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| Located on the east side of Joliet, on Laraway Road near Route 52, Sugar Creek Preserve provides main access to the Wauponsee Glacial Trail. Named after an ancient glacial lake, the proposed 26 mile trail will follow abandoned rail lines from Joliet to Kankakee and is ideal for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, in-line skating, and equestrian use. The trail north of Laraway Road is asphalt for 2.7 miles and is ideal for in-line skating. South of Laraway Road, the trail is wider to accommodate equestrian riders and covered with limestone screenings. Parking is available at Sugar Creek Preserve (Laraway Road, in Joliet), Manhattan (Manhattan Road), and Symerton (Commercial Drive). Equestrian trailer parking is available at Sugar Creek Preserve. Also located at Sugar Creek Preserve is the Forest Preserve's new visitor's center and office location, the Sugar Creek Administration Center. The Sugar Creek Administration Center serves as a model of "green architecture." Advances in construction materials and electrical systems have now made it possible to reduce substantially the impact on the environment of new construction, energy consumption, and pollution. Such features included in the Sugar Creek Center are: photovoltaic panels to provide electricity to power the building's computers and phones; abundant use of glass to provide natural lighting and solar heating in the winter; air-convection system that utilizes chimneys to draw air through the building; and an abundant use of recycled materials that were used in the building's construction.
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 Sugar Creek Preserve is located at 17540 West Laraway Road approximately .75 miles west of Route 52 in Joliet. Hours: Summer 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. or Winter 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m Sugar Creek Administration Center Hours: M - F 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Phone 815.727.9700 | ||||||||
| The Sugar Creek Administration Center serves as an educational tool for tomorrow's architects and builders. Educators and students in the building trades will have available to them resource materials to explore these new technologies in environmentally sensitive construction. The building will also gain recognition for the Forest Preserve from the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED emphasizes strategies for water savings, energy efficiency, materials' selection, and indoor environmental quality. The Administration Center features extensive landscaping with plants native to the Midwest. The landscaping includes a pond that mimics a natural wetland, providing habitat for wildlife, and filters pollutants from water before it flows into Sugar Creek. Visitors to the Sugar Creek Center can obtain information on Forest Preserve trails, obtain permits, and attend workshops and tours on natural gardening and building "green." Tours of the building are specifically designed for high school trade classes, students enrolled in architecture or design courses, builders, community groups, and environmental organizations. The Center also provides office space for many Forest Preserve employees and meeting space for monthly Board of Commissioner meetings and for civic and social groups. |
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