There is a new trail in town and it’s called the Cal-Sag. The 26-mile Cal-Sag extends along the Calumet-Saganashkee Channel and Little Calumet River from Illinois Route 83 near Lemont to the Burnham Greenway near the Indiana border. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) recently began the process of expanding the channel. Officials formally opened the western half of the Cal-Sag, for which the MWRD dedicated approximately half of the land on which it was built. The Calumet-Sag Trail Coalition was formed which led the vision to build the multi-use trail. The Coalition received engineering funds for the development, which spurred the formation of a support group, the Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail. Although the trail has been more than 10 years in the making, area planning maps from as far back as the 1970s promoted a multi-use path along the waterway.
The 13-mile western leg of the Cal-Sag runs along the Cal-Sag Channel from Archer Avenue and Route 83 on the west end to 131st Street and Cicero Avenue in Alsip on the east. Much of it runs through Cook County Forest Preserves, and it connects with several existing bike trails in the forest preserve system. The eastern segment, Cicero Avenue to the Burnham Greenway, is tentatively scheduled to open in 2017. When totally complete, the trail will connect 14 communities and more than 185,000 people who live within a mile. More than 1.2 million people live within a 15 minute drive of the Cal-Sag. The trail will preserve and enhance the natural and historical qualities of the channel and Calumet River. It will also provide an accessible opportunity for recreation and healthy lifestyles.