About Dan Ryan Woods
History Dan Ryan Woods sits on some of the highest land in Chicago—once the tip of an island in ancient Lake Chicago. Standing at Dan Ryan Woods 14,000 years ago, you would have been surrounded by water.
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Ancient Lake Chicago became smaller as glaciers retreated. Mastodons roamed, followed by nomadic bands of Paleo Indians. Vast grasslands grew in the warming climate. Land from here to present day Lake Michigan was swampy, marshy and striped with high sandy ridges—remnants of ancient Lake Chicago’s beaches. The low wetlands provided rich habitats for plants and animals, and produced abundant food and raw materials for Native Americans. The higher ridges served as transportation routes and were topped with oak and hickory trees.
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Like much of the land protected and restored by the Forest Preserves, current day Dan Ryan Woods once hosted a working farm. Purchased in 1872 by John B. Sherman, manager of the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company, the land became home to pigs and herds of cattle that grazed freely on the ridges. In 1902 the Chicago Livestock World newspaper described the farm as the “largest within the city limits of Chicago…”
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In 1909 architects Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett, under the direction of the Commercial Club of Chicago, published the now famous Plan of Chicago. This ambitious urban planning effort included Sherman’s farm in a proposed “outer park system.” In 1917, the newly formed Forest Preserves purchased 112 acres of the former farm, creating Beverly Hills preserve. It was re-named to honor former Forest Preserves board member Dan Ryan, Sr. in 1924.
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​The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed construction projects across the country, including many of the Forest Preserves’ earliest picnic shelters, bridges and flood control structures.
Amenities & Things to Do
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Parking
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Nature Play
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Accessible Indoor & Portable Bathrooms
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Fitness Stairs
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Visitor Center
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Indoor Events
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Volunteer Opportunities
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Sledding
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Trail Access
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Hiking & Walking
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Bicycling Dogs (on-leash only)
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Cross-Country Skiing
Visitor Center
Visitors can apply for permits at the Visitor Center during seasonal hours. Host indoor events
Dan Ryan Trails
This mile-long paved loop connects to the Major Taylor Trail.
Major Taylor Trail
The Major Taylor Trail runs from Dan Ryan Woods south to Whistler Woods and includes paved segments, off-street paved segments managed by the Chicago Park District, and on-street segments.
Marianne Kozlowski
