It is located in Chicago Portage Forest Preserve and the Ottawa Trail Woods Forest Preserve, at the junction of Portage Creek with the Des Plaines River, on the west side of Harlem Avenue on the line of 48th Street.

The portage crossed what was known as Mud Lake, which could be wet, swampy, frozen, or dry, depending on the season, and which has since been obliterated.

These explorers understood the importance of the easiest crossing of the continental divide between the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean watersheds.

The site, which was designated January 3, 1952 as an affiliated area of the National Park Service, is owned and administered by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

Activities here are hiking and canoeing, and the Friends of the Chicago Portage sponsors guided walks.