Join us for yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space. All classes end with a mini sound healing session.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like.

Come fish the Wild Mile!

During the worst of our waterway's polluted history, only 5 species of fish could be found in the Chicago River. Now, there are a whopping 77 - and many of them nest, mate, shelter, and feed around the Wild Mile! Pumpkinseed, bluegill, bass, carp, and bullhead are among the most common, but who knows what you might find! Join us monthly to learn how to safely catch them!

These events will be run by our River Ranger volunteers between April and October of 2025. We'll have bait and fishing gear for you - though please bring your own pole if you happen to have one! We also have blanket fishing permits from the IDNR for these events, so anyone can participate.

To ensure a good experience for all participants and volunteer facilitators, we've divided the day into time slots with capacity limits - please try to arrive close to the beginning of your reserved time, since we'll need your rod back at the end of your time! Youth participation is highly encouraged, though parent/guardian supervision is required with a ratio of at least 1:3! 

Join us on the Wild Mile to enjoy a sweet snack!

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Join Read & Run Chicago and Urban Rivers for a delightful outdoor reading gathering on Wild Mile, the world's first ever floating eco-park. All you need to do is bring a book and something comfy to sit on. You can read silently, you can chat, you can enjoy the city view--whatever you want. This is just a chance to gather outside (while we still can!) around something we love--BOOKS!

Join us for yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space. All classes end with a mini sound healing session.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like.

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Join us for yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space. All classes end with a mini sound healing session.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Come learn about the Wild Mile's native Illinois wetland species! Dozens of species comprise a biodiverse ecosystem, serving pollinators and river creatures, altering water chemistry, and forming beautiful public greenspace. But each of these species has their own lore - richly comprised of animal interactions, scientific eccentricities, and traditional human uses.  

This year, we'll be leading a series of garden tours across the course of the season, intended to familiarize you with the Wild Mile's plant life at different stages of growth. Join us in April for new growth and early blossoms, June for tall and lush greenery, August for a full bloom and diverse pollinators, and October for fall colors and seed pods! 

Though the content of each tour will be similar over the season, we highly recommend attending multiple events in the series, especially if you're interested in plant identification. Plants can look very different at various stages of growth, and also have different uses to both humans and animals as they grow! 

For our August plant tour, we’ll be joined by Nick Dorian of the Chicago Botanic Gardens, who will be telling us all about local pollinators and the plants that support them!

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

SUNDAY TOURS STARTING AT 11AM AND 12PM!

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Seasons of Care blends camera footage with digital animation to highlight the diverse forms of care Urban Rivers volunteers provide to the Chicago River and its ecosystem. Honoring the seasonal rhythms of planting, monitoring, and restoration, the work celebrates the collective effort that sustains the Wild Mile.

Performed and manipulated live by Yousif Alzayed in collaboration with musicians from the Secret River Show, the piece transforms the riverside into a space of layered performance. The interplay of image and sound emphasizes the living, evolving relationship between people and place—deepening the public’s emotional and sensory connection to the Wild Mile’s ecological site.

Dates: 

July 26th 9:00-9:30pm
August 2nd 9:00-9:30pm
August 9th 9:00-9:30pm
August 16th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed in the case of rain.

Come fish the Wild Mile!

During the worst of our waterway's polluted history, only 5 species of fish could be found in the Chicago River. Now, there are a whopping 77 - and many of them nest, mate, shelter, and feed around the Wild Mile! Pumpkinseed, bluegill, bass, carp, and bullhead are among the most common, but who knows what you might find! Join us monthly to learn how to safely catch them!

These events will be run by our River Ranger volunteers between April and October of 2025. We'll have bait and fishing gear for you - though please bring your own pole if you happen to have one! We also have blanket fishing permits from the IDNR for these events, so anyone can participate.

To ensure a good experience for all participants and volunteer facilitators, we've divided the day into time slots with capacity limits - please try to arrive close to the beginning of your reserved time, since we'll need your rod back at the end of your time! Youth participation is highly encouraged, though parent/guardian supervision is required with a ratio of at least 1:3! 

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Beneath Breathing is a site-specific public projection made by Xingyu Huang that focuses on the unstable dynamics of influence between human and non-human life under changing water conditions, with particular attention to how the water quality around the Wild Mile has shifted through ongoing environmental interventions.

By analyzing and editing underwater archive footage collected over the past two years in the Wild Mile, the artist transforms these images into an immersive visual narrative that calls for a renewed reflection on our relationship with aquatic environments.

Dates: 

June 26th 9:00-9:30pm
July 3th 9:00-9:30pm
July 10th 9:00-9:30pm
July 17th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed to the following week in the case of rain.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEW DATE!

