McDonald Family Trails (West Loop)

2.2 miles | 49 minutes | Starts from: Lost Garden Parking Lot

River views, good examples of oak/hickory uplands forest and bottomlands forest, and a mysterious lost garden will greet you on the Ward & Diana McDonald Family Trail. Starting at the Lost Garden, be sure to take time to walk down (and then back up as it is one way) the rows of trees that were once the Lost Garden. A large concrete pad, once the foundation for a tea house, pillars, a short wall and old plantings tell a story of what was once here. After imagining Allerton’s Lost Garden, take the trail that is only the Green Trail as it goes back and forth across Willow Branch Creek.

The trail crosses bottomland and upland forest and tree species change with elevation. Take notice of the oak-hickory dominance in the uplands and silver maple and scattered large bur oaks in the bottomlands. As you approach the Sangamon River, keep an eye out for white-tailed deer and raccoons feeding in the river beds.

Look for: bloodroot and bellwort (spring); green dragon and beavers (summer); wild turkeys (fall); pileated woodpeckers (winter)

There is one section of this trail that shares the path the Blue Trail.

Want a shorter hike? The trail has a shortcut (noted with a dotted line on the map).