A mid-1800’s architectural wonder helped make Chicago the city it is today. The 96-mile Illinois & Michigan Canal (I&M Canal) connected the Great Lakes in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru, and amazingly unique towns sprung up that maintain their authentic charm to this date.
READ ON!Freedom. The Open Road. The American Dream. All are still alive on The Mother Road. The nostalgia of diners, museums, tourist stops and neon lights are there for you to visit as you make the drive from Chicago to Santa Monica, CA. You can still get your Kicks on Route 66!
READ ON!A visit to Starved Rock State Park consists of many sights to behold, including breathtaking views of its many canyons and awe-inspiring scenes of eagles flying during the winter month.
READ ON!The Heritage Corridor is filled with events that are waiting just for you. Live music, fun festivals, learning programs, and active adventures await.
READ ON!Are you looking for a specific type of place to visit in the I&M Canal Heritage Corridor? If you're a craft beer fan, you will love the Heritage Corridor Ale Trail? Seeing a thrilling journey or just an escape, check out Adventure Outside Chicago. We've got all the info to unlock your next trip right here.
READ ON!Lemont's proximity to Chicago lends itself to being a scenic place for both movies to shoot scenes to hit both the big screen and small screen. Did you recognize Lemont? You can step foot where some of your favorite stars have, including Jennifer Lawrence and Morgan Freeman!
SAVE THE LAST DANCE
Save the Last Dance was a 2001 film featuring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas. Did you know some of the early scenes in the movie were filmed in Lemont?
SOUL SURVIVORS
Soul Survivors is a 2001 psychological thriller film stars Melissa Sagemiller, Casey Affleck, Luke Wilson and Eliza Dushku. The film was mainly filmed in Chicago and Evanston, but you can see a little of Lemont in the film as well! #EnjoyOurScene
STRAIGHT TALK
Dolly Parton stars in this film about a woman that diteches her small town life for big city Chicago, where she becomes a sensation as a radio show host.
CHILDREN ON THEIR BIRTHDAYS
From 2002, the movie Children on Their Birthdays, based from a Truman Capote short story, tells the story of 12 year-old Lily who moves to Medda, Alabama. When she and her friends team up to outsmart a conman, the town is changed forever.
CHAIN REACTION
Chain Reaction is a 1996 American science fiction thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward, Kevin Dunn and Brian Cox. It presents a fictional account of the invention of a new non-contaminating power source based on hydrogen and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this technology.
THE HUNTER
Lemont, IL is one of six Illinois cities where the movie “The Hunter” was filmed (3 California cities were also locations for filming.) The movie stars Steve McQueen, who plays bounty hunter Ralph ‘Papa’ Thorson.
THE POKER HOUSE
Jennifer Lawrence has rocketed to super-stardom, and in 2008, her film “The Poker House” was shot in Chicago, Lockport and Lemont. The movie was a dramatization of actress Lori Petty’s teenage years, written by Petty and comedian David Alan Grier.
Sources: ItsFilmedThere.com and IMDB.com