Knoch Knolls park is the biggest park in the Naperville Park District, with over 260 acres. The park has embedded itself in nature, offering an array of habitats for those looking to take advantage of the scenic outdoors.
Knoch Knolls Park diverse nature habitats
“There’s at least seven different types of habitats like Upland Woods. We’ve got kind of some River Bluffs, we’ve got Prairie on the side, we’ve got Woodlands, Lowland Woodlands. We’ve got a unique habitat called a Sedge Meadow. So because there’s so much water around there, it also contributed to the first people that use this area, the Native Americans and then the fur traders and the settlers, because you kind of had before we had roads, you had those rivers as waterways, said Nature Center Manager, Angelique Harshman.
Yet, the park offers more than just what’s on land, as the Knoch Knolls Nature Center features an over 900-gallon freshwater fish tank with underwater creatures that can be found in the DuPage River as the east and west branches of the river converge at Knoch Knolls Park. Fishing is available along the banks of the river with a fishing license for those 16-65.
Knoch Knolls offers fun programs throughout summer
Besides the park, Knoch Knolls offers programs and activities during the summertime and the rest of the year. Some include gardening, landscaping, and nature hikes for adults, as summer day camps and nature discovery days for families and kids, which will begin next week.
“We have programming basically from, you know, little guys all the way up to seniors and beyond. And we have an on-site nature preschool, but we also offer a variety of different programs throughout the year, hikes with a naturalist. So you can see what’s going on seasonally,” said Harshman.
More activities free to the public
Amenities include its newly renovated 18-hole disc golf course along the DuPage River’s west branch; the course is free and open to the public. Other facilities include a boat canoe launch, picnic shelters, ponds, hiking and biking trails, and playgrounds for children.
“We have an area that’s kind of for 2 to 5-year-olds, so easy for them to climb on things and check it out. And then an area that’s from like 6 to 11-year-olds with more climbing structures that are for the older kids. It’s nature themed, like you’ll see a log tunnel and what looks like a big spider web. And so that was part of their original construction of that building as well,” said Harshman.
For more information, about activities, programs, and events happening at Knoch Knolls and across the Naperville Park District, visit their website.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
