All Nature Sites in Pekin

This 459-acre site is comprised of oak-hickory forest and open shrubland. Running Deer Trail, an extensive hiking/mountain biking/cross country trail, runs through the park, crossing several cobble-bottomed brooks and creeks. In 2003, Dirksen Park along with McNaughton Park, were entered into the Illinois Land and Water Reserve Program, designed to protect and improve woodland habitats using restoration management techniques. Dirksen Read more...

McNaughton Park’s 850 acres contain some of the most impressive specimens of white oak in the entire Illinois River Valley. This mix of oak savanna and old growth forests is also a great spot for songbirds, butterflies, and wildflowers. Common birds, like Eastern Bluebird and American Goldfinch are often seen as well as some of the less common species, like Read more...

With a viewing platform, picnic and parking area, this small urban park provides a great place for viewing winter eagles. They also host an annual Eagle Census Festival across the street on the third weekend of January. There are live birds of prey, storytelling, music and guided tours of the river. In the spring and fall, it is worth a Read more...

At just 40 acres, Tante Park is one of the quietest and most secluded of Pekin’s natural area parks. Its Woodland Wildflower Trail runs along a creek bank, and past many old growth sugar maple, white ash, black cherry, and hawthorn. The southern end of the trail terminates at quite possibly the grandest white oak in Tazewell County; it is Read more...