Sycamore has a beautiful rural landscape, filled with farmer’s fields and wooded trails.
Adee’s Woods provides an area for a picnic and a walk through the woods. If biking or snowmobiling is your interest , try the Great Western Nature Trail, which starts in DeKalb County and extends through Kane County to the Fox River Trail. The DeKalb/Sycamore Traillinks the DeKalb Park District Trail from Lions Park on DeKalb’s south side to Sycamoreand the Great Western Trail. County Farm Woods links the DeKalb Sycamore Trail as a great rest stop along your way. Merritt Prairie offers 56 acres of rolling terrain with native prairie and wetland restorations as the outstanding features of this park. Wilkinson/Renwick Marsh preserves wetland habitat and is an excellent area to listen to and view wildlife.
The Great Western Trail is in North Central Illinois and runs 18 miles from St. Charles to Sycamore. It is a Rails to Trails trail originally part of the Great Western Rail Line and built by the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad in 1886. The trail is flat and you roll through the countryside past numerous small streams and wetlands. Continuous wild shrubs include Dogwood, Blackberry, and Hazelnut and merge with a few remaining patches of native prairie.
The trail parallels route 64 (North Ave) almost the whole way. This was an enjoyable trail if not the most exciting I’d ever been on. Monarch butterflies flutter around your head as your tires crunch over berries. You get a good sense of Illinois prairie and flat farmland. I was surprised that the 1st half of the trail was mostly shade covered, however the last half was mostly open farmland
The beautiful 63 mile long Kishwaukee River runs straight through Sycamore. When the weather is nice and the water is high, the river is always streaming with canoes. Wildlife such as rabbits, white-tailed deer, woodchuck, skunks and over 260 types of birds can all be found commonly along the riverbed.
17 Miles of beautiful paved bike/walking/running paths through Sycamore, DeKalb that ultimately connects to the Great Western Trail on the East side of Sycamore.
Sycamore, Illinois is proud to have a variety of annual events to bring the community together and support our lovely city! Each week during the summer, local and surrounding area farmers and small businesses come together to form our beloved Farmer’s Market. Find everything from soap and decadent treats to veggies, olive oil, and candles at our Farmer’s Market. Runners and pumpkin enthusiasts from near and far come to Sycamore at the end of October each year to celebrate Pumpkin Festival. Sign up to run the 10k, enjoy local vendors, enter your decorated pumpkin, or sit back and watch the parade over the Pumpkin Fest weekend celebration. Santa also sets up shop over the holiday for little ones to visit and get their wish list to Santa before Christmas. With many other seasonal daily or weekend events, you’re sure to find something fun almost everything month to participate in downtown Sycamore! View all events
Although the Sycamore Public Library did not open its doors until 1892, we can trace its roots back to 1875 when a Chautauqua Scientific Circle was formed in Sycamore. Once members had completed the course, they established the Athena Literary Society in order to form a public library.
In 1902, Andrew Carnegie offered the City of Sycamore $10,000 for the construction of a library, provided an acceptable site could be secured and that the Sycamore City Council would annually appropriate at least 10% of his donation for maintaining the building. Mr. Frederick B. Townsend donated the property where the library stands today. Miss Dow received the honor of placing the first trowel of mortar on the cornerstone on May 24, 1905. The library opened to the public on Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1905.
The Park District, established in 1923, is in the process of acquiring and developing a number of park sites and open spaces to serve a growing community. Park sites including; neighborhood parks, community parks, athletic fields, wetlands, woodlands, and high-quality natural areas.
In total, our Park District owns or manages hundreds of existing acres of park land where you and your neighbors can enjoy leisurely walks, running, bicycling, golfing, picnicking, fishing, skating, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, swimming, and plans to develop other sites that have been recently acquired as our resources permit.
Additionally, experience the joy of learning and sharing along with the thrill of adventure and discovery. People of all ages are encouraged to enjoy their local parks and participate in a variety of social and educational programs.
Opportunities include spending quality time with family and friends, being creative with arts and crafts, wandering the wetlands and prairies, visiting unique places on trips, competing in sports, joining a fitness class or educational program, golfing, and/or exploring the wonders nature provides. We are growing and proud to be part of Sycamore, where we want life to offer much more!
North Grove School, 3 miles northwest of Sycamore, was built in 1878 by the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church as a parochial and Sunday school. Pupils of diverse ethnic backgrounds learned their lessons in Swedish, even several years after the DeKalb County public school system purchased the school in 1880. The Sycamore unit district acquired the school in 1949, and it continued as a school until 1952, when it was closed. The North Grove community continued to lovingly maintain the building and used it as a neighborhood social center for many years.
In 1970 North Grove School at 26745 Brickville Road (Map) was listed in the Illinois Directory of Historical Buildings. Today the school is still owned by the Sycamore School District but is leased to and lovingly cared for by the North Grove School Association, whose goal is to preserve this educational icon for future generations.
