Kankakee River State Park, an Illinois State Park near Aurora, Bourbonnais, Bradley, Calumet Park, Chicago

USA

Illinois

Kankakee River State Park

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Kankakee River State Park

Nearby Parks:
Braidwood National Park Service Heliport
Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area
Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish & Wildlife Area
Channahon Parkway State Park
Goose Lake Prairie State Park
Heidecke State Fish and Wildlife Area

State Park Contact Information:
	Kankakee River State Park 5314 West Rt. 102 Bourbonnais, Illinois 60914 Phone: 815-933-1383 Email: kathy.pangle@illinois.gov
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State Park Overview:

On land treasured for centuries - first by Native Americans, later by traders and farmers, and as early as the 1890's by recreation seekers - Kankakee River State Park offers you its proud heritage in an unspoiled setting. Anglers, canoeists, hunters, campers, hikers, bicyclers and other outdoor enthusiasts find the park's recreational opportunities unsurpassed. The naturally channeled Kankakee River, listed on the Federal Clean Streams Register, is the focus of the park's popularity.

Enveloping both sides of the Kankakee River for 11 miles, in an area 6 miles northwest of Kankakee, the park consists of approximately 4,000 acres. Illinois Routes 102 on the north and 113 on the south frame the park, with Interstates 55 and 57 both providing convenient access.

Reviews By Park Visitors:

visitor rating:

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nice family park

Written by mike 25-Jun-2008

Wonderful campground hosts

We were warmly greeted by Jim and Carol and Mona and her husband. They became like family to us as we visited Chippewa many times last year... KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

Written by Jan Scholtens 9-Jul-2008

OSAGE CAMPGROUND LOT 4#

VERY NICE CAMPGROUND AND VERY QUIET BATHROOMS WERE CLEAN,SHOWER WATER VERY HOT!I WOULD COME BACK GREAT FOR THE FAMILY .ONLY PROBLEM WITH TOILET PAPER IN STALLS IT DOES NOT ROLL AT ALL !BRING YOUR OWN

Written by JASON 28-Jul-2008

Nice for biking

A nice 10 mile biking trail runs parallel to the river for a gorgeous ride. Long stretches are level and suitable for beginners. Beautiful trees, lots of shade, pretty bluffs along the river. Many nice, clean picnic areas and playgrounds, cute little nature center. A low-key and generally uncrowded place that offers a lot to the laid-back nature lover. Equestrian, cross-country ski, and snowmobiling trails available. The river is easily boatable, but NOT swimmable due to dangerous and unpredictable currents and drop offs. Campgrounds are pretty, clean, wooded, and well-maintained.

Written by Amma 29-Jan-2009

A great family park.

This state park has it all. Camping, hunting, walking trails. This is what a state park should be. Well maintained and user friendly.

Written by William Near Chicago 14-Sep-2009

Camping:

Pleasant sites at reasonable prices make Kankakee River State Park a great place to pitch camp. Potawatomi Campground, a Class A area, has 110 sites and two Rent-a-Cabins in a wooded setting. More than 150 sites are offered at Chippewa Campground, which has Class B electric and C facilities. Reservations are taken for Kankakee River Class A, B, and C campgrounds. The Park closes at 10pm and all campgrounds observe quiet hours from 10pm - 7am. No vehicular traffic is allowed during this time. You must be 18 years old to rent a campsite and you must be able to establish your camp at the time you obtain a permit. All campsites share a picnic table and a campgrill. Camping is only allowed in the campgrounds.

Davis Creek Campground is available by reservation for chaperoned youth and church groups. All areas require camping permits, available at the park office or from park personnel in state vehicles. *All correspondence should be mailed to P.O.Box 37, Bourbonnais, IL 60914

Trails:

The park's trail system stretches for miles along both sides of the river. Hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails are on the river's north side, while horse and snowmobile trails can be found on the south. A 3-mile route along Rock Creek lets hikers take in the beauty of limestone canyons and a frothy waterfall. A bicycle trail begins at Davis Creek Area and travels 10.5 miles of trails in the form of a linear trail along the river and a loop in the west end of the park.

