🍁 Top spots for taking in Northern Illinois’ fall colors

Peak fall colors are nearly upon us.

According to the Illinois Office of Tourism, Northern Illinois’ most vibrant foliage tends to emerge during the second week of October. Their most recent report suggests that while reds and oranges are beginning to pop up, some areas appear to be a tad behind schedule.

Which, incidentally, gives you more time to plan!

We’d recommend starting with these local spots close to home:

• The Fox River Trail: Our local gem winds through plenty of forest preserves and scenic parks within the Tri-Cities and beyond.

• Johnson’s Mound: This Elburn forest preserve’s got woods, prairie and relative solitude — what more can you ask for?

• Pratt’s Wayne Woods: One of the best fall color hikes we did last year…waterfront trails, wildlife and some fishing as a bonus.

• Blackwell Forest Preserve: Just east of Batavia in Warrenville you’ll find hiking trails, boating and even an off-leash dog area.

For those willing to venture a bit further, consider these colorful destinations:

Morton Arboretum (Lisle): You’ve got until Halloween to check out the Arboretum’s Fall Color Festival, which spotlights global tree collections as they slowly transform into a rich symphony of color.

🚘 Estimated drive time: 35 minutes (east)

Starved Rock & Matthiessen State Parks (Oglesby): With 13 miles of trails near the Illinois River, Starved Rock offers everything from towering canyons to crashing waterfalls. The scenery is equally breathtaking at neighboring Matthiessen State Park.

🚘 Estimated drive time:1 hour 25 minutes (southwest)

White Pines Forest State Park (Mt. Morris): Our favorite “local” park. Significantly smaller crowds than the aforementioned destinations with comparable beauty. Plus, you can grab a beer at Ogle County Brewery in Oregon on your way out.

🚘 Estimated drive time: 1 hour 25 minutes (west)

Check out Enjoy Illinois’ fall color trip planner for more useful info.

📰 News to use

The 🔒 icon indicates a potential paywall. The *️⃣ icon indicates that an account/login is needed.

☑️ Minor disruption: Set to begin in October, construction at Batavia’s wastewater treatment plant will limit roadway access and require a portion of the Fox River Trail to close down.

☑️ Moving forward: Geneva City Council recently voted to approve two projects — the Roosevelt - Great Western Flooring initiative and the 304 Deerfield Way fence height variation.

🔒 Campaign prep: Sandra Parga of St. Charles, Kane County’s first Latina judge, has announced she’ll run for Circuit Judge, Fourth Sub-Circuit, in the 2024 election.

☑️ Cash bail: Amid concerns about the impact of Illinois’ new “SAFE-T Act,” Kane County has launched a dashboard to give residents a clear, transparent source of court data.

🔒 Well that’s awkward: The developers of a street construction project in St. Charles have refused to complete the work — forcing the city to go to the bullpen to get it done.

☑️ Friendly reminder: Platform No. 2 at the Geneva train station will be closed for rehab starting today through the end of 2024. Commuters should use the temporary platform east of Third Street.

☑️ Temporary detour: The intersection of South Kirk Road and Illinois Avenue in St. Charles is closed starting today for a water main replacement project — possibly resulting in lane closures on Kirk.

🎸 Live music

*Below are “listed” start/end times — actual play times tend to vary. The 🎟️ symbol indicates an admission fee. Links to band/event info are provided where available.

Tuesday (10/10) ⬇️

✔️ Ross Krakow: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Event info

Wednesday (10/11) ⬇️

✔️ Cheryl Rodey: 93 Octane Brewing | St. Charles | 6-9PM | Musician info

✔️ Matthew Kopecky: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Event info + video

✔️ Junkyard Groove: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 6-9PM | Band info

Thursday (10/12) ⬇️

✔️ Riley Bros Duo: Flagship on the Fox | St. Charles | 4-7PM | Band info

🎟️ Nick @ Knight: Club Arcada | St. Charles | 5PM | Event info 

✔️ Tom Holland: Preservation | Geneva | 6-9PM | Musician info

✔️ Sean Gaskell: St. Charles Public Library | 6:30-7:30PM | Event info

✔️ Stan Karcz: ROX at Hotel Baker | St. Charles | 7:30-11PM | Musician info

✔️ PBJ: EvenFlow | Geneva | 8PM

🏘️ In the community

🔒 Artistic acclaim: Kathleen Tieri Ton has dedicated her career to helping BHS students foster their creative flair — so it’s nice to see her honored as 2023 Secondary Art Educator of the Year.

☑️ Talking gas: You can weigh in on Geneva’s QuikTrip PUD Amendment project (on East State Street and Kirk) during a public hearing at 7PM on Thursday at City Hall.

☑️ Pumpkin power: Let’s take a moment to appreciate Illinois farmers for leading the nation in pumpkin production by a long shot. Kane is among the top 10 pumpkin-producing counties, too. Here’s where you can pick some up.

☑️ Happy birthday: Shout out to Artie, a local box turtle who turns 45 years young today. His story is a celebration of conservation success.

🔒 American pride: Check out photos from the Flag Day Monument opening ceremony at Patriot's Park on October 1 in Batavia.

🎈 Special events

Sturdy Shelter’s First Anniversary Celebration

October 12-16 | Sturdy Shelter Brewing | Batavia

In addition to brewing some great beer (many with creative Batavia-themed names), Sturdy Shelter Brewing is all about community — another reason we’re such big fans. Their anniversary party kicks off with a ribbon cutting at 4PM on Thursday, followed by a weekend full of tunes, food and outstanding company.

Keep an eye out for the live music lineup in Thursday’s newsletter.

☑️ Fall festivities: Looking for family-friendly fall fun? St. Charles is the spot for autumn hayrides, a Mummy Mile Fun Run and Monster Purge haunted paintball.

☑️ Celebrating service: Local philanthropist Ann Alexander will be honored at the TriCity Family Services’ 39th annual William D. Barth Award Dinner on 10/18. The event is free with a buffet dinner.

🏬 Local biz

☑️ High praise: Brewery Stars uses public ratings to curate a data-driven ranked list of breweries in different areas. Energy City (3) and Riverlands (10) cracked the top 10 for Illinois.

☑️ Grand openings: Home Instead (offering in-home senior care) of St. Charles cuts the ribbon tomorrow.

☀️ Weather snapshot

• Today: High 56F | Low 36F | A brisk beauty

• Tuesday: High 58F | Low 37F | Pleasant autumn day: round 2

• Wednesday: High 60F | Low 51F | Warm-ish and rain-ish

• Thursday: High 56F | Low 51F | Wet and dreary

📱 Follow TCC

We’re on Facebook and Instagram.

What’d you think of this issue?

🔥 Loved it, keep up the good work [this]

😐 Decent, like the Bears against bad teams [this]

🛑 3 minutes I’ll never get back [this]

📖 Thanks for reading

If you have any questions, feedback, tips or suggestions, don’t hesitate to reply to this email — I respond to all replies. Same goes if you’d like to explore newsletter sponsorships or working together in any other way.

Cheers,

Sam 

P.S. If you enjoy Tri-Cities Central, please refer others and/or leave a review! We grow primarily through word of mouth.