The second phase of the Wild Mile has been completed and opened at 905 W Eastman Street within the Near North Side. While it may have a land address, the public park which first opened in 2021 is completely floating along the banks of the north branch canal of the Chicago River behind the flagship REI store. Now non-profit Urban Rivers is celebrating its first expansion.
View of Wild Mile entry info by Ian Achong
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
The Wild Mile is considered the first of its kind floating park. Placing wildlife at the center of its development, the first phase of the park contained over 12,000 native plantings representing nearly 60 species. Sitting on floating plant beds filled with various types of aggregate, the park is traversed by winding floating boardwalks constructed by FWM Docks.
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
Hosting various events, tours, and nature walks, the park has become a global success as other cities look at it for inspiration on revitalizing their own rivers. It’s also helped improve the ecology of the river and provide a home for many animal species which were long gone from the river like beavers. This new expansion builds on the knowledge gained from this first phase.
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
Now open, the expansion is slightly shorter than the original build but contains added plant species and more trees than the previous in collaboration with the Chicago Botanical Garden. New seating has been added and people are already enjoying the enlarged park which plans to reach a full mile in length between Halsted and North Avenue.
View of Wild Mile plant beds by Ian Achong
View of Wild Mile expansion by Ian Achong
Work and planting has wrapped up for the season as the park’s new section prepares for its first winter. While a timeline is unknown for future expansions, locals can visit Urban River’s other floating garden projects in Bubbly Creek, River Park, and South Halsted Riverwalk, many of which partner with the Shedd Aquarium as well.
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I’m really struggling to wrap my head around this park. Its a bunch of floating plastic rafts with plants on them linked together. Is this supposed to eventually turn into a new river bank through sedimentation? Is this just temporary? These rafts will eventually deteriorate. Looking at the pictures the shore is sheet piles, long term is the goal to return the shoreline to a natural state?
I think it’s suppose to bring extra greenery to the river. The plants will support biodiversity and the underwater roots will help clean the water
https://wildmile.org/
It supports biodiversity by helping to clean the water and provide nesting areas for fish. Fish typically lay their eggs in riverbanks where it’s shallow and gentle and then the fish gradually grow up further and further into the river. That is not possible in downtown sections of the river due to the harsh, vertical corrugated steel barriers. These plants provide large and deep root systems underwater that fish can nest in so their baby fry are sheltered from current and predators as they grow up.
I’ve walked it, it’s very cool. The rafts are designed to hold up for many years and are quite sturdy (I joined with some volunteers one day to help lift and place one into the water, it took a couple dozen of us).
There are floating wetlands like this using those purpose-built rafts in many places, what’s new here is doing it in a major urban river with a mostly hardened (bulkheaded) bank. The roots of the plants go down into the river, some of them well down into it.
They’ve got a second installation started on the South Branch, actually in Bubbly Creek near its confluence with the river.
I went to the river walk when phase 1 was opened. The revitalzation left me awestruck because I remember the time people were staying away from the smelly,trash filled river. I saw several types of fish and two turtles.People were actually sitting on the dock with their feet in the water and it looks cleaner than ever before! Greenery oxygenation is key to keeping the river clean.Look at places like Hawaii or Australia. The surrounding waters are full of seaweed and grasses and the water is clear blue and clean! The greens feed the fish, the fish feed the birds, and they both feed the population. The city is just recreating nature and I think it’s great 👍
I think it’s an amazing opportunity to bring some of the native fish species back to the river and it adds to the fun and budget friendly things to do near the down town area of Chicago.. Are the platforms wheelchair accessible? That’s a big deal for me nowadays since I was paralyzed in an accident on my Harley-Davidson on October 1st of 2015.. all in all a great idea for the public and natural wildlife., thanx
As an elderly visitor to Chicago l was taken to this park on the river, between 2 bridges, with wonderful views. Beautiful, fascinating, and inspiring. I easily managed my walker on the ramp and boardwalks. And look forward to visiting the new section on my next visit!
Seems like kind of a short-term fix. In 10 years these floating rafts will all have to be rebuilt or seriously repaired. Repurposing the land next to the river is really the only way of getting long-term greenery
Is fishing (catch and release) allowed?
6 years ago was working nearby and was amazed at all the bever activity. Saw many big carp rooting around
In the shallows.The Des Plaines has also made an incredible come back.Nature will repair our damage all by itself if left alone.I would not consume ANY fish from these waters.Even Lake Michigan has several fish consumption advisories. Our drinking water.