Take the Portage Trail... What will you discover?
Join a Party of Explorers. Get your orders from the Intendent of
New France and set off on the Portage Trail. Follow your guide
and meet the first Chicagoan's. Along the way you'll run into the
French explorers Joliet, Marquette and LaSalle. Further down the
trail you'll meet the French trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable at
his work portaging traveller's goods over the Chicago Portage.
Have a cup of tea with Mrs Laughton and her guest Juliet Kinzie
(daughter in law of John Kinzie) at the Laughton Tavern on the
banks of the Des Plaines River. You'll find "The Swiftwalker"
Gurdon Hubbard walking the route of the I&M Canal as he explains
the hardships of crossing the Chicago Portage in its natural state.
At the end of the Portage Trail you may know a bit more about
Chicago's early history but you will never forget meeting the
extraordinary people who discovered, explored, settled here and
began one of the world's greatest cities in a marsh next to an
ancient canoe portage.
No pre-registration. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before you begin the tour in order to register, pay the admission fee and have
time to view the pre-Trail displays. Exploration parties of up to 30 explorers will begin every 15 minutes. Last party leaves at 3pm.
Admission by cash only! $7 for adults 18 - 62 $3 for children,
students and seniors (Not recommended for children under
the age of six or people unable to walk up to a mile on uneven
paths.) Click here for complete details.
Ottawa Trail Woods, 7200 W 47th St , Lyons, IL Enter Ottawa Trail
Woods on the west side of Harlem, just north of 47th Street.
Chicago Portage Days is produced by Friends of the Chicago Portage
in partnership with Friends of the Forest Preserves and the Forest
Preserve District of Cook County with generous funding from Philip
Dowd, and with an initial gift from Kendra Massey in memorial to
