Explore Fox River region on guided kayak, walking tours

Paddle down the Fox River or stroll through the Fox Valley with Friends of the Fox River members and see what nature has to offer during their “Find The Fox” series.

“I hope people are looking to be surprised,” said Gary Mechanic, tour guide and executive director of Friends of the Fox River.

Friends of the Fox River is a nonprofit organization that protects and maintains the river's watershed through education, research, restoration and advocacy. The watershed encompasses more than 2,600 square miles around the 202-mile river which flows from Colgate, Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois.

“In general, we are concerned about protecting the entire Fox River,” Mechanic said.

“Find The Fox” is about promoting the story of environmentalist and Aurora native Jim “The Fox” Phillips who starting in the late 1960s took action, sometimes illegally, to protect the Fox River and shame companies responsible for polluting the river with industrial waste. Whether it was clogging smokestacks or dumping sewage he collected at the doorsteps of company executives, Phillips left a note signed “The Fox.”

Walking tours through the Fox Valley area begin at 9 a.m. and are on the second Saturday of each month through Saturday, Oct. 8. Each tour will last about an hour to an hour and 30 minutes going as far as one or two miles. Prices are $20 for adults, $15 for members of the organization, students and seniors and $10 for children 6 to 12 years old.

“(The walking tours) are at unique, natural places in the river's watershed,” Mechanic said. “We try to make them short enough that families with young kids can come out.”

The next walking tour is on Saturday, July 9 at Spring Creek Valley Forest Preserve in Barrington.

Besides the walking tours, Friends of the Fox River will also have river tours in canoes and kayaks.

“The river is really one and the same as the land that creates it,” Mechanic said. “I think a great percentage of people who work, play and live in the watershed don't understand that relationship. We are trying to get people to see that little connection.”

Each canoe and kayak trip will have different start and end locations with a different distance of travel because the tours are going along the Fox River. Both trips will last for three to four hours. Fees are per person and include a boat, gear as well as a car shuttle to take you from the end point to start point. Participants should park their cars at the end point.

Canoe trips are at 11 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month until Sunday, Oct. 16. Prices are $20 for adults, $15 for the organization's members, students and seniors and $10 for children 6 to 12 years old.

“Seeing the river in a small boat, you see nature from the river's point of view. I've never been on it and said it was the same twice,” Mechanic said. “The wildlife changes, the river changes, it's always a journey of discovery.”

The next canoe trip is Sunday, July 17, from the Jon Duerr Woods Canoe Launch, 35W003 Route 31 in South Elgin, to Ferson Creek Park, 300 N. 2nd St. in St. Charles.

Kayak trips are at 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month until Saturday, Oct. 22. Prices are $55 for adults, $45 for the organization's members, students and seniors and $40 for children 14 years old and older.

Thekayakers.com owner and Friends of the Fox River board member Brian Lewis will guide the kayak tours as he is an ACA kayak instructor. He said people can expect to see a lot of wildlife such as blue herons, egrets, turkey vultures and more.

“Being on the water allows you to get closer to these birds than if you were walking on the path,” Lewis said. “It's an experience. It's about all the different moments people have. People will say it looks so different from this point of view.”

The next kayaking trip is Saturday, July 23, from the Jon Duerr Woods Canoe Launch, 35W003 Route 31 in South Elgin, to Ferson Creek Park, 300 N. 2nd St. in St. Charles.

All fees will go toward helping Friends of the Fox River preserve and protect the river as well as fund some of the organization's events throughout the year.

“We have to learn to be good neighbors to the river. We have to have that understanding that we really depend on this river, the species that live here,” Mechanic said. “Nobody wants to live here if it's not a nice place to live. I think it's something that is critical to rebalance our relationship with the natural world.”

Anyone wishing to participate must register online. Families with children younger than 6 should speak with Mechanic before registering. After registering, participants will receive an email from Friends of the Fox River providing details for the trip.

For details and to register visit friendsofthefoxriver.org or call (815) 356-6605.

Friends of the Fox River “Find the Fox” walking, canoeing and kayaking tours

Walking tours: 9 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month through Saturday, Oct. 8.

Canoeing tours: 11 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month through Sunday, Oct. 16.

Kayaking tours: 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month through Saturday, Oct. 22.

Cost: $10-$55

Details and registration: Visit

friendsofthefoxriver.org or call (815) 356-6605.