Weekend Explorer

Lockport Prairie

View Map

by Paula McHugh

COME SPRING, Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve’s rare, living treasures emerge from their protective hiding places. This shallow-soiled floodplain prairie, scoured by monstrous surges of glacial meltwater 12,000 years ago, is truly unique in Chicago Wilderness. The 254-acre site is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and managed by the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

A family of coots dives the depths of a marsh pond. And while the sun might bake this feeding pond to brownish muck by midsummer, shallow, slow seeps of cool, calcium-rich water supply tiny, federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly nymphs with what they need to thrive. It will take the nymphs two to three years to emerge as adults. Their livelihood depends on conditions found on this ecologically significant rectangle of dolomite prairie. If not swallowed up by a bird or turtle, new dragonflies will be cruising for mosquito and gnat meals amid the cattails. Look for their brilliant green eyes.

Ideal times for seeing a Hine’s emerald dragonfly spinning across the road or alighting on a flowering cattail are on still mornings between 9 and noon during June and July. But catching a glimpse of this rare creature is only one of many reasons to visit Lockport Prairie during the summer season.

An abbreviated strip of asphalt, Division Street, leads into Lockport Prairie, which is bounded by Route 53 to the west, Route 7 to the north, and the Des Plaines River to the east. The road through the prairie dead-ends at a former railroad swing bridge at the edge of the river. This dead-end cordons off this exceptional prairie habitat from other attractions within the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor.

Visitors can take in a sweeping overview of Lockport Prairie by standing midway along the road. The oak-lined bluffs bordering Route 53, carved by glacial activity, conceal the seeps that sustain the wet dolomite prairie. The bluff area, recently cleared of invasive buckthorn, has been noted as a foraging spot for the Hine’s.

The only designated walking trail within this fragile prairie stems south from the road near a kiosk. Hikers who walk the mostly flat, quarter-mile path can view exposed slabs, or “roofs” of pale gray limestone, which become less visible as summer’s flora peaks. A rich palette of plants grows in the preserve’s shallow soil, including satin grass, Ohio horsemint, purple meadow rue, vervain, oyster plant, wild onion, and goldenrod. The preserve’s unique conditions also foster two endangered plant species: the leafy prairie clover, which thrives in dry summer heat, and the lakeside daisy, which was reintroduced here.

The footpath passes natural rivulets that curiously resemble miniature versions of the 19th-century manmade canal system across the river in the city of Lockport. Resident muskrats, coyotes, foxes, snakes, and voles hide from view, yet one may encounter silent remains of their life-and-death dramas along the path. Currently, the walk through sedge meadow and fen terminates at the edge of the floodplain forest, although plans for a loop trail are underway.

The Forest Preserve District will provide interpreter-led public tours of Lockport Prairie this summer, at 6 p.m. on June 21, July 5, and August 23. Call (815) 727-8700 for more information.

Daytripping

Once a center for shipping traffic on one of the nation’s most important canals, the City of Lockport boasts 37 structures on the National Register of Historic Places. Several are constructed of the same dolomite limestone that underlies Lockport Prairie.

An excellent (and free) self-guided walking tour map of Main Street is available at the I&M Canal Visitor Center in the Gaylord Building at 200 W. 8th Street, (815) 588-1100. Built in 1838, this building houses three floors of canal history. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 6.

Walk or bike along Lockport’s portion of the I&M Canal Trail, which stretches from the town’s old canal boatyard site at 4th Street to the 1845 limestone Lock £1 at 15th and Division Streets. Kids can roam a reconstructed Pioneer Village just steps from the Gaylord Building. Head south along the canal towpath and visit the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery in the historic Norton Building, 201 W. 10th Street, (815) 838-7400. A fine exhibit, “Gifted Quilts,” runs through Labor Day. Rest and renew within the charming courtyard just outside the gallery. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5.

Around the corner is the Will County Historical Society, 803 S. State, headquarters of the I&M Canal Commission during the canal’s construction in the mid-1800s. Open daily, 1 to 4:30 p.m., except Mondays.

Foraging

The newly opened 10th Street Café, 110 W. 10th Street, (815) 588-0134, is just a few steps from the Norton Building and the I&M Canal Path. Housed in a vintage limestone building, it offers hearty eat-in or take-out soups, sandwiches, and yummy deserts. Fill up at the salad bar or build your own turkey combo panini. Open 5 a.m. until 2 p.m. weekdays; 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

If linen tablecloths and wait service are more to your liking, then enjoy a view of the canal path from the high-arched windows of the four-star Public Landing Restaurant, in the Gaylord Building, 200 W. 8th Street, (815) 838-6500. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.

Hot summer days call for ice cream treats. Cool Creations at 937 Hamilton Street, (815) 838-4700, serves up plentiful scoops of your favorite flavors, plus brownies and other confections.

Bedding Down

Nearby Messenger Woods offers campers a place to kick back and enjoy cool shade and starlight slumber within an old-growth oak and maple forest. Walk off a meal by enjoying a ramble along a two-mile scenic loop trail. This Will County forest preserve is located on Bruce Road, north of Route 6 (Southwest Highway) and east of Cedar Road, in rural Lockport. Reserve your campsite at (815) 727-8700.

Events

The City of Lockport celebrates its heritage with its annual Old Canal Days Festival the third weekend of June. A carnival and parade kick off events, June 14-18. For information, call (815) 838-4744. The Lockport Township Park District holds its Summer Performing Arts Concerts in Dellwood Park, Wednesday evenings, June through August. Call (815) 838-1183. Free.

Related Articles

Groundswell for Groundwater, CW, Summer 2004

Profile on Lockport Prairie, CW, Into the Wild, Summer 1998