Agencies
Services
Land and Water Reserve Area
1
County
Kane
Location
The site is in the northeastern part of Kane County within the Fox River watershed. It is part of the larger Raceway Woods complex. The reserve is north of Huntley Road, east of Sleepy Hollow Road, and west of Illinois Route 31.
Description
Raceway Woods and Fen Land and Water Reserve envelopes the Shaw Fen and Woods Illinois Natural Areas Inventory site (INAI #1771) that contains Grade B and Grade C mesic woodlands, Grade B and Grade C graminoid fen wetlands, and a cultural community being restored to prairie. The fen wetlands are located at slightly higher elevations in the northwestern portion of the site and the mesic woodlands are arrayed to either side of the drainageway on a well-dissected landscape. The rolling topography and mix of graminoid fens, dry-mesic forest, and drainage ways that characterize Raceway Woods and Fen Land and Water Reserve is emblematic of the Morainal Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division of Illinois. Collectively, these natural communities and prairie restoration support 250 native plant species.
Ownership
Dundee Township, Forest Preserve District of Kane County, and Private Ownership
Natural Division
Morainal Section of the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division (#3a)
Registered
June 2018
Size
181 acres
Access
The Dundee Township and Forest Preserve District of Kane County portions are open to the public, but the privately owned portion is closed to the public. Vehicular access to the larger Raceway Woods complex is provided by a parking facility located along Illinois Route 31 and Huntley Road. Trails that accommodate hiking, biking, and equestrian use extend from the parking facility. Limited parking is also available along Ranch Road, but the trails accommodate hiking only.
Topographic Quad
Elgin
For Further Information
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702
217-785-8686
DNR.INPC@illinois.gov