A 12-mile equestrian trail is located in the wildlife management area along Route 113 and is open April 1 through October 31. When there's snow cover of 4 inchesor more, the park is open from sunrise to sunset for snowmobiling. Directional signs for trails are posted and maps are available at the park office.

Picnicking:

For a light lunch or a large get-together, check out the park's picnic areas. Shelters and tables are placed in pleasant settings throughout the park, and you'll also find playgrounds in several locations. Shelters are available on a first-come first-served basis. All shelters have campgrills. Three shelters may be reserved by calling the park office for reservation forms. Groups of 25 or more are asked to obtain a permit, which is free, at least two weeks before planning to visit the park.

Fishing and Hunting:

Fishing:

The Kankakee is a clean river, great for landing smallmouth bass, channel catfish, walleye and northern pike. Rock Creek is also a good spot. The park has two boat ramps for launching craft with motors of 10 horsepower or less - there's a launch at the Chippewa Campground and a launch at Area 9 parking lot on the south side of the river. However, please realize boating can be hazardous because the river is shallow and rocky.Hunting

The park's abundant wildlife makes it a popular spot for hunters. Only bow hunting is allowed for deer. Firearm hunting is permitted for duck, pheasant, woodcock, dove, rabbit, squirrel, fox, coyote and racoon. Before taking any game, contact the site superintendent for opening dates, shooting times and areas open to hunting. There is an Archery Hunt - Deer for the physically challenged. Call the park for more information.

History of the Area:

Several prehistoric sites are documented within Kankakee River State Park. The park is within a region used by Illini and Miami Indians at the time of the first European contact in the 1670s and 1680s. By 1685 the Miami were sufficiently numerous that the Kankakee River was called the River of the Miami. Kickapoo and Mascouten also were in the region from 1679 until the 1760s. Potawatomi Indians hunted along the Kankakee River in the 1760s, and by the 1770s, the Potawatomi, Ottawa and Chippewa nations - "The Three Fires" - dominated the area. The most extensive village was "Rock Village" or "Little Rock Village" inside the present-day park near the mouth of Rock Creek. In 1830 it was the site of the last great Indian Council. Following the Black Hawk War in 1832, the Potawatomi ceded all of their land along the Kankakee and Illinois rivers to the United States. Most Potawatomi left the area by the end of the decade, except for Chief Shaw-waw-nas-see, whose grave is commemorated by a boulder along the nature trail at Rock Creek.

Noel Le Vasseur and other fur traders, including Hubbard Chabare and Bourbonnais, traded with the Potawatomi along the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers in the 1820s. When the Potawatomi left the area in 1838, Le Vasseur persuaded a number of his fellow French Canadians to emigrate from Quebec to the Bourbonnais Township area. Because of his settlement efforts, he is called "the father of Kankakee."

A Marker on the west bank of Rock Creek Bridge commemorates the log cabin village of Rockville. It was begun in 1840, nine years after William Baker and other Euro-Americans first began farming along the Kankakee River.

The Kankakee & Iroquois Navigation Company - later known as the Kankakee Company - was chartered in 1847 to provide water power and a navigable waterway from the Illinois & Michigan Canal to Warner's Landing, along the site of the present-day Warner Bridge Road. The company failed in the early 1880s, shortly after the Wabash Railroad came through. At the Chippewa Campground, hand-cut limestone pillars mark where a railway bridge was to have been built before financiers ran out of money.

Just inside the park's main entrance is the Smith Cemetery with the graves of several family members, most of whom died of yellow fever at the turn of the century.

A major industry in the area in the 1890s was the Custer Bowery Amusement Park, which frequently drew crowds from Chicago. The park was gone by the 1920s, but by then the river had become a popular spot for summer cottages. The area became more accessible to vacationers in 1928 when concrete roads were built along both sides of the river. In 1938 Chicago resident Ethel Sturges Dummer donated 35 acres of land for a state park. Commonwealth Edison turned over another 1,715 acres to the state in 1956. With the company's additional grants in 1989, the park now roughly totals 4,000 acres.

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