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Heller Nature Center
Heller
Nature Center
Trails open 7:30am to dusk.
2821 Ridge Rd | 847.433.6901

TRAIL HOURS:

  • Every Day
    7:30am - Dusk

BUILDING HOURS:

  • Sun-Mon
    Closed
  • Tue
    11:30am-5pm
  • Wed, Thu, Fri
    10:30am-5pm
  • Sat
    9am-3pm

Adventure is Out There

the opportunities are endless

Heller Nature Center is not only home to 97-acres of beautiful oak-hickory forest, tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, natural wetlands, and three miles of trails, but it is also home to incredible nature programs and adventures. Our Heller staff plans seasonal nature excursions and educational programs, including canoe trips, nature lectures, amazing nature adventure summer camps with rock climbing, and white-water rafting. Every August, you can participate in harvesting over 500 pounds of Heller honey produced by our famous Heller bees. If you are looking for a quiet escape to the woods, enjoy a picnic in our woodlands, visit our nature exhibit, participate in a program, play in Wander Woods, and cross-country ski our trails.  Heller also has a teams course for groups and a self-guided StoryTrail. Heller’s red, green and blue trails are crushed stone and wheel chair accessible. Our yellow trail is woodchipped.

View Trail Map

Registration

Summer Session

Register Now
ParkSchool
Nature Programs
School Programs
Beach Programs
Teams Course
Scout/Custom Groups
Constance’s Story Trail
Cross-Country Skiing

Heller Honey

Heller Honey is 100% natural and produced in hives at the Heller Nature Center. Heller bees gather nectar from local plants, including bee balm, linden, acacia, honeysuckle and other fragrant blossoms to make this flavorful honey. In addition to producing hundreds of pounds of tasty honey, the bees play an essential role, pollinating many flowering plants.

Heller Nature Center staff and beekeeping volunteers extract the honey in late August. 

We offer public education programs at Heller’s apiary or we can come to you with our new portable observation hive. If you would like to discover more about bees and beekeeping, call us at 847.433.6901.

 

Wander Woods Nature Play Space

Heller Nature Center’s Wander Woods Nature Play Space is a free play natural area designed to nurture a child’s sense of wonder and discovery.

Wander Woods provides an unstructured play area limited only by the imagination. Nestled in the trees and solitude, children can climb a tree house, create in a mud kitchen, experiment with ramps and much more. Let the creativity and messiness begin.

Rentals & Parties

Reserve a date for your next group meeting, family gathering or birthday party at Heller Nature Center.  The unique, natural, and comfortable surroundings of Heller Nature Center make it a great choice for celebrations!

Learn more

Art Exhibit

Beauty in Nature,” an exhibition by the Reed-Turner Botanical Artists, will be on display in the Prairie Room from May 4 to June 23.

The Reed-Turner Botanical Artists meet once a month at The Reed Turner Woodland Nature Preserve in Long Grove. They work to encourage interest in botanical art, conservation science, botany and horticulture. The Beauty in Nature exhibit includes work in graphite, pen & ink, watercolor and colored pencil.

Opening reception: Saturday, May 6, 1:00 to 2:30. Join for refreshments and to meet the artists. At 1:30 there will be a presentation by Nick Furlan, an avid naturalist who has documented and collected plant gall species. In his professional capacity, Nick serves as the Pest Survey Specialist for the state of Illinois for the US Department of Agriculture, where he coordinates and oversees early detection surveys for invasive plant pests and pathogens.

Learn more about the Reed-Turner Botanical Artists

Questions?

Contact Us

Jessica
Reyes
Manager
847.579.4182
Meghan
Meredith
Naturalist
847.579.4183
Mark
Bryant
Naturalist
847.579.4184
Cara
Wren
Office Coordinator
847.579.4181
Chris
Maliszewski
Director of Recreation & Facilities
847.579.3108