The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in Lyons, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Chicago Portage Forest Preserve, at the junction of Portage Creek with the Des Plaines River, at 4800 South Harlem Avenue. Preserved within the park is the western end of the historic portage linking the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River, thereby linking the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. A monument depicting the portage of the French explorers is located at the parking area. A trail leads from the monument down into the portage wilderness area. The wild onion that gave Chicago its name thrives here.
The site is the only part of the historic Chicago Portage that remains in a natural state more or less as it existed when revealed to French explorers Louis Joliet (Jolliet) and Father Jacques Marquette by Native Americans. The remainder of the historic portage has been extensively developed and is covered by industrial areas of the City of Chicago.
The site, which was designated January 3, 1952 as an "affiliated area" of the National Park Service, is administered by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Visitor access is via Harlem Avenue, just north of Interstate 55, however the site contains no facilities other than a parking area, the monument statue, and informational signs explaining the significance of the site. Activities here are hiking and canoeing, and the Friends of the Chicago Portage (link below) sponsors guided walks. In the future, it is hoped that adjacent vacant industrial land can be used to construct a visitor's center.
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