[1] The area includes 419 acres (170 ha) of water in Wolf Lake that provides about 6 miles (10 km) of shoreline to fishermen.

Wolf Lake in Illinois has a storied history that somehow has lost track of the origins of the name that goes back over 150 years.

[4] Wolf Lake contains largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie, bullhead, carp, walleye, hybrid muskie, and yellow perch.

[6][7][8] Additional native birds hosted by the lake include cardinals, blue jays, finches, orioles, woodpeckers, teal, mallards, resident and migratory Canada geese, and an occasional bald eagle.

[3] Birdwatchers enjoy the non-native monk parakeet, which is a South American parrot, that nests in the park.

[1] The park also attracts city dwelling mammals such as squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, muskrats, opossums, and the occasional coyote and white-tailed deer.

The purpose was to demonstrate the resilience of the extraordinary range of organisms in nature's battle against the South Side of Chicago's collage of factories, warehouses, forest preserves, residences, and highways as well as its battle of survival against killer pest species.

[4] The water in Wolf Lake was about 18 inches higher until 1998 when the Illinois Department of Natural Resources removed several beavers and their dams that had been built across Indian Creek.

The subsequent drop in water depth encouraged weed growth and changed fishing conditions.

[13] The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the City of Hammond, IN initiated the Reconnaissance Report in December 1998.

Proposed project features include new aquatic and wetland habitat plantings; shoreline restoration; creating deep holes to locally diversify the lake bottom; herbicidal and biological controls; channels clearing, and dikes and causeways construction to restore natural water levels.

For example, at the 14th Annual Earth Day Wolf Lake Cleanup on April 21, 2001, more than 350 volunteers, including Hammond, IN Mayor Duane Dedelow Jr., helped clean up and remove an estimated 36,000 pounds (16 t) of waste.

On the Illinois side, Wolf Lake empties into Indian Creek, which feeds into the Calumet River.

State Line Road ends in foot bridges where water enters from the Indiana side.