The Copley Nature Park is located at 15425 Joliet Rd in Plainfield, and is part of the much larger Lake Renwick Preserve. For this article, we will just be covering the Copley Nature Park portion of the preserve. Heron Rookery Nature Preserve and Turtle Lake Access will be covered in future posts.
If you are an avid bird spotter, and/or photographer, this is the park for you! Located on the West side of the Lake Renwick, this park is ideal for spotting nesting herons, egrets and cormorants. During the off season, Lake Renwick is also great for spotting bald eagles, American white pelicans and hundreds of winter waterfowl.
When arriving, the is plenty of parking spaces available. There is also a restroom on site, a shelter with benches along the pathway, and then a larger shelter on the water’s edge which houses 2 long distance viewing scopes, which are free to use. These make viewing all sorts of wildlife and plants all around the preserve easy for everyone! Also, the viewing shelter is located less than 1/10 of a mile from the parking lot, along a paved path, making it easily accessible for all.
This park is open 8am to sunset daily, year-round.