Mitchell Grove Nature Preserve

GPS Coordinates: N 41.37635; W 89.06792

Site Access: Free Parking

Amenities: Viewing Platform

Directions: From I 80 at Ottawa (Exit 90) go west on I 80 about 13.6 miles to Exit
77/SR (State Route) 351 at LaSalle. Go south on SR 351 for 0.6 miles to N 30th Rd./Civic Rd., turning east (left) on N 30th/Civic Rd. and following it till it ends at E 5th Rd. Turn north (left) on E 5th Rd. (back across I 80) for approximately 1.0 mile to the site's small parking area on the left side of the road. Access requires a 0.5-mile walk on a path through a cornfield.

Description: Mitchell's Grove Nature Preserve is a 184-acre wooded site donated to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in 1998 by William H. and Irene Mitchell. The Mitchell family's conservation ethic has protected this unusual area since its purchase in 1879.

From a geologic standpoint, Mitchell's Grove was right in the middle of heavy glacial action, especially during the last (Wisconsin) of the Pleistocene's glaciation events. Small as it is, the site contains evidence of glacial gouging, glacial till deposition, and boulder deposition from as far north as Canada. Additionally, a fault line extending between Utica and Oregon, IL is present near Mitchell's Grove.

The north-facing, shaded cliffs and bluffs of Mitchellʼs Grove still contain remnant vegetation from immediate post-Pleistocene times; vegetation which today is more common in places like northern Wisconsin or Canada. Examples of such vegetation at Mitchell's Grove include species such as white pine, northern white cedar, and swamp saxifrage. The remainder of the site is comprised of other uncommon habitats such as hill prairie, bur oak savanna, white oak-shagbark hickory savanna, and spring seep, which collectively contain over 300 species of plants, 6 of which are listed as state endangered or state threatened.

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