Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve
Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve
Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve
4.5
About
Public Access is provivded from either Blackhawk or Mulford Roads. This 145-acre preserve provides a diversity of recreational opportunities. Includes a 30-acre oak woods listed on the Illinois Natural Area Inventory of notable natural quality. A hiking trail provides access to the woods. Traditional picnic areas and shelters available. Adjacent to State of Illinois' high quality ranked Kishwaukee River.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
8 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
3
Average
0
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0
Terrible
0
kayakdeb2
Ingleside, IL40 contributions
Jul 2013 • Friends
This river is a great find for water floating fun. Came here to kayak, had so much fun came back to tube it the very next week. There are many parks to take in, out, our stop for a picnic. The water is never deep and clean enough to get wet in. Very few obstructions and moves along at a pleasant pace. There is an outfitter, and the Black hawk campground rents tubes but has no shuttle. We chose to take 2 vehicles but the drive time between the parks is minimal, so worth it. Busier on the weekends but very refreshing and relaxing for a summer day.
Written July 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan E
Rockford, IL25 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
We rented a kayak from kishwaukee canoe and had a great time. They shuttled us from Atwood park (where we left our cars) to Bauman park, about an 8 mile trip on the river. It was the perfect length, we were on a mission and finished in 2 hours but the normal time is 3 to 4 depending on how much you swim or float. We have kayaked all over Wisconsin and other places and this is one of the best as far as not having lots of jams to maneuver around. Which makes it perfect for families with younger children/teens. We are going to go back and tube it soon.
Written July 11, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StillmanValleyScott
Stillman Valley194 contributions
Jul 2012
Fishing is good here, be aware that on Saturdays in summer there are literally hundreds of drunken canoer's partying, so if that isn't your thing, go elsewhere on those days.
Written February 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
m b
Rockford, IL35 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
This park is on Both sides of the Kishwaukee River. They do not connect, so you must leave the park for about a 1/4 mile, cross the Blackhawk Road bridge and re-enter on the other entrance. They are only about 100 yards or less wide but the road follows the entire route except for about 200 feet at the very end. Parking can be a problem on a very busy summer day. Bass fishing is excellent when wading into the Kishwaukee River at the very end, again only about 2-4 feet deep with rocky/sandy bottom. (of course it has some holes, so be careful). Lot's and lot's of picnic tables along the route.. only about 1 mile long. This is a very popular park for the area. Winnebago county preserves, no matter which one you go to, are well kept and clean. This is also the end of the South walking path (paved) of the Kishwaukee Springs Forest Preserve to the North. Enjoy
Written March 4, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Davina U
Rockford22 contributions
Aug 2018 • Friends
We did a kayak trip. Went in at Bauman Park and got off at Atwood. Trip is about 4.5 hours without getting off to break. Water is about 3 ft most areas. There is a few times we had to get out and walk the kayak as the water was shallow. If u stay near the outter bank it may be avoided. Be sure to wear shoes or aqua socks as there are a lot of rocks. This is a fun trip for everyone!! And there are islands to stretch and take breaks.
Written August 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pass-N-Through
All over290 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
Sunday, May 14, 2017 - Approximately 4:30pm It was a beautiful day in Rockford today. We were originally planning to check out Blackhawk Forest Preserve in Cherry Valley, but changed our minds when we got there.
We headed down Mulford from State street and followed it all the way down to the entrance to the park in Cherry Valley. We came to Blackhawk Forest Preserve entrance and went past and came to Kishwaukee Forest Preserve and entered.
It was a very nice place. Plenty of trails, plenty of places to sit and relax, plenty of places to sit right on the river. Plenty of people canoeing down the river. There are also picnic tables with grills and plenty of room for the kids to run and play.
The restroom is located right at the entrance. There is also a bulletin board listing all sorts of info regarding canoeing, fishing, cooking out, etc.
The closing times for the preserve basically are 30 minutes after sunset. They have a sheet posted that lists the closing times each and every day of the year located on the bulletin board there at the entrance. For May it runs between 8 and 8:30 more or less. The change from day to day is literally minutes.
Today wasn't that crowded. Had we gotten there earlier and been better prepared and knew what was available, we would have stayed and cooked out. We may do that next weekend.
This was a great discovery.
We headed down Mulford from State street and followed it all the way down to the entrance to the park in Cherry Valley. We came to Blackhawk Forest Preserve entrance and went past and came to Kishwaukee Forest Preserve and entered.
It was a very nice place. Plenty of trails, plenty of places to sit and relax, plenty of places to sit right on the river. Plenty of people canoeing down the river. There are also picnic tables with grills and plenty of room for the kids to run and play.
The restroom is located right at the entrance. There is also a bulletin board listing all sorts of info regarding canoeing, fishing, cooking out, etc.
The closing times for the preserve basically are 30 minutes after sunset. They have a sheet posted that lists the closing times each and every day of the year located on the bulletin board there at the entrance. For May it runs between 8 and 8:30 more or less. The change from day to day is literally minutes.
Today wasn't that crowded. Had we gotten there earlier and been better prepared and knew what was available, we would have stayed and cooked out. We may do that next weekend.
This was a great discovery.
Written May 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda E
Cherry Valley, IL10 contributions
Oct 2015 • Family
Nice place to hike, picnic, tube, biking, and just have a relaxing afternoon! It's also
a great place for canoeing.
a great place for canoeing.
Written March 15, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RICHARD G
ROCKFORD64 contributions
May 2014
I agree about the kayaking. great in early spring for quick ride or a great workout paddling upstream first when it calmer in mid summer. Enjoy a lazy ride down after the workout. I launch at Bauman Park it's quick and easy. Head upstream and get a good upper body workout.
Written August 17, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
To be honest, I have no idea. We never went down the river. I would suspect that you would have to contact the park itself and see what they have setup for going down the river.
Written July 9, 2017
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