This is good news for Chicago area lake paddlers: Historically, there has been no official access for kayaks or canoes from Chicago beaches. The North Shore lakefront, mostly private, allows only costly fee-based access from seven suburbs - each with different fees, rules and regulations. (In Evanston, for example, it costs $l5 dollars for a daily launch pass and $175 a season for non-residents, for out-and-back boating.) In fact, in Illinois, a state with hundreds of rivers, public access is allowed on fewer than 50 streams.

The water trail plan - like Burnham's - is perhaps the first of its kind in the nation. Passed last September, it resulted from a three-year cooperative effort by the Illinois Paddling Council, the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), DNR and the Open Lands Project. The waterways covered are Lake Michigan; Calumet area waterways; the Chicago, Des Plaines, Du Page, Fox, Kishwaukee and Kankakee rivers; and Salt and Nippersink creeks.

Burnham's plan took decades to complete. This plan proposes finishing the majority of trails within one to three years, and with good reason - the trails already exist (compared to building a network of bike trails). Eighty percent of the waterways (376 miles) are publicly owned by agencies such as park districts. And, since most (7l percent) of the 174 access sites need only minor improvements, it will be inexpensive. A new basic launch site, with parking, signs and bank stabilization, is estimated to cost $l6,000, and a state grant program is already in place.

Water trail committees proposed for each trail will consist of paddlers, site owners, government officials and residents, with a regional council of representatives. Other recommendations include coordinated signs (with information on distances, dams and other obstacles and pollution), maps, emergency services and a Web site.

Meanwhile, the Lake Michigan Water Trail Group has already worked on gaining lake access for kayaks and canoes, and has sponsored an annual Lake Michigan Water Trail Day for several years. Events in l997 and ï98 attracted some of the largest gatherings of sea kayakers on the Illinois shore, showing beach managers and park district officials the water trail from the kayaker's point of view. Last September's event celebrated eight new launch sites on the Chicago lakefront.

Burnham referred to the lake as a living thing, "delighting man's eye and refreshing his spirit." The most recent Water Trail Day underscored how a water trail can enhance an already magnificent resource. "Make big plans; aim high in hope and work..." he continued. Now, nearly a century later, Chicago may again be a trendsetter: Future proposals include coordinating the water trail around the lake with trails in Wisconsin and Indiana.