[2] It borders the city of Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within the Chicago metropolitan area.

[3] Early settlers in the Gurnee area came by foot horseback and by "Prairie Schooners" drawn by oxen or via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes.

This road was "laid out" in 1836 by three early settlers: Thomas McClure, Mark Noble, and Richard Steele.

The east–west road, now known as Grand Avenue, was a main route from McHenry County to the port of Waukegan.

This was a stage coach stop between Chicago and Milwaukee and was a stopover for farmers from the west traveling to Little Fort (now known as Waukegan) to barter their crops for supplies and to ship out from the ports.

This building was acquired by the Village of Gurnee in 1984, has been restored, and now houses the Warren Township Historical Society.

The flood forced several schools to close[6] and caused building damage to dozens of homes and businesses.

[8] It is located on the banks of the Des Plaines River and is split by Interstate 94, which divides the village into east (old) and west (new) sides.

They are: The western section of Gurnee, along with portions of the village's eastside is served by Woodland Grade School District #50.

The Warren-Newport Public Library offers a collection of over 270,000 books, hundreds of magazines, and over 37,000 CDs and DVDs, as well as programming for all ages designed to provide personal enrichment, education and entertainment.

[26] In 2004, the library was one of the early adopters of passive RFID (radio frequency identification) technology for the automation of item check-in (News Sun, September 28, 2004).

According to its mission statement, the Warren Newport Public Library "provides the community with access to information, kindles the imagination of children and adults, and supports lifelong learning."

Interstate 94 (The Tri-State Tollway) is the main expressway servicing Gurnee, allowing easy access to Milwaukee and Chicago.

Gurnee is notable as being one of the only major Chicago suburbs that is not serviced by Metra, although there are nearby stations in Waukegan, Grayslake, and Libertyville.

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Gurnee to downtown Waukegan, Grayslake and other destinations.