Absolutely love, love, love this place. If youre looking for a nice place to retreat from for a few minutes to walk and clear your head, this is most definitely the spot for you. You can do walking trails that take you through the woods, by the river, or simply stay on the road. This place is amazing! Great place to see and experience Gods handiwork.

This is a beautiful little gem of a park. Access (via foot trail) to the river. Hiking, Biking and Fishing. Picnic tables and gazebo. Non-flushing bathrooms (but nice, not just a port-o-pott)

Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve is my favorite park in Rockford because I was born and raised near this park. During the quiet hours (dusk & dawn) there are deer nearby and it always has a quiet and clean walking pathway. If you do The Loop where you walk the entire trail and turn around, you c as n hike for 4.5 miles. For more off-the-trail hikers, there are plenty of marked unpaved trails. Also, the Springs are wonderful if you search and find them! I love this park so much I moved to be closer to it. This is my park ♡♡.

Beautiful large park. Wish theyd clean out the spring itself more often. Took the girlfriend there to see it as I remember thinking how cool it was when I was a teenager skipping school and getting stoned there. Lol. But could barely see the water moving the sand. Hell, I remember being able to run my hand through the sand. You could see it but not feel it. Zero chance of that now due to how filled with grass and other nonsense it is. Otherwise, gorgeous flower filled park!

Very nice paved path for walking, jogging or bike riding. It has a large open area for picnics and a game of catch, it also has a playground for the younger ones.Bathrooms are clean but no water although they do offer hand sanitizer outside the door.

Great trails with lots of options for variety. Brave souls looking for a challenge should explore the part of the river thats dried up. Entrance is a downhill trail next to the foot bridge.

My favorite place to run! Trail leads under the bridge and connects to Espenscheid forest preserve and paved path leads the other direction along the river to Kishwaukee forest preserve.

My son loves this park. The paths are so fun to hike, both the paved and not. The bathrooms are more like outhouses, but I usually expect that at a forest preserve.

Nice trails, both paved and otherwise, right on the Kishwaukee River, not crowded. The river is good for fishing, kayaking, and tubing.

We had a great time! Nice walking paths and a cute little spring, lots of little frogs.

Convenient place to get out coming from anywhere on the kish... would be great if they would fix the bank so its not just a steep wall with one good spot to get in and get out..

Nice area for a light hike.

Love taking my kids here and letting them play in the water

Wonderful trails in the woods, along the river and through meadows. We will definitely be back.

Trails and bicycle paths in the shadow. Excellent place to relax.

Well maintained trails with a mix of shade and open areas.

Partly shaded, scenic 2.5 miles.

Beautiful area for walking, hiking, running, biking, dog walking, and wildlife observing! The spring takes a bit to get to, but is in an open and serene area near the river. There is a decent playground area, a large open field, and a pavilion for gatherings. The outhouse toilets are well kept.

Great trails! Theres a paved path and lots of mowed trails.

Awesome paved bike/running path, beautiful forest and river view.

Lots of good trails both paved and unpaved that lead to other parks. Good little playground for kids. There’s a spring here too that kids love to check out.

Awesome. Beautifully peaceful and you will enjoy the park.

The path follows the river and is very scenic.

Like this park. Even on rainy day the paved path is walkable with minimum water. Bathrooms are OK. Plenty of benches along the path.

Great local park on the river.

Very nice park along the Kishwaukee river.

Great place to walk

Kayaked from Baughman to Atwood... 5 hours of amazing!

Perfect if theyd quit chopping trees.

My favorite tree. Creepy and super cool. I try and come and see it as much as i can.

Beautiful park great for walks and kids

Great place to take a walk or hike or bike with the family.

I just love nature

Beautiful and lovely time with the family

Family reunion there for 5 years straight play ground for kids and bathroom

We have our family reunion there every year. Clean bathrooms. Nice playground equipment for kids. You will want to bring bug spray!!! Has nice trails for walking. Good place to fish

I can personally vouch for this being a Forest Preserve. There are trees and nice paths. Also, there is a river.

Great place to relax and get some steps in

Love walking around here, just watch where you step

Great potential, but Id like to see more Forest Preserve Police presence. Every time I go there some shady characters are there. There is a pavillion with plenty of picnic tables for birthday parties or family get togethers. A big field for football or soccer. A small park for the kids. A hiking trail. Dog friendly ( leash). Access to the Kishwaukee river and fishing. Yet theres always 2-3 individuals that arent there for any of that, and just appear to be making drug deals or creepy looking cars.I found used condoms in the parking lot. Regular patrols would stop the illegal activities.

