Calumet Area Water Trails

The Little Calumet River, a number of connected natural and manmade waterways, begins in Indiana and crosses the Illinois border, just south of 173rd Street, in Lansing.

The river changes its nature at that point to become a wide industrial waterway that continues east and north to its confluence with the Grand Calumet at which point it becomes the historic Calumet River. Just north of 130th Street, the river branches to lead west into Lake Calumet and northeast to its mouth at Lake Michigan. The manmade Cal-Sag Channel runs mostly west from the Little Calumet to its confluence with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in Lemont.

Currently, there is little recreational use of the natural part of the Little Calumet apart from bank fishing and power boating.

Upper Little Calumet River—Shallow water, lack of developed boat access, and a prohibition against powered boat use upstream of the Little Calumet Boat Ramp near the confluence with the Cal-Sag Channel make this stretch ideal for water trail development and use by less experienced paddlers. A number of parks and forest preserves, reasonably spaced along its banks, make trail development possible.

The upper part of the Little Calumet River is a small, shallow stream that runs through a number of southern suburbs. Through much of this stretch it looks very much like the popular canoe trail section of the North Branch of the Chicago River. These neighborhoods are, for the most part, lower middle and working class areas with a large population of minority and low income families. The development of a water trail on this part of the Little Calumet could provide boating and fishing access at a relatively low cost.

Lower Little Calumet River and Calumet River—Between the confluence with the Cal-Sag Channel and mouth of the river at Lake Michigan, industrial traffic, concrete and steel vertical bulkhead walls, and powered boats make this stretch a place for more experienced paddlers. However, the O’Brien Locks at 134th Street, Lake Calumet and the monumental, hulking, and rusting relics of the river’s industrial past, create an interesting and unique river trip in this section. The Little Calumet Boat Ramp, the MWRD’s innovative Side Elevated Pool Aeration (SEPA) Station #1 at Torrance Avenue and the boat ramp in Beaubien Woods require only the posting of trail signs to create a water trail on this stretch.

The Cal-Sag Channel—The banks of this manmade canal are lined along much of its western third with large stone rip rap that makes access either to or from the water difficult, especially while carrying a boat. For this reason, the west end of the publicly accessible and developable water trail on this stretch of river currently ends (or begins) at the Howe’s Landing boat launch, north of 127th Street at Laramie Avenue. The MWRD SEPA Station #4 in Worth on the east side of Harlem Avenue could be developed as a boat access extending this part of the trail another 2.3 miles. Between the confluence with the Little Calumet River and Howe’s Landing, concrete and steel vertical bulkhead walls, industrial traffic, jetskis, and powered boats make this stretch a place for more experienced paddlers.

When paddling the Calumet River, Little Calumet River and Cal-Sag Channel, keep in mind that although water quality has improved over the last several decades there are still bacteria and other pollution in these rivers.  Remember to wash your hands before eating or touching anything that will go in your mouth and to keep open wounds clean and dry.

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