Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve hiking trails and picnic area will be open to the public Spring/Summer of 2020, according to the director of Kendall County Forest Preserve District. (Map courtesy of Kendall Co. Forest Preserve District)

The Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve is going to be a different kind of place next spring.

The preserve will include hiking trails, a scenic hilltop lookout and a picnic area, according to director of Kendall County Forest Preserve District David Guritz.

The forest preserve is perfectly located near two of the largest population centers in Kendall County — Yorkville and Oswego — making it easily accessible for a lot of county residents, Guritz said.

“So a lot of people will be able to enjoy that open space, the views from the top of the hill, a hike around some open water and, you know, just the chance to unwind and enjoy this rare ecosystem,” he said.

The Pickerill-Pigott preserve is home to a rare, endangered ecosystem called oak woodland which used to cover much of Northeastern Illinois. He said he hopes that opening the preserve up to the public will help raise awareness of the importance of protecting our remaining oak woodland areas, according to Guritz.

“This is an opportunity to connect people to their local natural resources so they can gain a sense of place within that,” he said. “Kendall County is special and Pickerill-Pigott is a really special place because of the topography and the views and the ecology that is still intact there.”

A large part of the forest preserve is made up of property purchased from Ken and Jackie Pickerill in 2007. The other portion of the preserve was purchased from a woman named Penelope Pigott around the same time, which led them to name the forest preserve Pickerill-Pigott.

The Pickerill Estate House has custom wood paneling inside and plenty of open space to be used for community programs and activities. Ken Pickerill remained in the house until 2017. (Map courtesy of Kendall Co. Forest Preserve District)

“Ken Pickerill was a hall of fame coach in both football and wrestling for the state of Illinois, from Oswego High School,” Guritz said. “The football stadium there is named after him for his many community contributions.”

Pickerill sold his property to the district with the condition that he be allowed to remain in his estate house until he chose to vacate the premises. When Pickerill decided to move elsewhere in September 2017, the district began talking about opening up the preserve for public use.

They started by sending out a community survey to see how many Kendall County residents would be likely to use the space and what kinds of amenities they wanted to see there, Guritz said.

In a recent survey, more than 70 percent of people said they would use the preserve regularly.

From there, the forest preserve staff spent months combining the results of the survey into a master plan for the property, which they broke down into Phase I and Phase II

“So, in the last 12 months we’ve been working on establishing the development plan for the preserve and our board has now approved that,” Guritz said. “So, we’re not going to get everything we want to do done at once, but there are some things we need to do first to get the preserve publicly accessible.”

Phase I developments to the preserve will include a gravel parking area, hiking trails, a few restrooms, a scenic hilltop lookout point and a picnic area with a sheltered pavilion. Guritz said they have estimated that phase I will cost around $626,000.

Following a survey of residents, the Kendall County Forest Preserve District came up with a plan for the and then broke it down into two phases of development. (Map courtesy of Kendall Co. Forest Preserve District)

“Right now our primary focus is on completing a fiscal year 2019 OSLAD grant application, which will be due on October first,” Guritz said. “We are requesting 50 percent of the phase one costs and the district’s capital fund reserves will afford the other half of the cost.”

OSLAD stands for Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant. These grants are given out by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to districts throughout the state in order to aid them in acquiring and protecting natural spaces like the Pickerill-Pigott preserve.

“What we’ve tried to do, in addition to looking at public interest, is to look at the best way we could approach this without impacting the natural resources that are found here,” Guritz said.

He said they plan to do this by connecting preexisting trails within the preserve wherever they can instead of disrupting the ecosystem by constructing all new trails.

Phase I hiking trails will include a 0.22 mile loop around a pond as well as a 0.41 mile trail connection leading to a scenic lookout point atop the preserve’s tallest hill. Phase I will also include a 0.39 mile loop mowed grass trail leading through an open prairie area.

“While the phase one improvements are going on, we’re also looking into what it would cost to fix up the Pickerill estate house,” Guritz said. “It was built to be a residential estate, but when they donated the property I think Ken and Jackie thought it would be a great contribution to the forest preserve as far as facilities are concerned.”

Ken Pickerill built the house himself with the help of some friends and fans, Guritz said.

The beautiful, expansive estate house has custom wood paneling inside and plenty of open space to be used for community programs and activities.

President of the Kendall County Forest Preserve District Judy Gilmour said they have already allowed a few local organizations and colleges to tour the estate so they can begin coming up with ideas on how to use the space in the future.

“We’re looking at the house with a lot of ideas in our heads as to what we could do with it,” Gilmour said.

But, Guritz said renovating the estate house for public use is still a way off in the planning efforts. For now, a Forest Preserve District employee will be renting the estate house for the next year in order to maintain it until the district can afford to fix it up.

“There are a lot of possibilities for all kinds of recreational and educational programs that we can have out there some day. We’re just excited to keep moving forward with it,” Gilmour said.

— Kendall forest district has big plans for Pickerill-Pigott Preserve —-