Trailside Museum of Natural History

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Trailside Museum of Natural History One of the six Nature Centers of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Located in River Forest, IL. Free admission, all are welcome.
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Come and enjoy a program, browse our displays, or discover something new outside. View and learn about live native animals, walk on winding trails through oak woodlands, and learn about the ecology and natural wonders of our local Forest Preserve at a nature program or guided walk. The Museum features an indoor children's area, educational displays about local nature, live animals such as turtles, owls and more, and an outdoor Nature Play area. Trailside Museum is free to visit, family-friendly, and a popular destination for school field trips and scout groups. Parking is also free, in a lot on the south side of Chicago Ave., or along the street on Thatcher Ave. About Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Don’t you sometimes just want to escape? Explore the natural beauty of Cook County for an hour, a
day or even a night. When you’re surrounded by 70,000 acres of wild and wonderful, there’s no
better place to feel free. This page has been created for the Forest Preserves of Cook County (LOCATION: Trailside Museum of Natural History) and its visitors to share news, ideas and events. We welcome your engagement and feedback, but
comments posted by a member of the public are the opinion of the poster only, and do not
necessarily imply endorsement of or reflect the opinions or policies of the Forest Preserves. Comments containing any of the following content will not be permitted and are subject to removal
and/or restriction at any time and without prior notice:
• Obscene, sexual or pornographic content and/or language
• Content that promotes discrimination by the government on the basis of race, age,
religion, gender or other protected class
• Private, personal information published without consent
• True threats to any person
• Conduct that violates any federal, state, or local law or encourages illegal activity
• Spam, commercial promotions or links to malware or viruses
• Actual defamation

The Forest Preserves reserves the right to deny access to our social media sites for any individual
who repeatedly violates the Forest Preserves social media policy, at any time and without prior
notice. All comments posted to any Forest Preserves social site are bound by the social media
platform’s terms of use or code of conduct. Users who enter private or personal information do so at their own risk, and the Forest Preserves is
not responsible for any damages resulting from the public display of, or failure to remove, private or
personal information. Content posted on the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s social media sites
may be subject to disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and retention under the
Local Records Act. This policy and terms of use may be amended from time-to-time, without further notice.

Heads up! Starting tomorrow (11/1), we will be moving to our winter hours. The nature center and grounds will begin clos...
10/31/2026

Heads up! Starting tomorrow (11/1), we will be moving to our winter hours. The nature center and grounds will begin closing at 4 PM. Happy November!

10/30/2026

Live at Trailside!!

We are heartbroken to announce the sudden passing of Otis, the Virginia Opossum. Otis arrived from Oaken Acres in March ...
10/22/2026

We are heartbroken to announce the sudden passing of Otis, the Virginia Opossum. Otis arrived from Oaken Acres in March of this year and is estimated to be about 1.5 years of age. In the wild, opossums typically live about 1-3 years and are an important puzzle piece within the ecosystem where they live. At Trailside, Otis had quickly become a perfect fit to our puzzle. He was already a crowd (and staff) favorite, educating the public about the importance of nature's cleanup crew and the many misunderstood animal species in Cook County.

Otis' passing was quite unexpected, and we do not currently know what caused his rapid decline. To understand what happened and ensure the health of our other animals, we will be performing a full necropsy (an animal autopsy). This thorough medical review will take some time and hopefully give us the answers we need and help us continue providing the best possible care for our remaining animal residents.

We thank you for your care and support during this time. Please enjoy these photos from the staff that cared for him.

Don't miss it! This Saturday, Oct 24th, from 2 - 5 pm, Spooky Stories & S'mores is back! Trick-or-treat, paint a pumpkin...
10/21/2026

Don't miss it! This Saturday, Oct 24th, from 2 - 5 pm, Spooky Stories & S'mores is back! Trick-or-treat, paint a pumpkin, listen to spooky stories and more. Costumes encouraged! Presented with the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library. Hosted at Thatcher Woods. All ages welcome!

Coming up on October 29th, 7-9 pm: Night at the Museum! Step into the shadows for eerie animal encounters, exploration o...
10/19/2026

Coming up on October 29th, 7-9 pm: Night at the Museum! Step into the shadows for eerie animal encounters, exploration of the 1876 mansion, live musical performances, and the strange wonders lurking in the night woods. Costumes encouraged!

This program is split into outdoor and indoor portions. Outdoor activities don't require registration, and will feature family-friendly levels of spookiness with the River Forest Public Library, Mariachi Sirenas, and storytelling around a fire! All ages.

To get access to the indoor program, please register by following the link below and select your 30 minute timeslot. Indoor festivities will be slightly spookier, and feature an example of how we prep the food for our raptors, taxidermy demonstrations with the Insect Asylum, and more! Ages 13 & up

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/night-at-the-museum-tickets-1996109149199

Thank you to the amazing Dominican University students and faculty who joined us earlier this month for their first rest...
10/19/2026

Thank you to the amazing Dominican University students and faculty who joined us earlier this month for their first restoration event at the Invasive Triangle! Because of you, this restoration site is already on its way to a healthier future.
We’re grateful for your energy and excited to welcome new volunteers to our restoration efforts.
🌱💚

10/16/2026

The pumpkins are waiting…..

Join us this Sunday (October 18, 10am-3pm) for our annual Fall Festival celebration, where you can paint pumpkins, as well as enjoy many other fun activities.

Food vendors will be on site and shuttle buses will bring visitors in from a nearby parking lot.

FREE event.

Seed Collection at Wolf Road Prairie, October 17, 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. We'll meet at the Prairie House.Please join us for a pr...
10/15/2026

Seed Collection at Wolf Road Prairie, October 17, 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. We'll meet at the Prairie House.
Please join us for a prairie seed-collecting workday and learn about the significance and history of the remnant Wolf Road Prairie near Westchester. Mary Zaander, a dedicated steward, will lead this workday. You can register for this opportunity here: https://www.givepulse.com/shift/5343964 or by calling Trailside at 708-366-6530

🌾 Big news from Thatcher Woods! 🌾The Wednesday Journal just highlighted our restoration project with Roosevelt Middle Sc...
10/14/2026

🌾 Big news from Thatcher Woods! 🌾
The Wednesday Journal just highlighted our restoration project with Roosevelt Middle School. Huge thanks to the amazing students, volunteers, and partners helping bring native habitat back to life, one seed at a time. 💚🌱
Read more:

On Oct. 7, students from Roosevelt Middle School traveled to Melrose Park to collect native plant seeds from a small prairie.

Huge thanks to the amazing students and staff at Walther Christian Academy High School for your hard work during your Th...
10/12/2026

Huge thanks to the amazing students and staff at Walther Christian Academy High School for your hard work during your Thatcher Woods Day of Service!
With your energy, teamwork, and dedication, you collected 12 bags of trash and helped keep the preserve cleaner and healthier for wildlife and visitors.
Your service truly shines! Thank you for supporting our forest preserves. We hope to see you back out on the trails soon!

Address

738 Thatcher Avenue
River Forest, IL
60305

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17083666530

Website

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