Great views at highest public ground in DuPage County
See a soaring hawk, launch a model glider and see the Chicago skyline from 190 feet above the ground at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s scenic overlook at Green Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville, which opens on weekends starting May 6.
The overlook will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 29, weather permitting, although Environmental Protection Agency activities may cause it to close without notice. The access drive is off Greene Road south of 79th Street. Visitors can park at the summit, where District staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide binoculars and a spotting scope for views of far-off vistas and migrating birds.
Visitors with valid District permits can launch non-powered crafts from the top; permits are available online or through Visitor Services at 630-933-7248 weekdays 8 a.m. ‒ 4 p.m. For a more “down-to-earth” exploration, hikers and bikers can use the 1.9-mile Hawk Trail, which circles the hill’s base.
The overlook rests on top of a closed landfill, which operated from 1974 to 1996. A gas-to-energy plant converts methane the landfill produces into energy, which powers thousands of area homes. Revenue from the landfill’s former disposal operations and the gas-to-energy plant — not tax dollars — funded construction of the recreational improvements and continue to fund the maintenance of the overlook.