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to identify and harvest ~20 wild edible plants of mid summer in Chicago. Participants will also learn about safe and responsible foraging practices, and about the role of foraging in its cultural and ecological context. This workshop happens on-the-move, so come ready to do some walking.

Axel Peterman has been a forager since birth. Growing up in Woodlawn and Hyde Park, he worried many a middle school teacher and camp counselor by eating things that he'd found on the lawn, and by teaching his friends about them. After 11 years of teaching in the northern town of Ashland, WI, during which time he led over a hundred foraging walks as well as workshops on a variety of other subjects, he's back in Chicago, and thrilled to explore the wild edibles of his hometown --- and to teach folks about them.

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

SUNDAY TOURS STARTING AT 11AM AND 12PM!

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Bees, butterflies, and beetles— oh my! Join scientist Dr. Nick Dorian for an engaging, educational nature walk on the Wild Mile to discover wild bees and pollinators in the heart of the city.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Beneath Breathing is a site-specific public projection made by Xingyu Huang that focuses on the unstable dynamics of influence between human and non-human life under changing water conditions, with particular attention to how the water quality around the Wild Mile has shifted through ongoing environmental interventions.

By analyzing and editing underwater archive footage collected over the past two years in the Wild Mile, the artist transforms these images into an immersive visual narrative that calls for a renewed reflection on our relationship with aquatic environments.

Dates: 

June 26th 9:00-9:30pm
July 3th 9:00-9:30pm
July 10th 9:00-9:30pm
July 17th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed to the following week in the case of rain.

Ready to learn more about the plants of Illinois’ waterways? Join forager and mentor Dave Odd for an in-depth tour of the plant species that inhabit your favorite floating eco-park. Dave was a professional forager for high-end restaurants and celebrity chefs for over a decade, throughout Chicagoland and south Florida. He now dedicates his time to teaching the identification and use of edible and medicinal species through neighborhood foraging tours, guided hikes, and survival camps. Dave will lead an interactive walk-through of the Wild Mile and its plants, exploring their numerous applications!

Join us for morning yoga on Chicago’s beautiful floating docks along the North Branch of the Chicago River, surrounded by native gardens and urban wildlife. This class is open to all levels and offers a grounding start to your week in a truly unique outdoor space.

The Wild Mile is a public eco-park created by Urban Rivers, whose mission is to restore wild habitat along the river. 20% of all proceeds go directly to support their ongoing efforts.

Bring your own mat, water, and any props you like. Class begins at 8AM sharp.

Ready for a party? Join us on the newly-expanded Wild Mile for a celebration of our urban waterways and thriving park spaces. Enjoy local beer, food trucks, and an outdoorsy prize drawing while learning about local environmental nonprofits and volunteer opportunities! This event is free and fun for all ages!

The block party is rain-or-shine, and we'll only cancel in the case of hazardous weather!

This year’s community partners include Openlands, Current Water, Chicago Environmentalists, Cleanup Club Chicago, Chicago Ornithological Society, Blazing Star School, Citizens Utility Board, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, Global Shapers Chicago, Reduce Waste Chicago, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Honeycomb Project!

SUNDAY TOURS STARTING AT 11AM AND 12PM!

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

Wild Mile Projections - a collaboration between Urban Rivers and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Beneath Breathing is a site-specific public projection made by Xingyu Huang that focuses on the unstable dynamics of influence between human and non-human life under changing water conditions, with particular attention to how the water quality around the Wild Mile has shifted through ongoing environmental interventions.

By analyzing and editing underwater archive footage collected over the past two years in the Wild Mile, the artist transforms these images into an immersive visual narrative that calls for a renewed reflection on our relationship with aquatic environments.

Dates: 

June 26th 9:00-9:30pm
July 3th 9:00-9:30pm
July 10th 9:00-9:30pm
July 17th 9:00-9:30pm

Events will be postponed to the following week in the case of rain.

Join us on the Wild Mile to enjoy a sweet snack!

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.

If you've ever had burning questions about the Wild Mile or Urban Rivers, look no further. One of our knowledgable Wild Mile Docents will take you on a tour of the Wild Mile, explaining the project's history, architecture, ecology, and more. The tour will take 30-45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions. We'll meet at the entrance to the Wild Mile, behind REI. This tour is entirely outdoors, so please dress warmly during winter months.

This event will repeat on a monthly basis, though the date and time may change according to seasonal needs. If you'd like a tour but can't make it to any available tour dates, email team@urbanriv.org, and we'd be happy to set up a time to show you around! 

This event is free and open to everyone. Walk-ups are welcome, but if possible, please RSVP using the link below.