Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A River and a Lake in Chicago!
You may not think of water when you think of Chicago if you’ve never been there before, but a river and a lake were top attractions on our recent trip. That, along with many wonderful parks and museums,which I’ll save for later. Because in this post, I’m linking up with Sunday Stills where there’s water, water, everywhere.
Chicago River
First up is the Chicago River, which flows through the city’s downtown core, out from Lake Michigan – a trick of reverse engineering performed over a hundred years ago.
“The river is also noteworthy for its natural and human-engineered history. In 1887, the Illinois General Assembly decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River through civil engineering by taking water from Lake Michigan and discharging it into the Mississippi River watershed, partly in response to concerns created by an extreme event in 1885 that threatened the city’s water supply.”
Wikipedia
Aside from that notoriety, the Chicago River is lined with some of the tallest buildings in the world and boats of all shapes and sizes cruise her waters. There’s also a public promenade, the ‘Chicago Riverwalk’ on the south side of the river, where you can have a bite to eat and watch the boats go by.
Just 10 minutes from our hotel on the Magnificent Mile, we went to the river often to walk, the last night after sunset.
It was fun to see my two favoite buildings lit up – the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower.
Lake Michigan
Did you know the Great Lakes make up 20% of the world’s fresh water? Lake Michigan is one of the 5, number 2 by volume, and Chicago sits on the edge of its southern shore.
Navy Pier juts out into the lake and is one of the most popular tourist attractions as well as home to many cruises on the river and lake. (We did one of each.)
The Lakeshore Tour gave us another interesting view of the Chicago skyline.
The other direction showed the vast expanse of the lake as well as the breakwater.
The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse still functions today to protect the harbor.
And that will do for now.
~ Susanne
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Gorgeous views and photography of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, Susanne! When I think of Chicago, I only think of the Great Lakes (cool fact about them comprising 20% of the world’s fresh water!). Of course, there would be a river in Chicago, and it is a beauty flowing through the downtown!
Thanks, Terri. I remember being so surprised the first time I visited Chicago, at how beautiful the city was, and especially Lake Michigan. I was so impressed by its size and color. Then to more recently discover the Riverwalk was even better! 🙂
What was the occasion for the visit?
We went to a conference over Memorial Day, and went a week early to vacation.
That’s the way to do it!
Yes, indeed! I probably wouldn’t have otherwise planned a vacation to Chicago, and yet we had such a fabulous time!
Very beautiful photos, Susanne!
Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! ☺️
I wish there were a “LOVE” button as “Like” is insufficient for this post.
Aw, thank you so much! 😊
I hope you got to walk through the stained glass exhibit at Navy Pier… Love your photos!
Thanks so much! We really enjoyed our time there!
Great shots of my favorite city.
Thanks so much! We really enjoyed our time there!
Wonderful shots and very timely – I was just talking with a friend and planning a visit there for Sept. Now I’m even more excited to go!
Wonderful! You’ll love it! 😊
If I ever went to Chicago, I’m sure I would take a river cruise. I always told people to take a River Thames cruise in London, from Westminster to Greenwich. You see the best of the city from the water.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes indeed! The best views are from the river! We took a cruise to Greenwich when we were in London as well as to Kew (if I remember correctly) and loved them both!
Yes, for me one of the magical secrets of Chicago are the beaches – so many of them and so beautiful!
Chicago is a wonderful place to visit, with so many water features! We spent time on the River and Lake, but didn’t make it onto the beaches, only saw them in the distance. Hopefully next time. 🙂
For anyone reading the comments, the beaches are stretched north from the river along the lake and go on for miles! Plus Lakeshore Drive allows you to wander with no car traffic!
Great tip, John! Our last day in town, we took the lakeshore boat tour and were going to walk the shore afterwards. but it was already getting late so we opted for dinner instead. I guess we needed one more day!! 🙂
Chicago, my favourite city in the USA! Lovely photos, brought back some good memories!
Thanks so much for your comment! It’s such a fun city to visit! 🙂
My pleasure! We have family there, so I guess I’m kinda biased, but yes it is a real fun place!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised every time we’ve visited. I’m from Seattle, which is quite different in many ways, but both have wonderful water features. And I love the parks and world class museums!
Sit gets mighty cold in winter when the wind blows in off the lake though…..!🥶🥶🥶
So I’ve heard! I think I’ll stick with Seattle’s mild, maritime climate!
Nice tour.
Thanks!
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My son visited Chicago a while back and insists we need to go. I didn’t realize there was a river through town. Thanks for a great post.
It’s a great city to visit with so many things to do and quite beautiful. It really does surprise you the first time. Thanks so much for your comment.