Veteran's Acres Park in Crystal Lake, IL a Lovely Place to Visit for Nature Lovers

Crystal Lake Illinois is a rapidly growing suburb in Illinois. The suburb is a little more than an hour (with light traffic) and is west of Chicago. For the most part Crystal Lake is a bustling town with a down town area, residential neighborhoods and local shopping. Crystal Lake does however have a couple of large parks that are worthy of a bit of bragging. That is in addition to two local beaches and several smaller parks.

One of the parks that is worthy of a visit from avid nature lovers is Veterans Acres Park which is located off of Route 176 and Walk Up Road. The park is a total of 140 Acres and has a lot to offer.

For local sports teams there are base ball fields and there are also tennis courts (lighted), a basketball court, horse shoe pits and even some cross country ski trails for wintertime use.

Across from the picnic area is a very large playground as well as a large sandbox for kids to play in.

The park contains two large picnic area and two covered picnic areas for parties and events. There are washrooms conveniently located near the first picnic area.

For nature lovers the park provides walking trails in to the woods and a very large prarie area that you can walk around. Paths take you all around the water which is covered with lily pads there are even bridges and a pier to walk on to get a better view of the water and the animals that inhabit the prarie it is not rare to see a frog, ducks, and fish.

The park also boasts beutiful old trees including willows.

There is a pine forest located in the woods and if you visit be sure to stop by the nature center to ask how to get in to the pine forest. Standing in a real pine forest is a treat, you will experience a temperature change as you walk inside of it and just might feel like you are part of some kind of a fairy tale setting. Last time we were in there we got a nice glimpse of some dear inside the pine forest.

If you visit there you must visit the nature center which is across the park from the picnic area. Kids and adults will enjoy looking at he animals there and finding out about local plants and animals. There is also a butterfly room that you can go in to and see the different butterflies the people who work there are often more than happy to take you in there and point out the various types of butterflies while giving you information about them.

Veteran's Acres is also one of the stops in Crystal Lake for those who like Geocaching. Geocaching in Veterans acres will lead you through an exploration of trees and local plaques dedicated to past Crystal Lake residents. If you enjoy geocaching and find yourself any where near the far northwest suburbs of Illinois I highly recommend looking up Crystal Lake there are several sites in the area.

If you love nature and find yourself in the area you should stop by Veteran's Acre Park and enjoy the beautiful park and all it has to offer.