>>504946These faggots are no help.
The western suburbs are full of woodlands and prairies and the world's most endangered ecosystem: the oak savanna, which has .06% of its original range left in the world.
The savannas in particular tend to be very small gems of super abundant and diverse nature, whereas western Cook County and huge swathes of DuPage and Kent counties are covered in forest and prairie preserve. There's smooth bike trails for miles stretching from North Riverside to Oakbrook to Channahon.
The trails in the preserves are fairly well kept, and most of them don't prohibit you from going off trail and exploring, but please be careful when doing so, especially in the savannas and prairies. I would recommend Bemis Woods and Wolf Meadow in particular, both are fun and scenic places to go. All of this is within 20-60 minutes from downtown.
The wildlife is generally quite diverse and well-protected, and there is a lot of volunteer work you can do as well.
Cheers, mate.
>pic related: oak savanna in my hometown