DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center

Following a two-year hiatus for construction, Illinois’ DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center unveiled its all-new visitor and rehabilitation center in early 2026. It provides medical treatment and care to injured, orphaned and ailing wild animals and birds that are native to the region or passing through during migration. 

Serving more than 11,000 patients and caring for over 200 species each year, the center is the largest of its kind in Illinois. About 60% of the patients here are avian, 35% are mammals and the remainder are reptiles and amphibians. It is also the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s first net-zero-designed building, which means it produces as much energy as it uses by way of solar and geothermal systems. 

Because the center aims to ultimately return patients to their natural habitats, most are not on public display to minimize their human interaction, but there is still plenty to see. Six large observation windows allow visitors to watch the veterinarians and staffers at work. They repair broken wings caused by window collisions, extract stray fishing lures from waterfowl, patch up the fractured shells of turtles hit by cars and feed orphaned baby opossums. Every day brings new challenges.

Stationed throughout the center are educational exhibits about threats to wildlife and how to coexist peacefully with them in suburban communities. A colorful life-size wall mural titled “The Release” by local artist Joel Sheesley depicts a great horned owl taking flight after recovering from an injury.

Visitors have several opportunities to expand their experience outside. Behind the center is an easy three-quarter-mile hiking trail amid the flora and fauna of the surrounding 48-acre Willowbrook Forest Preserve. The reception desk is happy to loan binoculars and compasses. 525 S. Park Ave., Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137, 630/942-6200, dupageforest.org