Great hike.

Enjoyed the family time, plenty of little critters to see!

Good hiking trails, nice pavilion and playground with equipment in good condition. The fields are large enough to have a catch without bothering other people or parties. The bugs were not bad when we went in spring 2019. Bathrooms were ok, not great. No B B Q pits...we brought our grill.

Awesome path trail, spacious, scenic. Really enjoyed my visit

A beautiful Christmas morning

Great place for family picnics. They have outlets too for keeping food warm and a big grill. Plus a picnic area out of the sun.

Beautiful park along the river

Family friendly. Pavilion has grills & large area to sit. Beautiful park & trails. Well kept. By far my favorite of all the Parks in Rockford, IL

I love the space

I always enjoy the outdoors

Always a pleasure to walk the pathways, also have to note that the bathrooms are sooooooo nice. Clean, and smell fresh

Calm and quiet trails. Very little trash and no excess of mud. Cycling is not allowed on trails, but some choose to anyway, tearing up the ground. Path for cycling is smooth.

This place is amazing. Ive lived in Rockford my whole life, never really knew this place was here. When I went, I realized I had been missing out! Great grass and forest trails that really let you get close to the surrounding nature. It was very clean as well, and the paved trails were not cracked or damaged. Definitely will go again!

Love the walk bridge and trail going over the South and North branches of the Kishwaukee River.

An amazing place just to go for a walk, and this area is so peaceful! I absolutely love going there, and I hope I go again! I love going there with my family, and a good friend I that I call family.

Beautiful trails

Trail running. Good run. Need bug spray. Some muddy areas. Good run though

A Rockford gem!

Very peaceful, bugs arent too bad during midday.

Great trial to ride your bike.

Trails (discussing non-paved) are good for running. Trails by Kishwaukee river can get muddy, so avoid during rainy periods. Access to Espenscheid Forest Preserve gives additional trail running options.

Small but nice

Nice paved trail

The is a great park to have a family gathering. Plenty of room to move around. The shelter has electricity which is a huge bonus. Small playground for the younger kids. Easy access to the river for fishing.

This is a simple park with a couple of long trails that go between Mulford Rd to the Eastern side and kiswaukee to the South with views of the river. There is some playground equipment here as well and the park is used for group events often due to the shelter building.

Nice place to go for a hike close to town. The 2.25 mile paved path is great, they even plow it in the winter. There are plenty of other trails too so you can just enjoy the solitude if that is more your style.

Still a little muddy, but otherwise it was good. Better to stay on the path i guess. Lol

Enjoyed the hiking trail with the beautiful scenery.

Great walking trails. Well taken care of.

First visit. Took a 7 mile bike ride with our family of 5. Easy, paved paths. Fairly well maintained. We will return again for more biking and walking.

Beautiful forest preserve with an excellent bike path.

I dont think I stopped here. Doesnt sound like something Id do.

Great option for paved trails or grassy trails, and the pup loved splashing in the springs! Friendly people on the path. Nice picnic shelter with a playground adjacent.

Great outdoors park and always clean/well maintained! Its a perfect get-away for a lunch hour!

Nice playground. Good for barbecues and walking. Mind there can be mosquitos at the end of the day.

There is a wide variety of well kept trails. I really felt like I was deep in nature. I could hardly hear the highway traffic.

Pretty. Nice place for a hike.

Great walking/biking trail and kids park!

Great walking path

Great place to reflect on your personal choices in your life......great place to walk out some of your frustrations,too!!!!!

Great place, great paths. Excellant for walking dogs or running

Very nice and clean

Beautiful natural nature at its best

Had a family reunion here. Great park, shelter, and playground. The only negative is there is one trash can and no extra bags in it. It makes clean up difficult.

Just the spot we needed to stretch our legs.

Nice place to find sticks around river to make walking sticks and canes. A great place for a nature walk.

Beautiful place for a peaceful walk.

Nice area and playground. Could not give five stars because the bathrooms were actually outhouses and you could smell them from quite a distance.

Great open area, well maintained

Was very nice, clean & grass cut

Absolutely beautiful! A wonderful place to visit. Great hiking trails and a playground.

Beautiful area for walking picnics and just family time. We had fun

Trails are beautiful. Paved path was crear of snow..

Great place to walk .

Beautiful creek running thru

Peaceful and open, only downside is when fishing from the shore, is a main let out for canoers....ah well.

Beautiful place to walk, ride or run. Love walking the dogs here.

Good place walk the dogs

Lovely park with trails and playground for kids

We rent this out for company picnics. Works out great for grilling.