in the April sunshine. Here the Northern Parula, and Louisiana Waterthrush sing. These warblers have returned from their winter homes in Central America. They set up nesting territory, and their birdsong ties our northern forests together with the tropics. It is time to exit the valley and head uphill. This long climb brings you into a woodland dominated by White Oak and Shagbark Hickory. The large, reddish bud sheaths of the hickories litter the ground and the pale green catkin flowers of the oaks decorate the overstory. Other species of warblers flit in the treetops as they glean insects from these newly emerging leaves.

Your trail has leveled out and you walk along a ridgetop. The woodlands slope away from you on each side of the trail until you come to the next trail intersection. Hang a right on Skunk Cabbage Trail, and you will be on another long ridgetop that branches off to the north-east. Here you will be greeted with several white-flowering small trees in the understory. Serviceberry bloom early and will be soon joined by Redbud as the spring unfolds. As you progress along the ridge, you come to another intersection. Here, Skunk Cabbage Trail splits to form a loop. Take the right fork, and enter the land of giants.

Old and new

You soon will see the woodlands change. They become a bit more open and several large, sprawling White Oaks stand sentinel over the younger trees. These woods were once open savanna that was used as pasture until the 1930s. Once grazing ended, the woodlands began to close in and the old, open-grown trees are now standing with young, forest-grown trees. Many of these old giants are now reaching the end of their days having lived for more than 250 years. You continue down a hill and are now on the east end of Singing Woods Nature Preserve. Your hike is half over and you have traveled 2 miles.

The east end of Singing Woods is full of varied habitats. As we continue the second half of our hike along the perimeter trail of Singing Woods Nature Preserve, our focus on the natural world becomes intertwined with historical human use. Water from the uplands to the west has slowly travelled through the soil and is now finding its way to the surface through springs and seeps. As you walk along the edge of a farm field on your east, you cross a culvert where water heads to a main creek. You are now walking along what appears to be an old roadway, creek on the right and the woodlands to your left. Another culvert with running water crosses your route. To your left is a small hollow that is the habitat for the namesake of this trail … Skunk Cabbage. You are late in the season to catch this plant in bloom. It flowers in February, but if you look carefully, you will see several large, bright green leaves growing in the wet soil. This is the “cabbage”, and the earlier flowers serve as the “skunk.” If you are very observant, you will also find a cement box in the soil. This is a base of an old springhouse. It will give you a clue that this place once had a past human use.

Human nature

Just past the Skunk Cabbage, you will come to another trail intersection. Here the Sycamore Trail begins and the Skunk Cabbage Trail loops back up the hill from the direction you came earlier. Take the Sycamore Trail and the human-use mystery will become answered. As soon as you walk past the trail intersection, you are greeted by large, overgrown clumps of Canada Yew looking oddly out of place. The forest floor is adrift with several cultivated plants such as hosta, squill, snowdrops and daffodils mixed in with the native wildflowers. The trail, which resembles a roadway, ends at a creek. On the other side of the creek is the remaining foundation from old buildings. This was once a homestead.

It is long gone, but the evidence remains. This particular homestead was built in the mid-19th century. Its final inhabitants were a couple named Pekin and Lois Hite, who lived here until the mid 1960s. I had the opportunity to meet Lois, and take her back to this site many years ago when she was in her 90s. She was an accomplished botanist and used to go on botanical forays with the likes of Virginius Chase, John Voss, and RH Runde in the early half of the 20th century. Her love of plants is still evident to the hiker as they walk this part of the trail. Her gardens are still present, long after her place on this earth has ended. The cultivated plants mix with the native wildflowers in a unique blend of beauty. We should all be so lucky to leave such a legacy.

Back in the fray

Past the homestead, you will leave evidence of human habitation and enter a wide creek valley. If you are here in late April or early May, you will be greeted with one of the most beautiful displays of Virginia Bluebell found in this part of the state. The timing of the bloom is dependent on how long winter takes to loosen its grip on central Illinois. So come here often in the spring to catch it at its peak. Among the bluebells are numerous other species of wildflowers, so a repeated visit is not wasted.

Sycamore Trail is a long trail that winds through the tall trees in the valley. It then crosses a creek and begins an ascent up a long, north-facing hillside. Once you reach the top of the hill, you are on a long, wooded ridge dominated by oaks and hickories. The trail will wander south-west towards the western side of Singing Woods Nature Preserve. It is at this part of the hike that you really feel like you are away from it all. I call it the “contemplative stretch” of the route. Here you reflect on what you have seen, and the long history of the forest. It is an appropriate stretch for such thoughts. This ridge has likely been traversed by humans for thousands of years. The ridgeline is a convenient connection route between the prairie uplands to the west and the river bottomlands to the east. Your feet walk the route shared by spirits of the past. You have about a mile to contemplate your place in this history until the next trail intersection.

Cultivation

You have made it back to the west side of the nature preserve. You can see off to the west the opening of a farm field. Two centuries ago, this field was a prairie. Wide open country that would have stretched west over 11 miles until the woodlands of the Kickapoo Creek watershed were met. Now it is all agricultural land. A short distance further and you reach the intersection of the west side of the Shagbark Trail. This trail name should sound familiar. You were on the east side of this trail a little over two miles ago. You are almost home.

There’s only about half mile to go to finish the exterior loop of the Singing Woods trail system, but it does involve another hill. Off you go for the last leg of today’s journey. Take a right on Shagbark Trail and you will soon come to the intersection with Hill Prairie Trail. If you have the time and energy, you can hang a left of Hill Prairie Trail to explore the top of the Hill Prairie. It is a beautiful trail that takes you to a wonderful open hillside that is full of prairie wildflowers in June. If time (or energy) is not on your side, come back to the hill prairie on another visit. It is a worthy destination on its own. To get back to Tawny Oaks, take the right fork of the Hill Prairie Trail where you will descend a south-facing slope via a series of switchbacks and steps. Once you cross the creek, you are in the valley just below your car. You will come to the intersection with Forest Trail, where you should turn right and go on your last uphill stretch to the top. The ascent will entice you to schedule a return trip with glimpses of spring wildflowers, blooming trees, and singing birds.

Once back, you can relax at the picnic shelter as a warm spring breeze full of birdsong and promise of summer drifts over the nearby prairie planting. The hike is over, but the effect on your soul is just beginning. Spring is the best time for a nature ramble.