Dams:
Below is a list of dams that have been compiled on PaddleAway.com
| Description | Portage Instructions | Portage distance from dam | Owner | Map |
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Crescent Falls Dam Apple River - Hanover, IL No major hydraulics were present the day we put in downstream of this dam (6/19/2009). The drop is around 5-9 ft and it does not appear to be very deep so one should definitely not run this as it would likely result in injury. http://www.hanover-il.com/about... |
Not sure, we put in just below the dam on the east side of the river. Can probably portage on the east/river left side of the river. | - |
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Willow Road Dam Chicago River - Skokie, IL ... |
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Winnetka Dam Chicago River - Winnetka, IL ... |
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Chick Evans Golf Course Dam Chicago River - Morton Grove, IL ... |
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Tam O'Shanter Country Club Dam Chicago River - Niles, IL |
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North Branch Spillway Chicago River - Chicago, IL |
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Centennial Fountain Chicago River - Chicago, IL |
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Chicago Harbor Lock Chicago River - Chicago, IL |
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Devon Ave Aerator Chicago River - Chicago, IL Just south of Devon. This is not a dam but is just as dangerous as the aerated water makes anything floating in the water heavier than the aerated water causing the object to sink. Sign states that the equipment runs intermittently and to stay clear of bubbling/turbulent water. 
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Webster St. Aeration Station Chicago River - Chicago, IL The following description is given from the Illinois paddling council: "Webster St. Aeration Station Pollution control facility produces hazardous aerated water on river left upstream of the Webster St. bridge and on river right on downstream side of the bridge. Avoid paddling through bubbling water." |
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Beartrap Dam Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal - Romeoville , IL |
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Cable Dams Des Plaines River - Lake County, IL From Paul Klonowski: "Time has taken its toll on these. The first (actually a set of 2 or 3, the first being the biggest) is easily runnable with enough water. The second set, just above Gurnee Woods Pond, is nearly destroyed; if you can see any part of it, the water's so low you that should have chosen a different stretch of river anyway, as many portages await downstream. Portage either side of these dams, if you need to, though there is no marked trail at either dam." ... |
Portage river right. | - |
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Hollister Dam Des Plaines River - Vernon Hills, IL There is a canoe chute/groove in the middle of this dam that can be used to run this dam. From Paul Klonowski: "There's no actual "groove," but there is a small spot where the dam line jogs upstream a bit. The elevation of the dam line is not different here than the rest of the dam, so there's no more depth here than anywhere else across the dam. If you can run over the "groove," you can run it anywhere else." ... |
During low water you can get out of your boat in the shallow area on the left of the dam and step over the dam -during high water portaging river right is probably a better option. | - |
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Wright Forest Preserve Dam Des Plaines River - Vernon Hills, IL From Paul Klonowski: "There is an actual "groove" in this dam (more left of center), where the top surface of the dam is lower than the rest of it, creating a small chute. If it's not blocked by a log, it's a nice little class 1 drop." http://www.lcfpd.org/preserves/... |
The better portage is on river right, though river left will work, too. | - |
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Ryerson Dam Des Plaines River - Deerfield, IL |
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Dam #1 Des Plaines River - Wheeling, IL |
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Dam #2 Des Plaines River - Mount Prospect, IL |
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Touhy Dam Des Plaines River - Park Ridge, IL |
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Dam #4 Des Plaines River - Park Ridge, IL |
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North Avenue Dam Des Plaines River - River Forest, IL |
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Hoffman Dam Des Plaines River - Lyons, IL |
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Weir Dam Des Plaines River - Lyons, IL |
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Beartrap Dam Des Plaines River - Romeoville, IL |
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Brandon Lock & Dam Des Plaines River - Rockdale, IL |
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Big Bend Spillway Des Plaines River - Des Plaines, IL http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?... |
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Dempster Street Dam Des Plaines River - Park Ridge, IL |
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Rock Tiers Des Plaines River - Gurnee?, IL Two sets of rock tiers. ... |
River Left | 15.0 (feet) | IDNR |
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Fishnet Rapids Des Plaines River - Lockport, IL One of only two rated rapids in IL. http://pages.ripco.net/~jwn/fishnet.html http://pages.ripco.net/~jwn/fis... |
None, Hold On | - | WCFP |
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Denise Jacob Des Plaines River - Wadsworth, IL new beaver-built dam about 1.5 miles south of Route 173 on DesPlaines River, Lake County |
River has somewhat steep sides here need to portage about 50 feet through high grass | 50.0 (feet) |
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Hammel Woods DuPage River - Shorewood, IL |
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Channahon Dam DuPage River - Channahon, IL http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/la... |
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Stratton (McHenry) Lock Fox River (IL) - McHenry, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mc... |
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Algonquin Dam Fox River (IL) - Algonquin, IL None... |
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Carpentersville Dam Fox River (IL) - Carpentersville, IL ... |
Easy portage river right with bathrooms available. | - |
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Elgin Dam Fox River (IL) - Elgin, IL |
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South Elgin Dam Fox River (IL) - South Elgin, IL |
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North of IL 64 Fox River (IL) - St Charles, IL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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North of IL 38 Fox River (IL) - Geneva, IL Portage on ramp on river left and follow bike path (ramp is located adjacent to Geneva Kayak). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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North Batavia - North of Wilson Street Fox River (IL) - Batavia, IL http://www.bataviansforahealthy... |
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REMOVED IN 2006: Railroad Pier Dam South Batavia Fox River (IL) - Batavia, IL http://vtchl.uiuc.edu/applied-r... |
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North of Butterfield Road Fox River (IL) - North Aurora, IL Portage river right up bank, can put back in just past the dam or at bridge. |
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Casino Boat Dam East Fox River (IL) - Aurora, IL Portage on river right at west dam -go west/right before you get to the casino boat, there is no portage here and this and west dam are very dangerous! 
