Give Back: Donate Your Holiday Tree To Lake Co. Forest Preserves

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Christmas has come and gone. So, now what should you do with your holiday tree?

Once you are ready to dispose of your Christmas tree, you may consider dropping it off at one of several sites in Lake County as a donation to the Lake County Forest Preserve District. By recycling your real, undecorated tree, you help create wood chips for trails and landscaping that enhance the preserves, according to a news release from the forest preserve district.

You can drop off your tree at one of eight marked sites across Lake County, which will be open daily from 6:30 am. to sunset through Feb. 1, 2025.

No yard waste or commercial drop-offs are accepted, according to a news release. Here is where you can drop off the trees:

• Grant Woods Forest Preserve, 25405 W. Monaville Road, Ingleside
• Greenbelt Forest Preserve, 1110 Green Bay Road, North Chicago
• Half Day Forest Preserve, 24255 Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills
• Heron Creek Forest Preserve, 22890 N. Old McHenry Road, Lake Zurich
• Lakewood Forest Preserve, south of Ivanhoe Road near Heron Pond
• Old School Forest Preserve, 28285 St. Mary's Road, Mettawa
• Ryerson Conservation Area 21950 N. Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods
• Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, 15838 W. Route 173, Wadsworth

The Lake County Forest Preserves has been accepting trees for recycling for at least 20 years, and in a typical year, more than 1,000 trees are donated.

The majority of the trees are mulched for use on trails. Some are used to create "fish cribs," according to the news release.

Staff ties several trees together and sinks them with a cinderblock in larger lakes, particularly those that were formerly gravel quarries and lack substantial underwater vegetation. These lakes benefit from the fish cribs, as they serve as crucial habitats for fish.