On a pleasant Tuesday (August 30), I decided to use the Groupon coupon that Kathy bought me for the Morton Arboretum, west of Chicago (Lisle, Ill.) We used to pass by there all the time driving into Chicago from Moline and I often said I wanted to visit. So in keeping with my tree theme for he summer (see earlier visit to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska), I thought this would be a great day trip.
The Arboretum was established in 1922 by Joy Morton, founder of the Morton Salt Co. He is the son of Julius Sterling Morton who started Arbor Day, and whose estate the Arbor Day Farm surrounds in Nebraska. The arboretum states that its goal is to encourage the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. They apparently do a lot of research here, keeping track of growth rates etc. of the more than 4,100 different species of trees, shrubs and plants grown there.
The Library houses an extensive collection of books, magazines, prints, drawings etc. about trees. I did not have time to go inside...something that would be good to do in the winter.
The 1,700 acres is divided more or less by Ill. highway 53. You enter on the east side where you pay. To reach the west side, you drive under the highway.
I started at the visitor's center ( a modern, interesting structure built in 2004). I took a leisurely walk on some trails close to the center. They have an extensive 4-acre interactive children's garden, a large section just with hedges and a short walk with a large variety of ground covers, all near the visitor's center.
Hedge area
After about an hour of walking and viewing, I took to the car and drove much of he rest of the park. Winding, easy-to-drive one way roads guide you through the arboretum. There are many interesting signs along the way. I was very surprised that most of the east side of the east half of the arboretum is natural woodlands. They have some restoration and protection projects going on to keep out invasive plants and to allow the forest to thrive. Studies of natural ecosystems are done there.
There are several trails to walk, many of them "loops" from handy parking areas along the way. I did one of these at the Big Rock visitor's station. It was a good walk, however, I really got bit up by mosquitoes, which was a little surprising during the middle of the day.
There are many sections to the arboretum feature different types of trees from various parts of the world as well. Signs mark this out well. The map they give you is excellent for driving or walking. You may bring your bike or rent bikes there. This is not a totally flat acreage, so you'll get good exercise if you bike through the park.
Locals can join for a yearlong membership, which would be great to have to see this area different times of the year. It is basically open year round. If you live within a few hours drive, it's definitely worth the trip in. Or if you are in Chicago for several days, make sure this is on your "must see list." You can find out more at mortonarb.org.
Yes you are, and so was The Morton Arboretum
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