Putnam County Conservation District

GPS Coordinates: N 41.16879; W 89.28734

Site Access: Free; Fee Parking

Amenities: Information; Restrooms; Hiking; Canoeing; Boating; Fishing; Camping; Picnic; Visitors Center

Directions: From the intersection of SR (State Route) 26 and I 80 in Princeton, go east on I 80 for 4.3 miles to Exit 61/I 180. Go south on I 180 for 13.4 miles. Take the Connecting Rd. exit for 0.2 miles. Turn south (right) on SR 26 for 5.8 miles. Turn east (left) on CR (County Road) 11/CR 500N for 1.5 miles to the “Putnam County Conservation Area” sign. Turn south (right) at the sign and follow the access road another 1.0 mile to the site.

Description: Created by a 1966 county referendum under provisions of the Conservation District Act of 1963, the 950+-acre Putnam Country Conservation District was established through the acquisition and preservation of 5 wild-land parcels. The “home site” is a 270-acre tract called the Natural Lands Area, which also houses the district's headquarters and offers primitive camping, picnic shelters, hiking and equestrian trails, and cross country skiing through oak-hickory forests and restored tallgrass prairie. Be on the lookout for coyotes, wild turkeys, and white-tailed deer, all of which are commonly observed there.

The district's other holdings include the 430-acre Lake Senachwine Area,
located on 3,000+ acre Lake Senachwine, a backwater lake of the Illinois River. The area offers fishing, boating, snowmobiling, ice-skating, shelters, and the 260-acre Fox Run Area, which specializes in equestrian riding through wooded ravines in the area's upper section.

The Putnam County Conservation District is also the custodian of two state-recognized nature preserves. The larger of the two is the 80-acre George S. Park Memorial Woods. The preserve is a high quality remnant of the oak forests that once dominated ravines along the Illinois River Valley.

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