Hononegah Forest Preserve: Red and Blue Trails (Blog Hike #701)

Trails: Red and Blue Trails

Hike Location: Hononegah Forest Preserve

Geographic Location: north of Rockford, IL (42.43926, -89.04723)

Length: 1.5 miles

Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2018

Overview: A nearly flat loop partially along the Rock River.

Preserve Information: https://www.winnebagoforest.org/items/hononegah

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=940309
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Just south of Wisconsin, take I-90 to Rockton Road (exit 3).  Exit and go west on Rockton Rd.  Drive Rockton Rd. west 2.2 miles to Dorr Road and turn left on Dorr Rd.  Drive Dorr Rd. south 1 mile to Hononegah Road and turn right on Hononegah Rd.  You arrive at the signed forest preserve entrance on the left immediately after this turn.  Turn left to enter the forest preserve, then at the first intersection take the forest preserve road to the right.  Park in the parking area at the end of this road; this parking area also serves the forest preserve’s athletic fields.

The hike: Draining much of south-Central Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois, the Rock River traces a 299-mile northeast to southwest course on its journey to the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities.  The Sauk and Fox peoples called this river the Sinnissippi, which translates to “rocky waters.”  Today most of the rocky areas that gave this river its name are underwater, as 23 dams have been constructed along the river’s course.  The slow-moving river is popular for canoeing and other aquatic sports.

            Located on the Rock River’s east bank just after it crosses from Wisconsin to Illinois, 228 acre Hononegah Forest Preserve is owned and maintained by Winnebago County.  The forest preserve offers some nice amenities including a 57-site campground, 3 picnic shelters, a playground, athletic fields, a boat ramp, and access to an adjacent bike path.  For hikers, the forest preserve offers nearly 3 miles of trails.  While not the longest possible route, the route described here provides a nice loop through the forest preserve’s natural areas while passing through most of the forest preserve’s habitats.

Athletic field trailhead; red post #8

            Start at red post #8, which is found at the south side of the athletic field parking area.  Numbered posts mark major intersections in the forest preserve’s trail system, and the color corresponds to the trail: red, yellow, or blue.  The trails themselves are not blazed, but they were well-defined on my visit.  Also, the forest preserve’s small size makes it hard to get seriously lost.

The Red Trail heads south through a dense, damp forest dominated by black walnut trees.  At 0.1 miles, you reach post #5 where the Yellow Trail continues straight and heads for the forest preserve’s campground.  Turn right here to stay on the Red Trail, but then in a very short distance turn left at post #6 to begin the Blue Trail, the forest preserve’s most isolated trail.

Hiking along Dry Run Creek

            The Blue Trail parallels Dry Run Creek on the left as they both head downstream for the Rock River.  The forest gets wetter, so be prepared for bugs in the summer and mud in the winter.  Near 0.5 miles, you reach the east bank of the Rock River, where the trail curves sharply right to begin paralleling the wide, calm river.

Rock River

            The river stays just to the left for the next 0.5 miles.  A couple of homes can be seen across the river, but for the most part the scenery is natural.  A woodpecker darted through the trees to my right, and the riverside hiking is much drier and more pleasant than this hike’s initial segment.

Hiking through the prairie

            Ignore side trails that exit right and lead away from the river, but just past 1 mile the Blue Trail curves right at it approaches the preserve’s north boundary.  After a brief climb that gains 15 vertical feet (the only noticeable elevation change on this hike), the Red Trail enters from the right at post #2.  The combined Red and Blue Trails head east through a pine planting that soon gives way to a small prairie planting.  At 1.4 miles, turn right to walk through the preserve’s athletic fields and return to the parking lot, thus completing the hike.