What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 4pm Tuesday 8am - 4pm Wednesday 8am - 4pm Thursday 8am - 4pm Friday 8am - 4pm

Sugar Creek Administration Center/Preserve

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Joliet, IL
Sugar Creek Administration Center/Preserve

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Sugar Creek Administration Center is located at 17540 W. Laraway Road, west of Route 52, in Joliet. The preserve is open sunrise-sunset.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County's Sugar Creek Administration Center is located within Sugar Creek Preserve and offers public programs and a meeting area for rental. The Center is open Monday through Friday for the public to purchase picnic, camping, and dog park permits. Sugar Creek Preserve provides parking areas for cars and horse trailers, a latrine, water fountain, and access to the 22.29-mile paved/crushed limestone Wauponsee Glacial Trail.

10/23/2026

The Forest Preserve District is launching controlled burn alerts through Will County’s Smart911 system this fall!

Residents can sign up to receive text, phone or email notifications about prescribed burns near their homes, workplaces or favorite preserves.

Controlled burns help maintain healthy prairies, wetlands and woodlands. Sign up through Will County’s alerts page and opt in to “Will County Forest Preserve Controlled Burn Alerts” to stay informed.

(Photo by Anthony Schalk)

Residents can opt in to receive notifications when burns are planned nearby.

10/16/2026

How does a snake get around without legs?

Snakes can move in four different ways: serpentine, sidewinding, rectilinear and concertina. Their strong muscles, flexible spines and hundreds of ribs work together to help them slither, climb, swim and even move across sand.

And here in Will County, the legless glass lizard uses a similar S-shaped movement, too!

(Photo via Shutterstock)

How do snakes slither? It turns out it depends on the snake and several other factors.

10/09/2026

Red-winged blackbirds have a serious case of opposite styles!

Male red-winged blackbirds are glossy black with bright red shoulder patches edged in yellow. Females look completely different, with streaky brown feathers that help them blend into their surroundings.

(Photo by Anthony Schalk)

Several birds are known for their aggressive behavior, but perhaps none as much as the red-winged blackbird, a bird that isn't afraid to pick on creatures much larger than itself.

10/02/2026

So many bees and so many jobs that they are responsible for!

09/25/2026

Bees have a lot of jobs! Most of the bees are female. Let’s learn about female bees and what jobs they have. Don’t forget to tune in next week for the next part!

09/18/2026

Got an old bike collecting dust? Give it a second life!

Donate your unwanted bikes or bike parts at Sugar Creek Preserve during the Forest Preserve District’s Recycle Your Bicycle program, running Sept. 12–27.

No bike is too old or rusty! Donations support Working Bikes and help provide bikes to people who need them.

(Photo by Anthony Schalk)

The fall Recycle Your Bicycle program returns from Sept. 12-27. Bikes can be donated at five Forest Preserve sites.

09/14/2026

Your old bike could be a new ride for someone else. Through Sept. 27, donate unwanted bicycles at Sugar Creek Preserve and four other preserve locations. The bikes will go to Working Bikes, which has been refurbishing and distributing bikes locally and globally to those in need since 1999.

The fall Recycle Your Bicycle program returns from Sept. 12-27. Bikes can be donated at five Forest Preserve sites.

09/11/2026

Ever wonder why birds can sit on power lines without getting shocked?

It’s not because birds are immune to electricity. When a bird sits on a single wire, it doesn’t create a path for the electricity to reach the ground. But touching another wire or a grounded object can be deadly.

The same goes for squirrels scampering along power lines.

(Photo via Shutterstock)

We all know to keep a safe distance from power lines, so how are birds and squirrels able to touch them without consequence?

09/04/2026

You might not find lobsters in landlocked Will County, but you can find their freshwater relatives, crayfish! These fascinating crustaceans use their claws to catch food and defend themselves, can regrow lost legs and claws, and molt their hard shells as they grow. Crayfish are also an important part of the food chain, providing food for animals like mink, raccoons, snakes, turtles, frogs, herons and egrets.

(Photo courtesy of Yu Cheng)

We, of course, have no lobsters here in landlocked Will County, but their miniature-sized relative, the crayfish, populates our waterways.

08/28/2026

Do you ever take pictures in any of the Will County Forest Preserves?

If you do, you should enter the Preserve The Moment Photo Contest! Whether the photo is of a flora or a fauna, any photo is welcomed as long as it is in one of the preserves. Each monthly winner will receive a $75 MasterCard gift card plus get a chance to win bigger prizes later in the year!

There is still time to enter before August ends! Learn more below!

2/1/2026-12/31/2026: Calling all amateur shutterbugs! Your photos from the preserves could win you the top prize, or one of the monthly prizes, in our Preserve the Moment photo contest.

Address

17540 W Laraway Road
Joliet, IL
60433

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4pm
Tuesday	8am - 4pm
Wednesday	8am - 4pm
Thursday	8am - 4pm
Friday	8am - 4pm

Telephone

+18157278700

Website

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/Preserves-Trails/Visitor-Centers/Sugar-Creek-Administration-Center

Alerts

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