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Volo Bog State Natural Area, Ingleside, IL

Photo: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Volo Bog State Natural Area

A protected floating bog in northeastern Illinois, crossed by a boardwalk that runs from the marsh edge to an open-water pool.

28478 Brandenburg Road, Ingleside, IL 60041 · Ingleside, IL

About Volo Bog State Natural Area

Volo Bog is a state natural area about fifty-six miles northwest of Chicago, known for the only open-water quaking bog in Illinois. A floating mat of sphagnum moss, cattails, and sedges surrounds a central pool, and the mat is thick enough in places to support trees. A floating boardwalk lets visitors walk through each stage of the bog, from the marsh on the outer edge to the open water at the center. The site also includes other marshes, prairie restoration areas, woodlands, two more bogs, and trails. The visitor center is housed in a remodeled early 1900s dairy barn, and a picnic area sits beside its parking lot. Ground fires and alcohol are not allowed.

  • #bog
  • #quaking bog
  • #boardwalk
  • #wetlands
  • #nature preserve

What's around here?

The closest stops to Volo Bog State Natural Area, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Volo Auto Museum

    Under $25

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    1.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Lake County

    No admission fee

    Illinois county along Lake Michigan with lakefront towns, Great America and Chicago area day trips.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    8.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Shopping
    Family Favorite

    Gurnee Mills

    No admission fee

    Shop outlets and full-price stores along one long single-level corridor, with Bass Pro Shops, bowling and an ice arena under the same roof.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    12 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge

    No admission fee

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

    14 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

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    $25–$50

    Family ski, tubing and golf destination in Bartlett with a quad chairlift, six rope tows and an 18-hole golf course.

    23 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

    Chicago Botanic Garden

    Under $25

    Stroll 385 acres of display gardens spread over nine islands, including a Japanese Garden.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    25 mi awayMore like this

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