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Locations & Things to Do
Saganashkee Slough includes multiple locations:
Saganashkee Slough-East
Entrance
Things to Do & Amenities
Hours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- NO ISSUES 4/4/2025: Open during normal hours.
Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch
Entrance
Things to Do & Amenities
- Parking
- Portable Bathroom
- Accessible Boat Launch
- Fishing
- Ice Fishing
Hours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- ALERT 11/18/2024 - ?: The cable gate at the boat ramp will be closed for the season, as determined by the Department of Resource Management's Fisheries and Wildlife sections. This closing in the west parking lot is done annually to accommodate migratory waterfowl. The general parking area will remain open to the public. Public watercrafts and vendor crafts are not allowed on the water. Shoreline fishing is still permitted throughout the lake, and parking at this, and other locations are still allowed.
Saganashkee Slough-Central
Entrance
Things to Do & Amenities
- Parking
- Fishing
- Ice Fishing
Hours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- NO ISSUES 4/4/2025: Open during normal hours.
Trails
Palos Trail System
The extensive and varied Palos Trail System winds through rolling hills and deep ravines, providing beautiful views of the surrounding landscapes.
Location: Hickory Hills, Justice, Palos Hills & Willow Springs
Surface
UnpavedEstimated Total Length
42.1 milesHours
Year-round: Sunrise to SunsetClosures & Alerts
- ALERT 03/24/2025 - 05/05/2025: Vehicles may be present on trail for infrastructure repairs. Palos Trail System - Yellow Unpaved (East).
Accessible Boat Launch
The Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch entrance features an accessible trailered boat launch for canoes, kayaks, rowboats and boats with electric trolling motors.
The boat launch closes from roughly October to April each year to accommodate migrating waterfowl. Check if the closure is active.
Fishing at Saganashkee Slough
This large, 377-acre lake is only 6.3 feet deep at the west end and features a barrier free fishing wall at the east end. The Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch entrance features an accessible trailered boat launch for canoes, kayaks, rowboats and boats with electric trolling motors. Designated ice fishing lake.
Fishing Access
Fishing access is available at all Saganashkee Slough entrances. An accessible fishing area is available at Saganashkee Slough-East:
*Features accessible fishing area.
- Distance to accessible parking: 20 ft
- Currently no accessible bathroom
Nature Notes
Just as humans are drawn to Saganashkee Slough’s vistas and breathtaking sunsets, a great variety of birds, particularly waterfowl, are attracted to this large, open water body. During spring and fall migration, the slough is a stopover for loons, herons, grebes, mergansers, white-winged scoters, double-crested cormorants, goldeneyes and many others. Bald eagles have been known to roost in the area. Perching birds such as cedar waxwings, red-eyed vireos and blue-gray gnatcatchers fill the woods with their calls.
The slough supports a number of aquatic species. Fish such as crappie, catfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and bullhead all live here–Saganashkee’s yellow bass population is one of the best in the county. With a variety of materials making up the slough’s bottom, natural structures such as sunken trees and inaccessible stretches of shoreline, Saganashkee offers fish plenty of good breeding and hiding places. Combined with the slough’s large size, these factors support thriving fish populations.
Abundant fish and amphibian populations also make the slough prime hunting territory for nonvenomous northern water snakes.