This weekend's Haunted Trail at Springbrook Nature Center runs as a guided loop of about a third of a mile through a 60-acre preserve that is partway through its biggest overhaul in years. The Village of Itasca and the Itasca Park District are spending about $1.5 million on the site. The money goes to a new shelter, 20 acres of wetland restoration, trail work, flight-cage upgrades and a refrigerated ice rink.
The rink matters most. The whole project is built to give Springbrook a real winter season, and whether that season starts this year depends on a new electrical service ComEd has to deliver to the site.
The Haunted Trail, This Weekend
The Itasca Park District runs the Haunted Trail at Springbrook, 130 Forest Ave., and splits the weekend by how scared you want to be.
- Friday, Oct. 16, 7 to 10 p.m.: Active Scaring, the full-fright version
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 4 to 5:30 p.m.: Family Hour, a milder walk for younger kids
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 7 to 10 p.m.: Active Scaring again
Tickets are $10 per person and $5 for a repeat trip. The Park District sells them in advance at the Itasca Recreation Center or at the event. The Village's Fall 2026 newsletter says registration is required, so if you're planning around a specific time slot, call the Park District ahead. The listing gives no age limits, and Family Hour is the clear choice for small children.
There's one more thing to know this year. The Park District's project Q&A warns that parts of the trail system may be closed or rerouted while work goes on, and asks visitors to follow posted signs. The loop you walk on Friday night may not be the path you know from a Tuesday morning.
The same Saturday also has a free Trick-or-Treat Trail from noon to 1:30 p.m., but official sources disagree on where it is. The Village calendar lists it at Springbrook. The Park District's event listing places it at the Ray Franzen Bird Sanctuary. The Village's Sept. 27 notice names the Itasca Softball Complex, 651 Rohlwing Rd., and describes the event as being for children 10 and under and their families, with no registration required. Confirm the location with the Park District before you load the stroller.
What the $1.5 Million Is Building
Springbrook is an unusual partnership. The Village of Itasca owns the property. The Itasca Park District has operated and maintained it under an intergovernmental agreement since 2008. The funding reflects that split.
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Itasca Park District | $400,000 |
| Illinois Department of Natural Resources OSLAD grant | $600,000 |
| Village of Itasca, from hotel-tax revenue | $500,000 |
| Total | About $1.5 million |
The Village's third of the budget comes from hotel taxes, so overnight visitors to Itasca's hotels are paying for much of a nature preserve that mostly serves the people who live here. OSLAD stands for Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development. IDNR runs it as a competitive state grant program for local parks and outdoor recreation.
Here's what the money covers, according to the Park District's project Q&A:
- A new picnic and program shelter, which replaces a shelter that was about 40 years old
- A 50-by-80-foot glycol-refrigerated ice rink under the new shelter
- Accessible pathways and trail improvements
- Upgrades to the bird flight cage and aviary
- Improvements to the outdoor classroom
- Restoration of about 20 acres of degraded wetland
The two official sources give different sizes for the shelter. The Park District lists it as 60 by 90 feet, and the Village newsletter calls it a 50-by-90-foot pavilion. Both agree on the rink's size.
The wetland work is the slowest part. Crews have removed invasive species and done a prescribed burn. The plan calls for 15,000 native plantings in 2026, followed by a three-year maintenance plan to stabilize the habitat. Some trees and vegetation are coming out for construction, safety and restoration. The Park District says the project is not meant to turn Springbrook into a traditional developed park.
Why Put a Rink in a Nature Preserve
The Park District answers that question directly in its Q&A. The rink gives residents another way to use the preserve in winter, "when use of the site traditionally decreases." In warmer months, the same covered space is meant for picnics, programs and environmental education.
That explains the design. The rink sits under the shelter for about four months a year. It uses a glycol cooling system, so the ice holds through the freeze-thaw swings of a Chicago-area winter instead of depending on a long cold stretch the way a flooded rink does. The shelter and the rink are one structure doing two seasonal jobs, which turns Springbrook from a three-season destination into a four-season one.
The Park District hasn't announced whether skating will cost anything. It says hours, rules, programming and use information will come closer to opening.
The Deadline Nobody on Site Controls
The Village's Fall 2026 newsletter, in a feature titled "Coming Into View," says that if construction stays on schedule, the rink is expected to open this December.
The Park District's Q&A, published Aug. 25, is more cautious. Its goal is still a winter opening, but continued storms and electrical upgrades forced ComEd to push back the timeline for the new electrical service the site needs. The Park District says that service "will be the determining factor if there is a rink at this site or not this Winter."
A glycol rink is refrigeration equipment. Without the new power service, a finished slab under a finished roof is still just a pavilion. The construction crew can hit every date and the rink can still miss this winter.
The rest of the schedule, as last published:
- Mid-October 2026: The new shelter was expected to arrive, per the Park District's August update. No later public update confirms delivery.
- December 2026: The Village's conditional target for the rink, depending on construction and, per the Park District, on ComEd.
- 2027: Overall completion of the OSLAD project.
If you're counting on December skating, the Park District's announcements are the ones to follow. Its own Q&A says operating details will be announced as the rink gets closer to opening.
The Raptors Stay Open Through All of It
The flight-cage upgrade connects to Springbrook's best-known residents. Wings & Talons, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, moved into the preserve's raptor buildings in 2016. It runs public education programs and keeps its facility open to visitors during park hours. The Park District describes the aviary work only as upgrades that support the Nature Center's wildlife-education mission and hasn't released construction specifics.
So the birds-of-prey area is getting better housing while the wetlands are replanted and the pavilion goes up around them. It's the same preserve, rebuilt in sections, with a nonprofit staying open in the middle of it.
Springbrook in the Village's Fall-to-Winter Calendar
Springbrook is one of several projects the Village grouped under "Coming Into View" this fall. The same newsletter says Itasca Station's 87 apartments are scheduled to open downtown by the end of the year. Villa Perks Coffee is planned for the building's ground floor, and a second restaurant is being explored. Next door, the Orchard Street Streetscape adds wider sidewalks, decorative lighting and room for outdoor dining. The renovated Usher Park has reopened for concerts and events.
After Halloween, the Village calendar has two more dates:
- Pumpkin Smash: Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to noon, at Public Works, 411 N. Prospect Ave.
- Winter Wonderland: Sunday, Nov. 29, 4 p.m., at Usher Park, 201 S. Walnut St.
Winter Wonderland falls a few days before the Village's December rink target. Whether Itasca also gets a skating season this year depends on a power hookup at 130 Forest Ave. that ComEd has already delayed once.
Itasca Station is scheduled to open by the end of this year, and the Springbrook project is slated to finish in 2027. If you're curious what your place is worth as the village fills in, Holly Connors and the GetBurbed team can walk you through it. Request a Free Home Valuation.
