A Rare Landscape, Right in Winthrop Harbor
Spring Bluff is a 229-acre preserve in Winthrop Harbor that protects one of the rarest landscapes in the Midwest. It is primarily wetlands with oak savanna and prairie, built on a complex of beach ridges and dunes that formed between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, when Lake Michigan was about 20 feet above its present level. The centerpiece for visitors is an observation deck offering a 360-degree view of the preserve's dramatic landscape, along with views of Lake Michigan and adjoining natural areas.
The Lake County Forest Preserve District began purchasing land at Spring Bluff in 1963 and over time removed all of the buildings that remained on the site. Restoration began in 1982. Spring Bluff is in the Lake Michigan Dunes Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division — a complex of beach ridges and dunes that has given rise to a diversity of plant communities including sand prairie, sand savanna, marsh, and graminoid fen, providing habitat for many migratory and breeding wildlife.
The Trail
A 0.7-mile recreational trail runs through the preserve, created by converting an existing asphalt roadway. The trail connects to existing trails at adjacent Illinois Beach State Park via the 7th Street bike lanes, making it easy to combine a visit with the state park and North Point Marina in a single outing. Visitors can enjoy biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing. Amenities include benches, an observation platform, and public parking. Dogs must be leashed and on trails at all times.
Video credit: CynicalZombie on YouTube
Birding and Wildlife
Spring Bluff is regarded as some of the best birding in Lake County. The preserve supports 114 bird species and nine endangered plant and animal species. Notable breeding species include Henslow's sparrow, king and Virginia rails, upland sandpiper, least and American bitterns, and common snipe. Herons nest in the marshes, and migrating peregrine falcons follow the shoreline corridor. The plant communities are equally rich, including royal fern, butterfly weed, white wild indigo, ragged fringed orchid, prairie lily, and button blazingstar.
- ·Henslow's sparrow
- ·King & Virginia rails
- ·Upland sandpiper
- ·Least & American bitterns
- ·Common snipe
- ·Peregrine falcon
- ·Great blue heron
- ·Shorebirds & waterfowl
- ·Warblers along the corridor
- ·Royal fern
- ·Butterfly weed
- ·White wild indigo
- ·Ragged fringed orchid
- ·Prairie lily
- ·Button blazingstar
Why It Matters
In 1992, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission dedicated Spring Bluff as an Illinois Nature Preserve for its high quality and unique natural resources. It sits within the Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain, which in 2015 was placed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance — a designation shared by adjacent lands covering 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline across southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois.
Plan Your Visit
1200 7th Street, Winthrop Harbor, IL 60096. Entrance on 7th Street just east of Sheridan Road.
Park in the marina parking lot at the entrance of North Point Marina — the gate is locked to vehicle traffic. Enter the preserve on foot through an open gate on the north end of the parking lot.
6:30 am to sunset, daily. No entrance fee.
Follow Main St. (7th St.) to the end, turn left, follow road to the end, turn left to the parking lot entrance. After passing through the gate, head west around a pond and then south along the preserve border.