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The 606 Is Officially Open

By Lisa White in News on Jun 6, 2015 4:00PM

A series of ribbon-cutting ceremonies kicked off a weekend-long celebration of the new 606 trail Saturday morning at each of the access points along the 2.7-mile route.

Scissors pointed to the trail. #the606go let's do this! Ribbon cutting Churchill Park

A photo posted by alisa (@alyinwicker) on


DNAinfo Chicago reporter Alisa Hauser has been enjoying the trail all morning, posting videos of all the walkers, skaters, bikers and more who are joining in on the fun:


Hauser also documented the inaugural 606 poop, since dogs are allowed on the trail—thankfully the owner cleaned it up. Here's hoping other responsible pet owners follow lead and keep it clean. Hauser also grabbed video of what is so far our winner for best 606 people watching:

Organizers have planned a gamut of street festival-style activities along the route this weekend, including a music fest below the trail at Humboldt Boulevard between Cortland and Wabansia. There will be two stages for live music and dance lessons. An illuminated procession is scheduled to close out Saturday at 8:30 p.m. You can follow along with The 606's Twitter account for more views of the trail as well as reminders of events throughout the day.

Here's a detailed map of the entire park and a detailed calendar of weekend events. Expect a hodgepodge of group activities from storytelling to Capoeira, kickball and even a drum circle no matter what time of day you visit the park.

On Sunday morning there will be a pancake breakfast at the McCormick Tribune YMCA between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Later in the day, the artist Luftwerk’s will project "TransLIT," a video illuminating the Humboldt viaduct, from 8 p.m. to midnight.

If you're avoiding the crowds this opening weekend, you can go back and visit the trail any time you want during park district hours, which are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. In the meantime, now is the perfect opportunity to revisit photographer David Schalliol's amazing work documenting the trail over the years. Schalliol has photographed the trail since 2009 and has been active documenting the changes since construction started in 2013.

Additional reporting by Rachel Cromidas.