By foot, pedal or mule power
Exploration awaits along this historic once-bustling canal
LASALLE, ILLINOIS — Hoofing it down the trail at a flat-out 2 miles an hour, Moe is to be forgiven. He is, after all, a mule, and he’s towing a 76-footlong boat laden with passengers.
“This young guy is 17-ish,” mule tender Matt Pelican said as he stood on the bank of the Illinois & Michigan Canal just before he and Moe led their guests on a short “cruise.”
Historians have to forgive those who have never heard of the once-bustling waterway. After all, much of the I&M has been dry for decades, and it hasn’t carried canal boats for more than 100 years. Yet in the 19th century, the hand-dug, 96-mile passage from Chicago to LaSalle was compared in importance to the Erie Canal, opening up a transportation corridor stretching from New York to New Orleans. Following the I&M’s opening in 1848, Chicago’s economy boomed.
“Before the Illinois & Michigan Canal, the premier Midwest city was St. Louis. Chicago was an outpost,” said Ana Koval, president and CEO of the Canal Corridor Association. “Once they invested in the infrastructure, all the money moved to Chicago.”
People, too, began moving to Chicago. The city’s population soared from a mere 4,000 in 1840 to 112,000 by 1860.
Designated America’s first National Heritage Area in 1984, the I&M Canal is enjoying a renaissance as a recreation area. In addition to 69 miles of hiking and biking trails along the original towpath, people can enjoy the mule-drawn boat rides, as well as museums and eateries overlooking this sluice of Illinois history.
“Our children need to know what it took to build this country, to make America what it is. And it was this kind of thing that did that,” said Arnie Randstra of the Ottawa (Illinois) Canal Association. Each Sunday during the warmer months, he dresses in period costume to greet visitors at Ottawa’s original toll collector’s office.
“This was the highway,” he said, pointing to the few remaining puddles of water in the canal, along which products such as coal, lumber and grain were moved. Sometimes, there were also passengers, among them a young congressman named Lincoln.
“Because it’s an old story, in a way, we’re not connected to it,” Koval lamented. The fact that much of the canal is now a dry creek bed doesn’t help. Still, the many villages and towns that dot the canal are preserving its history.
“Almost all of our little communities … are telling some part of the story,” Koval said.
Moving from west to east, here are some highlights:
LaSalle. This is where canal boat rides will be offered Saturdays and Sundays May 28 to Oct. 31 this year. Tickets can be reserved online (iandmcanal.org) or in person at the excellent Visitor Center (754 1st St., LaSalle; 815-223-1851). It includes a great cafe featuring homemade breads and pastries, along with a cute gift shop.
Ottawa. In addition to the tollhouse (1221 Columbus St., Ottawa: 815-434-2737), plans are underway to refill a portion of the canal, hopefully in time for activities such as kayaking and paddle boating by summer 2022.
Morris. Canalport Park (200 block of West Illinois Avenue, Morris) features a full-size canal boat replica that welcomes children to play. Silhouette sculptures tell the stories of those who plied the canal. The town, by the way, is named for Canal Commissioner Isaac Morris.
Channahon. Channahon State Park (815-467-427l; tinyurl.com/nkxt9m2s) boasts Locks 6 and 7, as well as an original lock tender’s house.
Lockport. Now a gallery, the limestone Gaylord Building (200 W. 8th St., Lockport; 815-838-9400; gaylordbuilding.org) was the I&M’s headquarters in the 1800s. Currently on display is “Life Along the Canal,” featuring the works of local historian and artist John Lamb.
Lemont. Invested in maintaining the canal, complete with water, Lemont is home to three parallel waterways: the I&M, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Des Plaines River. Limestone quarried locally was moved by barge along the I&M to build Chicago’s historic Water Tower on Michigan Avenue.
Bike sharing (iandmcanal.org/ bike) along the canal resumes April 15. Bicycles can be rented by the hour in Channahon, LaSalle, Lockport, Midewin and Morris. Nearly all of the 69 miles of canal-side trail is contiguous, with the exception of 3.5 miles on city streets in Joliet.
Exercise aside, the best way to experience the canal is from a seat on the Volunteer, the two-deck, blue-and-white boat that Moe pulls along the water just south of the main drag in LaSalle.
“The trip down the canal is about the history,” said Jake Krancic, the boat’s captain. “You’re feeling it. You’re actually on the boat being pulled by a mule, and here’s the history. It’s pretty powerful.”
The replica is shorter than an original canal boat, and its human cargo weighs far less than what was transported in the 19th century.
“It wouldn’t be one mule pulling. There might be six or 12. There’d be 80,000 pounds (of goods), just like a semitruck,” Krancic said.
“Every 15 or so miles, there would be a mule barn (that) could house up to 200 mules,” Pelican, the mule tender, explained, adding that mules can, at times, live up to the adage “stubborn as a mule.”
“Once a mule decides not to work, he won’t work,” Pelican noted.
Passengers needn’t worry if Moe puts his hooves down and refuses to budge. The Volunteer is discreetly equipped with two outboard motors.
Things to do along the canal
The canal’s website (iandmcanal.org) contains an exhaustive list of places to visit and things to do along the I&M. Where appropriate, such as at the LaSalle Visitor Center and aboard the Volunteer, mask wearing and social distancing are required.
Folks wanting to spend a weekend recreating can consider overnighting at Kishauwau’s Cabins (901 N. 2129th Road, Tonica; 815-442-8453; kishauwaucabins.com), a collection of 17 luxury cabins set amid mature trees near Starved Rock State Park.
In the southwest suburbs, trail explorers can take a break for beer and food at Pollyanna Brewing Co. (431 Talcott Ave., Lemont; 630-914-5834; pollyannabrewing. com). Patio tables overlook the canal.