DuPage River in Illinois

Trip Overview

Here is an excellent, yet fast section of the DuPage Rver. It can be run in about 3 hours from the Hammel Woods Park dam in Shorewood, to the Illinois and Michigan dam in Channahon.

The latter section to Channahon is flatwater, but most of the river moves with a good current, due to the gradient, and has a fast yet safe pace. Nothing rated more than a class I rapid anywhere, most are fast long ripples sections.

You can canoe it at almost any time of the year, but we recommend it to be run after a decent rain to get thru the 2 shallow areas that get low during a drier summer. Some of the shoreline is lined with homes, but it still has a nice countryside feel to it.

There are numerous put in and take out places along the river to shorten the trip.

Fees:

None

Directions:

Rt 59 to Hammel Woods Park, in Shorewood. Rt. 6 to the Channahon State Park off of Canal Rd. in Channahon.
Both towns are near I-55, just west of Joliet, IL.

Launches:

Hammel Wood Park for a decent put in point.
Take out at the Dam in Channahon, IL.