Wampum Lake

people fishing at Wampum Lake

Wampum Lake offers year-round fishing opportunities, with nine bump-outs along nearly one mile of shoreline. Visitors can relax or play in shaded picnic areas or spot colorful spring wildflowers on a walk in the woods.

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Location & Things to Do

Wampum Lake

Entrance

Thornton-Lansing Rd, west of IL-394
Cook County, IL 60476
(near Thornton)

Things to Do & Amenities

Picnic Groves

  • Grove #1
    • Capacity: 100 people
  • Accessible Grove #2
    (with shelter)
    • Accessible May 1 to October 31.
    • Distance to parking: 155 ft
    • Distance to accessible portable bathroom: 135 ft
    • Capacity: 200 people
  • Grove #3
    • Capacity: 100 people
  • Grove #4
    • Capacity: 200 people
  • Grove #5
    • Capacity: 200 people
Event Permits PageGrove PDF Map of Wampum Lake

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts


Wampum Lake Nature Preserve

Things to Do & Amenities

  1. Service dogs are allowed at most public locations. View accessibility policies.

Hours

Year-round: Sunrise to Sunset

Closures & Alerts


Fishing at Wampum Lake

Wampum Lake is 35 acres and has a maximum depth of 14.1 feet. Nine bump-outs are located on the southern and western shorelines allowing better access to deep water. Designated ice fishing lake.


a small ravine at Wampum Lake Woods

Nature Notes

The sandy soil of Wampum Lake supports unique plant life such as skunk cabbage and cinnamon ferns. Loons, eagles and osprey stop over at the preserve on their annual migration south in fall. Spring brings colorful flowers such as wild geranium, phlox and toothwort, as well as birds such as red-breasted mergansers, great blue herons and warblers.

West of the parking lot, natural springs create wet, marshy areas in the woods, particularly in spring.

Learn more about nature at Wampum Lake: