For the DuPage River, it’s branches and main stem, you’ll be surprised at how much public access there is. You’ll hear individuals and groups talk about how spots on the DuPage River shouldn’t be given away so freely. I think the heads of the Forest Preserve Districts would be disappointed in that attitude. The FPD’s WANT people to come out. That’s why they exist. Here’s a couple of links to maps of public land in DuPage and Will Counties.
DuPage County Forest Preserve District
Forest Preserve District of Will County
Then there’s a link to the Plainfield Park District. Kind of hard to keep a body of water a secret when so much of it is accessible via public land.
From the Bolingbrook Park District you want to get the Bike Path Guide and the Park Map. Since I initially set this up, Bolingbrook changed their site. Good luck finding what you want or getting anything to download. What a piece of crap. Note to webmasters (see Naperville below too) simpler is better. Bells and whistles are junk if they bog thing down and aren’t very well organized.
The Naperville Park District easily has the worst park info I’ve seen to date, but it will give you a very general idea of land along the DuPages that is public. Under their park amenities, they don’t even list fishing.
The Shorewood Park District has a couple of pdf maps to download when you get to their site. Look for their Existing Trail System Map and the DuPage River Trail Map which incorporates all the towns up and down the river.
Village of Shorewood Parks and Recreation
I checked out the DuPage River where it flows through Channahon about 10 years ago and never got back to fish there. Their parks map show a couple of interesting access areas.
Stay tuned for more.