Mysterious waterfall officially named in local forest preserve

Tucked away in the dense foliage of Waterfall Glen is a man-made wonder few guests, even locals, know about.

But in the Darien and Lemont area forest preserve, nature's own handiwork is even more obscure.

"This one is pretty hard to find," said Joe Kubal, as he traversed the preserve's muddy path. "The natural one is not very well known."

The Naperville resident led the way to the only naturally-made waterfall in DuPage County, one that just a year ago was such a mystery it didn't have an official name.

Getting the naming rights to the waterfall was just part of a larger project Kubal and his colleagues, independent journalist Maria Traska of Oak Lawn and College of DuPage geography professor Keith Yearman, embarked on three years ago.

"All three of us decided to go on a little road trip down Route 66," Kubal said. "And from that we decided to write a book about 66 from Joliet to Chicago, just that 44 miles, because it's been overlooked."

As part of the project, Kubal, Traska and Yearman started researching Waterfall Glen, when they came across the waterfall most associated with the preserve. After talking with Forest Preserve District of DuPage County naturalist Jack MacRae, they were informed that the waterfall wasn't natural, but constructed.

"That waterfall was built in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) as part of FDR's (Franklin D. Roosevelt) New Deal," Traska said.

Kubal's next question to MacRae was, "Where's the natural one?"

MacRae showed the team the natural waterfall, but no one at the district knew its name, Kubal said.

After speaking with Director of Communications and Marketing Susan Olafson, they learned that historically the area was referred to as Canyon Creek, but the name wasn't official.

"I talked with (Keith) Yearman, and he said, 'Well, if it's not named, we should go to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names and officially name it,'" Kubal said.

So Kubal put together a proposal for the board and submitted it in May 2013. On April 10, he and the team received formal approval.

That area is now known as Canyon Creek, Canyon Creek Falls, Canyon Creek Cascade, and the west branch and east branch of Canyon Creek.

"We actually named five little pieces of things all related to that same river," he said. "You don't get to name things much anymore."

Kubal said one downside to naming the area is that by giving it a title, it opens it up to the public more than in the past.

"We want to keep the area pristine and uncluttered from garbage," he said. "People should respect the land."

The trio's book is called "The Curious Traveler's Guide to Route 66 in Metro Chicago," and they are almost done with the manuscript. Traska said it won't be a travel book, but rather a biography of the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 66, as told by the buildings and points of interest there in 1926, and the people still around to tell their part of the story.

"Route 66 began in Chicago for a reason," she said. "It was and is a hub for all kinds of things, transportation not least, and we're here to tell the tale."

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Official names of natural waterfall area in Waterfall Glen

• Canyon Creek Falls: 8 feet high, southwest of the Argonne National Laboratory Reservation.

• Canyon Creek: Half a mile long, flows southwest to Goose Lake.

• Canyon Creek Cascade: About 3 feet high, along the east branch of Canyon Creek in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve.

• East Branch Canyon Creek: 1.3 miles long, flows southwest then south to join West Branch Canyon Creek

• West Branch Canyon Creek: .6 miles long, flows south to join East Branch Canyon Creek.