Outdoor Adventure Park Planned In Lemont

LEMONT, IL — An outdoor adventure park is planning to come to Lemont. During the state of the village address, Mayor John Egofske discussed The Forge at Lemont Quarries, which is planned to be built north of Walker Road and Main Street.

The project will be privately funded, although it would be a joint partnership between the village and the township as well, since both entities own land where the location will be built.

Lemont resident Jeremie Bacon and his two business partners Chris Gladwin and Bart Laythen have invested in the project and are involved in the design and development of the park.

Egofske said the $20 million project is currently going through engineering and an application has been put in for a new railroad crossing just north of Walker Road.

According to the mayor's address, the park will have recreation activities including obstacle courses, mountain biking trails, walking trails, climbing ropes, zip lines over the quarries, rock climbing and more.

There will also be an 80,000-square-foot main facility, which will include a restaurant open to the public. There will also be locker rooms, meeting spaces and indoor ropes and climbing. The site will also boast an outdoor amphitheater and event space, as well as 360 parking spaces for the location.

Egofske said the adventure park will be a multi-year project, but they hope to break ground this year, and possibly open by the end of 2019.

"This is a true recreation destination for Lemont, which will attract outdoor enthusiasts and tourists from all around Chicagoland," Egofske said during his address.

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