I continue on Warren through “old Warrenville,” past the Community Baptist Church, until I come to Warrenville Rd., where I turn left. If I’m feeling good, I’ll pick up the pace a bit on the new permeable pavers as I head east past St. Irene’s, the Bollweg Building, and the old Leonard Funeral Home. Then it’s on past Fontana’s, Phillip 66, The Towne Tap, Al’s Pizza, Voegtles, and Phoenix Auto Body. (A flood of fond memories and warm thoughts always greets me on this Warrenville-Rd. portion of the run as I think of all the wonderful people I’ve met who own and operate these fine hometown businesses.)
Next, I cross the bridge over the West Branch of the DuPage River and amble by Clay Space and on past Schmidt Park where I turn left on 2nd St. As I pass the Historical Society and Warrenville Museum, I sense the warm up is over, and the work phase in the middle of my local “rave run” is about to begin.
At the end of 4th at Main St., I turn left on to the beautiful spur trail. From this point on, it is all wooded, scenic, and hilly. Within a couple hundred yards, on my left, I pass the bridge and waterfall at Warrenville Grove. The path twists and turns through beautiful oak trees as I proceed north uphill for about three quarters of mile. Many times I have thought about the wonderful job the Forest Preserve did when they recently created this trail. Often I have seen deer and a few times, fox and coyote. There is a northern Wisconsin kind of feel to it all as I cross the footbridge over the stream. The spur dead ends at the Prairie Path near Winfield Rd. where the path continues uphill across Butterfield Rd. into Blackwell Forest Preserve.
High above Silver Lake, the view is panoramic, beautiful, and surprisingly like Illinois. After a brief downhill into the Blackwell parking lot, I take a right onto the main road into Blackwell and again start up hill staying to my left and turning on to the gravel trail that leads to the top of Blackwell Hill (Mt. Trashmore). The last 150 yards to the summit are a good challenge where the peak heart rate of my workout is reached. Once on top, I take an easy 360-degree jog around the concrete ring where I can see for miles. FermiLab, Wheaton Towers, and on a clear day even downtown Chicago are visible.
Next, it is straight down the grass side, where I stay to the left at the bottom and head for the gravel access road that crosses over Spring Brook and a beautiful view of the marsh area before I again turn left to cut through the Scout campgrounds. Once through the campgrounds, I hit the regional trail and again turn left. This path takes me across the scenic bridge over Spring Brook and into the deep woods west of Blackwell Hill. The path meanders by the archery range and through a nice stand of wonderfully aromatic pine trees as it continues past the two smaller Blackwell Lakes. The path ends near the entrance to Blackwell where I cross the parking lot and get back on to the section past Silver Lake. Once past the lake, I know I am in the home stretch and it is all downhill.
As I exit the path at Winfield and cross Butterfield, I can’t help but pick up the pace a little more. At the Prairie Path I turn right, head west, hold a nice pace until I cross the bridge over the DuPage. If I’m still feeling good and traffic is clear across Batavia Rd., I’ll finish strong back where I started at mile marker five.
A waterfall, a stream, a brook, the river, three lakes, five bridges, plenty of hills, a mountain, and our wonderful town all in about 45 minutes. You can leisurely walk “The Best of Warrenville” in about an hour and a half.
Enjoy!
