Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge

A scattered national wildlife refuge across northeast Illinois and southeast Wisconsin, focused on restoring prairie, oak savanna, forest, and wetland habitat.

McHenry County area, IL

About Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge

Hackmatack is a federal wildlife refuge made up of separate parcels in the northwestern Chicago area and the southern Milwaukee area. Most of it lies in Illinois, with a smaller share in Wisconsin. It began in 2012 with a small donated conservation easement and is meant to link existing protected land. Staff plan to restore more than 11,000 acres of drained wetlands, prairie, and forest, using purchases, easements, landowner help, and partnerships. Visitors can watch wildlife, photograph nature, hike, hunt, fish, and cross-country ski or snowshoe. Wood ducks, migrating monarchs, and wintering bald eagles are among the animals people look for. One accessible spot is reached from the McHenry County Prairie Trail, with no vehicle parking and no restrooms.

#wildlife viewing
#birding
#photography
#hiking
#hunting

What's around here?

The closest stops to Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sightseeing
Local Gem
Lake Geneva
No admission fee
Wisconsin lake resort town with a historic downtown, lakefront path, and summer estate architecture.
13 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Museums
History Buff
Yerkes Observatory
$25–$50
Historic 1897 astronomical observatory offering guided tours of its restored telescopes, architecture and archives.
14 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sports & Outdoors
Volo Bog State Natural Area
Check prices
A protected floating bog in northeastern Illinois, crossed by a boardwalk that runs from the marsh edge to an open-water pool.
14 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Family Favorite
Volo Auto Museum
Under $25
A sprawling car museum and family attraction in Volo, Illinois, with classic, celebrity, and movie cars.
15 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sports & Outdoors
Family Favorite
Villa Olivia
$25–$50
Family ski, tubing and golf destination in Bartlett with a quad chairlift, six rope tows and an 18-hole golf course.
28 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Pottawatomie Park
Check prices
Riverside community park in St. Charles with trails, courts, boating access, and fishing along the Fox River.
33 mi awayMore like this