The Chicago River, running through the heart of America’s Windy City, is finding a new lease of life, thanks to years of efforts to restore and protect its waterways, and create walks, cycling routes, wetland wildlife reserves, and public information trails.
First charted by the French in 1673, the river, once depended on by First Nation people for fishing, transport and fur trading, quickly shaped the growth of Chicago and was in turn itself changed, dredged and channelled, by the expanding city’s economic activities. Industrial and human waste was dumped there and its stench became so foul as it brought with it cholera outbreaks, that authorities even changed the direction of flow to let clean water in from Lake Michigan, in one of the world’s greatest and most controversial feats of engineering.
But in the latter part of the 20th century, Environment Protection Agency action and changing public values, began improving the river. Their work has resulted in a host of river-based leisure options for city residents and visitors alike.
River Park and North Shore Trails
Along the North Branch of the river, marshlands have been restored against a backdrop of industrial heritage in the form of the remnants of 1910 dam. The River Park natural area provides walking, running and biking options on the North Shore Channel Trail. Canoeing the river from River Park is possible too, giving a new perspective on the city from the water.
Goose Island
An artificial island created by excessive clay excavation that changed the course of the river might not seem the most promising place for a wetland eco-haven. But that’s exactly what has been achieved here in a world first, by anchoring a floating eco-park off the seawall. Snapping turtles, beavers, muskrats, and bats are all among those enjoying the new “facilities” – as well as humans of course, who can kayak the area and then reward themselves with a beer at Goose Island Brewery, the oldest still-operating brewery in the whole of Illinois.
Bubbly Creek
The nickname for the south fork of the south branch of the river, Bubbly Creek, has a grisly history. It stems from the gases that used to bubble out of the riverbed due to rotting blood and entrails dumped by Chicago’s huge meatpacking trade.
Once a pollution black spot, it is now home to 3,000 square feet (279 sq metres) of floating wetlands. These are best observed, according to National Geographic, from: Park No. 571, a natural area with river access and two boathouses; or the native prairie habitat at Canal Origins; or the Canalport Riverwalk Park, with a fishing station and walking path.
According to Phil Nicodemus, research director at Urban Rivers, a non-profit behind a lot of the river’s restoration, “it’s a reminder of what the whole river system could look like—if enough care and attention is paid to clean pollution long forgotten about.”
Beaubien Woods and the African American Heritage Water Trail
It’s also worth making the 30-minute trip from downtown towards the Preserves of Cook County (one of the US’s oldest and largest forest reserves). Beaubien Woods is where the African American Heritage Water Trail starts. It combines the natural heritage of the river with the history of the African Americans who voyaged along the waterway between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan.
Among the area’s many points of interest, is one of the first public housing projects in the U.S., built in 1943-44 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. African American veterans returning from World War II, many of whom worked in the steel mills, were able to be housed in the development, which was styled on the British “garden city” concept.
