J. T. Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve

Spring-fed creeks meander amid a rugged topography of steep slopes and narrow valleys harboring a mosaic of oak-hickory forest, lofty pine woodland, and a diverse mix of savanna, shrubland, and prairie.

[1] The preserve was founded in 2000 due to a land gift from the John Nickel family.

Through controlled burns, The Nature Conservancy helps re-create the open woodland and biological diversity that characterized this region in pre-settlement days.

Cold, fresh water flows over the rocks from a nearby spring before draining into Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River.

The Conservancy has closed Bathtub Rocks to the public, due to the willful and negligent activity that had continued.

The interconnected Pine Ridge and Savannah trails depart from the headquarters and are three miles in length.

A map of the J.T. Nickel Preserve.
A bull and cow elk near the Wetland Trail in the Preserve. They are grazing new green grass that has sprouted in a prairie that was burned the previous fall.