Nature Center for Hidden Lakes

This rolling 17½ acre property, located adjacent to the historic Hidden Lakes Trout Farm, the DuPage River Greenway, and Campfire Camp Kata Kani, will house the Bolingbrook Park District's new 6,300-square-foot nature center.

The acquisition was complicated, involving two government entities, a donation to a foundation, and a landowner who had held the property for nearly sixty years, but Openlands Land Preservation staff  never gave up on finding a way to make all the parties come together.

Securing this property protects a valuable grouping of publicly and privately held open space and will be a nexus for recreation and nature-oriented activities—vernal wetlands, flood plain, glacial moraine, and a canopy of oak trees offer a wealth of learning experiences for visitors to this permanently protected site.