Location: From the junction of SR 10 and US 41, take SR 10 west about 2.5 miles to the entrance, then drive north to the check-in area.
Description: The Nature Conservancy has been moving on the Kankakee Sands Project, aimed at restoration of a part of the Grand Marsh of the Kankakee, northern Indiana's dominant landform until it was drained and the Kankakee River straightened into a drainage ditch. There are a couple of small remnants left, and this F&W area preserves one of them. The river is still ditchlike, but some of the bayous and oxbows are left to give a feel for what it was like before the "improvements". There are paths and service roads that lead through the property, but the best way to see it may be by canoe. There are put-in/take-out points at the picnic area northeast of the managers' residence and at the west end of the property near State Line Road. Most of the area is overgrown and near the river it is swampy; it doesn't appear that there has been much restoration work done here, but perhaps that will come as the Grand Kankakee Marsh restoration project takes hold.
Nearby Points of Interest:Beaver Lake, and Conrad Savanna is also close by.
Cautions: Mosquitoes can be HEAVY during the summer. Hunting is allowed and some portions of the area are limited to hunters during the seasons; check with the manager.
Facilities: There are or were some primitive camping sites here near the boat launch in the northeast of the preserve, that are supposed to be open April through September. I'd check before planning a camping trip.
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