Nice place to go for a picnic or a hike down the trails , can even camp out if you like, we usually…read morego during the week when less people have lunch and fish a little

A great place for the "outdoorsy" types! You can camp, fish, hike, picnic, and there is a free…read moreboat launch area. Good fishing along the river. You do compete with the river traffic, such as speed boats and barges, but we were able to catch fish. The grounds are pretty clean overall and you experience the a plethora of river foul. I also saw four water moccasins, so you should use some care along the waters edge.

Best park that's in Channahon of course. Channahon State Park has some nice views of the DuPage…read moreRiver. It actually is bigger than it seems with lots of open areas and trails. Has lots of places for grilling. The park also usually isn't crowded so it's a good place for chilling and hanging. A lot of great scenery around. It's located along the DuPage River. This is near the end of it where it flows into the Des Plaines River, so around here there's certainly lots of water. Among the other features is the war memorial. This honors those from Channahon who died in various wars. It consists of a few flags and pillars with names of those who died. The park also has a building that looks like it has bathrooms but it's closed off it seems. Gets crowds when it's good weather for boating. It's located close to the marina with the Big Basin Saloon, a popular hangout. There's plenty of areas along the water including a few trails.

First time coming here, wanted to try something new to visit on a day off work and this place is…read moresuch a beautiful gem! Great views everywhere from all places! The park itself is great for the summer for shade from the sun. Bathrooms are okay. The dam itself is really cool to see. Highly recommend coming here on a run to take everything in better. Even a better place to fish at! Not too crowded at all, very peaceful! 4.5 stars

This lake can be a hit or miss truthfully depending on when you come. It's ideal to come here in a…read morecompact vehicle but many people come here in trucks. This place is ideal for fishing, kayaking and if your looking to do a lap around a park without running in a circle that's 3 miles around. It's right next door to the I&M canal. It has restrooms and a nice picnic area. People off Sheply Road drive really fast so use caution.

Repurposed gravel quarry. Always busy on a clear afternoon.read more

This looks like a great place to launch a boat. It is definitely the place to observe geese! If we…read morehad had more time, we would have parked, sat on a bench, and watched them do what geese do. We pulled into the parking lot, didn't have time to see if there was more to do, so we drove on. The GPS directed us away from the neighborhood into which the parking lot exit dumped us, so there are two ways in and out. But GPS only showed one way in and out.

We love going here for a walk down the pathway and walk over by the river it's really beautiful and…read moreit gets pretty busy on the weekends in the summer with the boaters and people out for a picnic like us

This is a giant stretch of DNR land down along the Des Plaines river. It offers fishing, hunting,…read moreetc, on a mixed landscape of prairie, forest, small cornfields, riverways, etc. There are numerous parking areas that allow easy access for exploration. I've personally only visited in the fall during the DNR's controlled pheasant permit hunting. Being close to Chicago, the allotted permits are taken up quickly, so reserving one in advance is essential. The DNR enacted an online reservation service a couple years ago that made doing so a lot easier than the mail in lottery they previously used. However you feel about controlled pheasant hunting, I must say the DNR does a good job of enforcing good hunting practice and limiting access. At check in you'll have the opportunity to pick from various hunt starting points. This helps spread out the hunter population and give each group of hunters a reasonably private trip out into the fields. Also, be prepared to show a valid Il FOID card- no one is allowed to hunt without one (as well as obvious hunting license- no pheasant stamp required). Prior to the start of the hunting day (9AM), everyone is required to attend a talk on hunter safety and rules- this is taken very seriously. The limit is 2 birds per hunter. As the day wears on hunters are allowed to use their vehicles to move from area to area, so things do tend to get a little more "social," although many hunters limit out so quickly and leave it's less of a problem than one might think. Overall, I found the experience here to be a good way to get introduced (with the help of experienced hunter friends) to bird hunting. Since those early experiences, I've met other hunters here and they've all taken hunting seriously- I've never met any kill it and grill it meatheads here yet. The pheasants certainly have peculiar behavior, and a day spent hunting them and learning while appreciating the beautiful natural landscape is a day well spent. It's not a trip to South Dakota, but it's a lot simpler and a great place to get a kid started hunting and maybe appreciate the need for natural land and habitat preservation!

Cool little bait shop just off 47 , they have all the essentials and the employee was very helpful…read morewith getting me the right setup I needed as well as info on some good spots to fish

I love this place. The owner is nice, he's always got the stuff I need. The atmosphere is amazing…read more He's very knowledgeable about the stuff he works with. He cares about the kids. I highly recommend this place greatly. I will be returning frequently for my fishing/reptile stuff.

Beautiful secluded area that is really well hidden! Can be easily accessible on foot through the…read moreI&M trail. I consider this park a place to go on 3 mini trails that all loop and connect to each other. Learning about the history of this place is incredible. This was a former site of 3 residential homes and have been converted to a beautiful park. There is a visitor center where you can observe birds with binoculars, observe fish and learn about the local animals in the illinois region. Even a recreational space to educate children. Clean restrooms inside and throughout the trails. There's a couple of picnic shelters as well. You get to read some great informational stuff as you go along your adventure. Hiking shoes recommended! It's about 85 percent paved. One of the best trails in will county

This is a nice clean facility with basic amenities. Although fishing is questionable, as to being…read moreallowed, there are many people enjoying doing it. The park is very large and has the usual playground equipment as well as a sledding hill, picnic tables and soccer field.

This is Four seasons Park in Shorewood, little lake to fish, tennis courts, basketball hoops, big…read morehill great for sledding or just walking up for exercise

Pretty cool place right inside of town, a little pricey but they pretty much have everything you're…read moregoing to need, they are pretty helpful and let you know where the best areas to fish are based on other fisherman , it's pretty clean and well organized , always the place to stop for bait or any last minute take we forgot

have stocked up with a lot of supplies, but one of the behind the counter guys has the worst…read morecustomer service I have ever seen , didn't feel I was respected has a valued customer, because of negative experience I had with the one guy I don't recommend the place and wouldn't feel comfortable spending my money there

I have mixed feelings about this kayak tour company. I signed up because although I'm a very…read morecapable and seasoned kayaker, I didn't know this river and I like learning about the ecosystems and local wildlife. For this reason I like having tour guides. Going up the river was fine. Coming back went a bit sour. I went as slow as I was capable of paddling or not paddling, but apparently it was too fast for the preference of our tour guide. I was barely touching the water with my paddle. I have no idea how I could have gone any slower. It wasn't humanly possible. After shouting at me several times, he took to chasing me down and ramming my kayak so it'd spin in circles. Would I rent a kayak here and kayak the river alone? Yes. Would I personally use a tour guide here? No I wouldn't. Would I recommend? If you're a family with little kids or a drunk sorority house, absolutely. If you know what you're doing, just go it alone. You'll probably enjoy it more. Edit: If the tour guide had concerns for group safety, he could have said so. Although ramming my kayak with his seems to be a bit of a conflict as far as my safety goes. It was an unprofessional approach when he could have simply explained why he needed me to slow down

It almost seemed like a dream. From the very start, cruising through a large patch of lotus plants,…read moreit felt otherworldly. Very peaceful, going at our own pace. Enjoyed the cliff walls of Buffalo Rock and the shallow waters of some side passages. We paddled for 5 hours, covering 8 miles total. After we were done we headed to charming, historic downtown Utica for drinks and dinner at Skoog's Pub & Grill in North Utica, IL. I was impressed with the logistics and operation of the kayaking experience, from the guide* to the equipment and online booking process. *Full disclosure, the guide was my twin sister, but I am being objective...seriously.