Waterfowl blind draws: Illinois DNR announces schedule for the great outdoors gatherings of summer

Considering where to go when Illinois’ waterfowl blind draws come at the end of the month after the Illinois DNR announced the schedule yesterday.

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The waiting crowd for the waterfowl blind draw in 2019 at Rice Lake SFWA. Credit: Dale Bowman

The waiting crowd for the waterfowl blind draw in 2019 at Rice Lake SFWA.

Dale Bowman

Illinois’ waterfowl blind draws will be the weekend of July 30 and 31. As usual, the general rule is the northern Illinois sites will be drawn on Saturday, that’s July 30 this year; the Illinois River sites and most other Downstate sites will be drawn on Sunday, that’s July 31.

Click here to read the full press release of information on the draws from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Over the years, I try to move around on what sites to visit. I am leaning toward visiting the Wolf Lake (William Powers State Recreation Area) draw on Saturday. It’s been a couple years since I did that one and it is just a unique thing to have in Chicago. For Sunday, I think this year I will do the Woodford State Fish and Wildlife Area draw, which will be held in Lacon.

If you have a suggestion on where I should go this year, please let me know.

If you have never been to a draw, they are quite the events.

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