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Portage on river right (west side of river) along cement walkway and river overlook. There is also a series of canoe chutes for the more experienced paddler. You can take out just before the chutes when portaging. DO NOT attempt to run this or the west dam, recirculating currents and difficult access make these dams EXTREMELY dangerous! | - |
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Casino Boat Dam West Fox River (IL) - Aurora, IL Possible site of new Aurora whitewater park as part of riverside greening project. There are canoe chutes on west side of river adjacent to the bank (chutes were open in Oct 2007). You can also takeout on rocks just before the first chute and portage on cement walkway past the dam to just past the last canoe chute. |
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North Ave Dam Fox River (IL) - Aurora, IL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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Montgomery Fox River (IL) - Montgomery, IL |
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Glen Palmer Dam Fox River (IL) - Yorkville, IL |
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Dayton Fox River (IL) - Dayton, IL |
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Rochester Fox River (IL) - Rochester, WI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fo... |
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Tichigan Lake Main Dam (SW) Fox River (IL) - Waterford, WI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fo... |
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Tichigan Lake Spillway (SE) Fox River (IL) - Waterford, WI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fo... |
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Waukesha Dam Fox River (IL) - Waukesha, WI http://www.friendsofthefoxriver... |
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Stratton (McHenry) Dam Fox River (IL) - McHenry, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mc... |
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Dayton Dam Fox River (IL) - Wedron, IL Hydro Electric |
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Pilcher Park Dam Hickory Creek - Joliet, IL Dam located downstream of Pilcher Park just before railroad bridge. http://chicagowildernessmag.org... |
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Dresden Lock & Dam - Will County Illinois River - Divine, IL |
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Marseilles Dam Illinois River - Marseilles, IL |
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Marseilles Lock Illinois River - Marseilles, IL |
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Starved Rock Lock & Dam Illinois River - Utica, IL http://jove.geol.niu.edu/facult... |
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Peoria Lock & Dam Illinois River - Peoria, IL http://members.aol.com/americac... |
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La Grange Lock & Dam Illinois River - La Grange, IL South of Beardstown, IL http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/river... |
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Lockport Lock & Dam Illinois River - Lockport , IL |
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T.J. O Brien L&D Illinois River - Burnham, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Lockport L&D Illinois River - Joliet, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Brandon Road L&D Illinois River - Joliet, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Dresden Island L&D Illinois River - Morris, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Marseille L&D Illinois River - Marseilles, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Starved Rock L&D Illinois River - North Utica, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Peoria L&D Illinois River - Peoria, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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La Grange L&D Illinois River - Beardstown, IL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il... |
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Indian Creek Dam Indian Creek - Prairie View, IL Just east of N. Prairie Rd. |
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Wilmington Dam Kankakee River - Wilmington, IL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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Kankakee Dam Kankakee River - Kankakee, IL |
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Aroma Park Dam Breach Kankakee River - Aroma Park, IL |
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Momence Dam Kankakee River - Momence, IL 
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Belivdere Park Dam Kishwaukee River - Belvidere, IL Good sized dam with lots of sharp rocks. Do not attempt to shoot this dam. Portage to the left/south side. 
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During low water I was able to portage on river left. Be sure to stay river left as you approach since the dam is fairly close to the portage path. | 25.0 (feet) |
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Camp Epworth Kishwaukee River - Garden Prairie (Epworth Rd), IL Downstream (west) of Garden Prairie Road bridge. Low Head dam with 3 upright concrete pillars (old bridge supports?) |
Approach river left, hug bank past dam, portage through adjacent campground. Short, easy portage. | 1.0 (feet) |
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Melvin Price Locks and Dam Mississippi River - East Alton, IL Replaced Lock and Dam #26 which was 2 miles upstream which was demolished in 1990. http://www.greatriverroad.com/C... |
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Lock & Dam #24 Mississippi River - Clarksville, MO See link for info http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/R... |
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Lock & Dam #22 Mississippi River - Saverton, MO See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #21 Mississippi River - Canton, MO See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #20 Mississippi River - Keokok, MO See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Mississippi River Pool #18 Mississippi River - Gladstone, IL See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #16 Mississippi River - Davenport, IA See link for info http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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Lock & Dam #17 Mississippi River - Muscatine, MO See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #13 Mississippi River - Clinton, IA See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #12 Mississippi River - Bellevue, IA Savanna Army Depot. See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #11 Mississippi River - Dubuque, IA See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #10 Mississippi River - Guttenberg, , IA See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #9 Mississippi River - Harpers Ferry, IA See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #8 Mississippi River - Genoa, WI See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #7 Mississippi River - Lacrosse, WI On Mississippi River and Lake Onalaska. See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #6 Mississippi River - Trempealeau, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #5A Mississippi River - Winona, MN See link for info 
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Lock & Dam #4 Mississippi River - Minneiska, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #3 Mississippi River - Near Red Wing, MN, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #2 Mississippi River - Sturgeon Lake, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #2 Mississippi River - Hastings, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lower St. Anthony's Falls Mississippi River - Minneapolis, MN See link for info http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Upper St. Anthony's Falls Mississippi River - Minneapolis, MN The black holes of dams. Stay clear of these if you plan on paddling in this area. http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/n... |
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Lock & Dam #1 Mississippi River - Minneapolis, MN See link for info http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... |
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More Dams
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