Big Marsh Park Transforms Into Spot For Recreation And Relaxation
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Big Marsh Park is on Chicago's southeast side, sandwiched between Lake Calumet and nearby factories, and most who visit it for the first time can't believe they are still in the city.
"For people who care about the environment, who want to get outside, who want to forget they are in a huge city, this is an unbelievable escape," said Jay Readey, the Development Adviser for Big Marsh.
The City Park is called Big Marsh, and at 278 acres, it is second only to Grant Park in size. For decades, steel makers dumped their slag waste here, but cleanup efforts have given it new life.
"We'r e so close to the great lakes, we're on what I have been told is a globally significant route for migratory waterfowl, who stop here because there's such great food sources and space for them to live," Readey said.
And now the friends of Big Marsh want more of us to come along for the ride.
"It's so much space and it's something that needed a use that would get people out here."
The 45 acre Big Marsh Bike Park opened last fall. It's a mix of meandering trails for gentler cyclists, and intensely challenging dirt tracks, wooden ramps and sand pits intended to attract cyclocross and BMX professionals. Developers call it eco-recreation.
"Combining ecological restoration and preservation with outdoor recreation -- knowing that a lot of people who want to hike and bike are people who care about preserving the environment and care about the natural species who are here," Readey said.
One of the goals for the Bike Park at Big Marsh is to host the U.S. Championship in cyclocross sometime in the next 5 years.
