Spencer Conservation Area 10-22-11

11-1-11 ETA: The brochure refers to 53 acres but it occurs to me there is no way it is that small. The 53 acres is the size of the old fairgrounds, which is only a small part of the preserve. The brochure does not actually state the size of the preserve. Their web site says it is just over 353 acres. that sounds more realistic.

This is a small area, 57 acres according to the brochure. But it has a decent trail system. It is in the middle of Belvidere, IL so it gets more use than a typical conservation area. It is not quite a city park, but the size and use of it makes it somewhat more of a city park than a forest preserve. But they managed to squeeze 3 miles of trails in 57 acres. And 3 good sized fishing ponds. A pretty good trick. The length of the trails makes it seem larger than 57 acres.

Depending on what part of the GPS I believed it was either 3.48 or 3.6 miles. A nice leisurely pace - just under 2 hours.

Right in the middle of the thing is a fenced off area the brochure refers to as the "cliff/restricted area". The restricted area also seems to have a berm around most of it so you can't even see inside it. Seems odd that they would go to all the trouble so you can't see a cliff. There is a mysterious hut inside the fenced in an area that you can see from the gravel road. I believe they are hiding aliens there.