Tour Cook County’s Only Canyon

Cook County is home to only one single Canyon in the entire region. The Sagawau Canyon is located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago in Lemont, IL. Due to this the Canyon’s status and plant life access is highly restricted and tours are limited and guided. It’s not a lengthy tour at about an hour but it’s very educational and an excellent low key adventure.

Reserve a Spot

You can book a tour through the Forest Preserves of Cook County Website here. The tours are completely free you just have to call and put your name on the list as tour sizes seem to be limited to about ten. This is a definite plus as it keeps tours an intimate affair.

Dress to get wet

They warn you about the Canyon conditions when you book your tour so don’t ignore the warnings. Hiking boots definitely needed due to the rocky surface and stream that you have to wade through to traverse the canyon. It’s not a long hike and you won’t need any particular hiking skills besides appropriate footwear. It may be difficult however for anyone not able bodied to take the tour.

Precious Plantlife

One of the major reasons that they keep the canyon so well preserved is it’s home to several rare and vulnerable plant species such as the vibrant green moss pictured above. The Forest Preserve guide will point them out to you on your tour as well as make sure you don’t step on any of the precious plants found only in this type of Canyon setting.

Ancient Geology

Sagawau Canyon was formed by an ancient coral reef. The tour guide will go over exactly how the Canyon formed before your tour, in to be honest almost too much detail. It leaves us now with a beautiful exposed rock face to explore and host unique plants and home wildlife.

Forest Preserves

After your guided tour you can check out the learning center, humming bird garden, or other unguided trails. Or come back in the winter when the learning center becomes a ski lodge. It’s a really lovely nature area made all the more special by it’s Canyon tour. We enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot too. Sagawau Canyon is one of many treasures in Illinois’s Forest Preserves, be sure and check them out for yourself.