Celebrate Illinois Nature Preserves Weekend at Casper Bluff

The tour will take guests through restored tall-grass prairie, oak savanna, and to view the last remaining thunderbird effigy in Illinois. Guests should meet at the kiosk by the parking lot at the top of the hill. The tour will cover approximately .75 miles on uneven terrain. The group will be led by Tom Clay, JDCF Director of Special Projects, and newly appointed Illinois Nature Preserves Commissioner; Andra Olney-Larson, Operations Manager of the Casper Creek Natural Cemetery; and Hillary Holt, JDCF Education and Outreach Manager. The tour is free, but space is limited, and RSVPs required through Eventbrite.

Casper Bluff Land and Water Reserve boasts commanding views of the Mississippi River and its backwater sloughs, and it is an archaeologically significant site, protecting 51 tribal mounds including the last remaining intact thunderbird effigy mound known in Illinois. This site is also home to one of Illinois’s few conservation cemeteries.