I had only been in this area once before going to one of the nature preserves, driving back to Glenview from Algonquin a couple years ago. I took Palatine Road out to Algonquin Road today to park in Algonquin and do a bike ride on the Fox River Trail.

I feel like it's the one part of Cook County with even slightly rolling hills, and it feels so much more rural than anywhere else in the county. I know there are some big houses in Barrington Hills, but you don't really see them while driving.

The Crabtree Nature Center starts just west of South Barrington Road and that's where it really starts to feel beautiful. Then when you go northwest up Algonquin Road to around County Line Road and IL 25, that's where it ends, and stores and such pop up.

There's this spot along Palatine Road around the Crabtree Nature Center where the road passes between two ponds (the Google Maps photos I included) that is so nice to drive through. Big wide view across the water, cat tails growing... if you didn't know any better you would think you were somewhere up in Wisconsin.

I highly recommend driving up to this area and visiting one of these forest preserves or nature preserves if you've never been there. It just feels like such an unexpected gem in a county we often think is nothing but suburban sprawl.

The northwestern portion of Cook County that I have highlighted might be the most unexpectedly beautiful part of the county.