Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington

The sky at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie feels enormous, a vista unlike any other.

About an hour southwest of Chicago, on land that once housed the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, Midewin  was the first national tallgrass prairie in the United States. It was established in 1996 after the Army transferred the land to the U.S. Forest Service.

During World War II and the Cold War, this expanse produced and stored munitions. After the plant was decommissioned, local advocates, conservation groups, and federal agencies pushed to restore the site to its original ecosystem. The result is a vast patchwork of recovering prairie, wetlands, and oak savanna spread across roughly 20,000 acres in Will County, Illinois.

Tallgrass prairie once covered an estimated 170 million acres of North America. Today, less than one percent remains, making restoration here both symbolic and urgent. The Forest Service and partner organizations use prescribed burns and native seed plantings to rebuild the intricate web of grasses and wildflowers that define the ecosystem.

There are more than 30 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding spread across nearly 9,000 acres that are open to the public. More than 100 species of birds can be found here, including 16 endangered and threatened species. The spring months bring forth a vast carpet of wildflowers.

In 2015, American bison were reintroduced to a fenced portion of the prairie. The herd, managed as part of the restoration effort, helps mimic natural grazing patterns that prairie landscapes evolved with. Visitors can observe the animals from designated overlooks and trails, watching them move through grasses that can grow taller than a person by late summer.

Midewin’s name comes from the Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society, of the Potawatomi and other Algonquian-speaking peoples, reflecting the Indigenous history of the land.

What was once a tightly guarded military site is now open sky, open trails, and the site of a patient attempt to bring a nearly vanished ecosystem back to life.