Class I-II Des Plaines River, IL

The Des Plaines River runs approximately 95 miles through four counties in Illinois to its confluence with the Kankakee River at Channahon, where it forms the Illinois River. Along the water trail, it changes its character (and legal classification) from a prairie stream to a large urban river, and then to a major industrial waterway.

At its headwaters, the Des Plaines River, like all rivers in Wisconsin, is considered “navigable” and legally accessible by the public. When the river enters Illinois, it becomes a “non-navigable” river until it reaches Riverside, just north of Ogden Avenue. Here, it once again becomes a public and navigable waterway to its end at the confluence with the Kankakee River.

Fortunately for recreational users, Lake and Cook County Forest Preserve Districts have protected long stretches of the river by developing a Des Plaines River greenway and bike path along its banks. They are in the process of implementing a plan to link all the forest preserves with a regional greenway trail, and have developed and promoted the recreational use of the river by creating canoe launch sites on the northern and middle section of the river.

The lack of trailered-boat ramps makes this long river a quiet, beginner, and family-friendly river, free of noise and the challenges of coping with powered boat use. Depending on water levels in the Lake County portion, however, additional portages may be required. (Source: Openlands)