Conscious Choice: Exploring Reach Five of the Chicago River Trail

September 2002 | Midwest Biking

Exploring Reach Five of the Chicago River Trail

by Floyd and Tobi Mittleman

In the August issue we left you at the corner of Fullerton and Damen Avenues, as we were exploring Reach 4 of the Chicago River Trail. The river has been divided into nine reaches from the city limits on the north to the city limits on the south. Reach 4 had some very nice stretches of off-road trail along the river (see the August issue). Reach 5 has no off-road trail at all, but it does have some very interesting views of the river as well as some exciting aspects of industrial Chicago.

Here’s our route in Reach 5. From the corner of Damen and Fullerton, head east on Fullerton. This is a very busy corner, so be cautious. You’ll go east on Fullerton to Clybourn, right on Clybourn for a short block, then right on Ashland over the river to Webster and left (east) on Webster over the river once again. After crossing the river, turn right onto Dominick Street. Follow Dominick for about three blocks to McLean Street and turn left (east) on McLean to Kingsbury. Hang a right on Kingsbury to Cortland and right on Cortland to the river. There is no sign at the corner of Kingsbury and Cortland but when you get onto Cortland you will go past one of the main entrances to Finkl Steel. Stop at the river! This is a lovely stretch with vegetation on both sides and boats and barges in the water.

Metal Management, a scrap metal company, is located on the north side of Cortland at the river. When we passed this spot we stopped to talk to Metal Management’s plant manager, Mary Cook. She was taking pictures of the operation. Large pieces of metal were being dumped into a metal compactor and these giant pieces of scrap were converted into huge metal cubes. The metal cubes were then loaded onto a giant barge to be taken to iron refineries. More complicated pieces of scrap metal, like cars or refrigerators, are shredded at a different location where the iron parts are separated from the nonmetallic and aluminum parts magnetically. If you haven’t seen this operation before, we think you will find it fascinating. This is truly industrial Chicago.

Turn around and head east toward Clybourn again. Take your time to see what’s going on at Finkl Steel and the General Iron Industries Recycling Center on Kingsbury, too. Turn right at Marcey, one block past Clybourn, and take Marcey to Sheffield. Turn right (south) onto Sheffield. This once-quiet corner is now a bustling shopping center with Whole Foods, Best Buy, Eastern Mountain Sports, Cost Plus, etc. If you haven’t passed this corner in a while you will be amazed at the change. At North Avenue turn right (west) and cross the river again. This is the Chicago River Turning Basin — wide enough for boats to easily change direction in the river. There is a lot of construction going on at the North Avenue Bridge — be careful here.

Just west of the bridge is Magnolia Avenue. Turn left onto Magnolia heading south. Magnolia hugs the river for about a block here. Take Magnolia to Elston, then go left on Elston to Division Street. On the corner of Division and Elston is a bar/restaurant — "Slow Down (Life’s Too Short)." It’s the only restaurant that we know of that sits right on the river’s edge. You can get there by boat or bike. (You could also get there by car, but that’s no fun!) Katie, who was tending bar when we passed through, informed us that the place is open from 11:00 am to 2:00 or 4:00 am, depending on the day of the week. Chariya, a waitress, informed us that the food is great — she loves the wings. This was one of the best river-viewing spots that we came upon and the menu looked great, but we didn’t have time to check it out.

Head east on Division Street, across the main branch of the river again and across the North Branch Canal Bridge, to Halsted. The story of the North Branch Canal is an interesting one. William Ogden, the first mayor of the city (1837-1838), became interested in canals on a trip to Europe. He believed that increasing waterfront property would increase the potential for industrial growth to the north of the city center. In addition, the city needed clay to manufacture bricks. He started digging for clay near the North Branch of the river and the result was a canal roughly between Chicago Avenue and the river on the south and North Avenue and the river on the north. This digging began in 1853 and ended in 1873, resulting in the North Branch Canal and an island between this canal and the North Branch of the Chicago River, which became known as Goose Island and did indeed become heavily industrialized. Take a look at your Chicago Bike Map to get a better picture of Goose Island.

Halsted is just east of the North Branch Canal Bridge. Turn south on Halsted and ride to Chicago Avenue. There you will have an elevated view of the river and the Prairie Material Corporation facility. Here you may see sand being unloaded from a barge and concrete being mixed and loaded into trucks. Chicago Avenue at Halsted represents the south end of Reach 5. If you want to see what happens in the city on a daily basis this is the trip to take. Reach 5 includes some of the busiest and most industrialized neighborhoods in Chicago. We’ll report on travel into reaches 6, 7, 8, and 9 in future issues.

In previous articles we have described various quiet and peaceful off-road trails. This trip is neither quiet nor peaceful. However, it is exciting. If you travel by bike to work or to shop or on recreational off-road trails it is likely that you don’t spend enough time appreciating the vibrancy of this city. This trip will offer a different perspective. Again, please use caution as you follow the river in Reach 5. There is not one off-road stretch here. We challenge you to take this ride. But, wherever you ride, do it safely, and stay healthy.

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