Turn your holiday tree into trails

Eight forest preserves offer recycling

Give your Christmas tree a second life in your forest preserves. By recycling your real, undecorated tree, you help create wood chips for trails and landscaping that enhance the preserves.

Drop off your tree at one of eight marked sites across Lake County, open daily from 6:30 a.m. to sunset through Feb. 1, 2025. No yard waste or commercial drop-offs are accepted.

• Grant Woods Forest Preserve, 25405 W. Monaville Road, Ingleside. Visit lcfpd.org/grant-woods.

• Greenbelt Forest Preserve, 1110 Green Bay Road, North Chicago. Visit lcfpd.org/greenbelt.

• Half Day Forest Preserve, 24255 Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills. Visit lcfpd.org/half-day.

• Heron Creek Forest Preserve, 22890 N. Old McHenry Road, Lake Zurich. Visit lcfpd.org/heron-creek.

• Lakewood Forest Preserve, new location south of Ivanhoe Road near Heron Pond. Visit lcfpd.org/lakewood.

• Old School Forest Preserve, 28285 St. Mary's Road, Mettawa. Visit lcfpd.org/old-school.

• Ryerson Conservation Area 21950 N. Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods. Visit lcfpd.org/ryerson,

• Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, 15838 W. Route 173, Wadsworth. Visit lcfpd.org/van-patten-woods.

The Lake County Forest Preserves has been accepting trees for recycling for at least 20 years. Most years more than 1,000 trees are donated. The majority of the trees are mulched for use on trails.

Some are used to create “fish cribs.” Staff ties several trees together and sinks them with a cinder block in larger lakes, particularly those that were formerly gravel quarries and lack substantial underwater vegetation. These lakes benefit from the fish cribs, as they serve as crucial habitats for fish.