Natural Richness & Industrial Power

Most people know the Calumet region for its hulking steel mills and smokestacks along I-90 headed toward Michigan, if they know it at all. They have little sense of the region as an ancient, noble place with its own unique pulse. In modern times, the brusque treatment of the land by industry has often been just plain ugly. But these hulking mills made the steel for the skyscrapers, bridges, trains, and cars we rely on for life, work, and play — even the tractors that plant and harvest the food we eat. In many cases, the existence of the mills is precisely why the natural areas still exist.

Historically and ecologically, the Calumet region is at the heart of Chicago Wilderness — with many of the region's finest prairies, savannas, forests, and endangered species habitats sandwiched between mills and neighborhoods.

We hope we’ve managed to capture some the essence of the Calumet, to interest you in this simultaneously rough and sensitive, sobering and inspiring place.