Pioneer Park Forest Preserve in Naperville is a 18-acre floodplain forest along the West Branch DuPage River, which offers great places to fish.
Several state and regionally rare species rely on Pioneer Park for habitat, including belted kingfishers, American redstarts, yellow-billed cuckoos, red-headed woodpeckers, ovenbirds, and breeding Cooper’s hawks, downy woodpeckers, and white-breasted nuthatches. Ecologists have identified beavers, coyotes, American toads, water and queen snakes, and a variety of freshwater mussels and aquatic invertebrates at the forest preserve as well.
Pioneer Park is at the intersection of Washington Street and Hobson Road. The parking lot is on Washington Street.
The West Branch DuPage River is home to smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish.
If you're 16 or older and not legally disabled, you must carry valid Illinois fishing license. Make sure to read up on creel limits and other regulations before you go.
In presettlement times, the preserve was timber lying adjacent to the West Branch DuPage River.
The bulk of the preserve was purchased in 1929 and was managed by Naperville Park District until 2016, when the Forest Preserve District took over management responsibilities.
The preserve is open daily from one hour after sunrise until one hour after sunset. Dogs must be on leashes under 10 feet long, and alcohol is prohibited. Read our Rules & Regulations.
Banner image by Rodney Campbell/CC BY 2.0
3S580 Naperville Road
Wheaton, IL 60189
Visitor Services
Monday – Friday
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturdays through Aug. 27
(except July 2)
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Phone: 630-933-7200
Email: forest@dupageforest.org
Police: 630-933-7240
Email: police@dupageforest.org
Contact Our Board