Joliet
Joliet is 40 miles southwest of Chicago located in Kendall and Will counties. It is the county seat of Will County. Joliet is a Des Plains Town. Joliet's downtown is in the river valley. It is a larger city with over 147,000 which puts it at the third largest city in Illinois.
Louis Jolliet and his father Jacques Marquette where the explorers credited with first exploring the Joliet area. They paddled up the Des Plaines river and based on maps of the exploration, there was a large mound that they named Jolliet, this is the southwest corner of the city. James B. Campbell who was treasurer of the canal commissioners named the village "Juliet" after his daughter. In 1845 the name was changed to Joliet after local residents petitioned the state.
Within the 62.768 square miles of Joliet there are many things worth mentioning. There are two colleges within Joliet, one is a junior college-"Joliet Junior College" and the other is a four year college-"University of St. Francis". Four golf courses are active within Joliet: Inwood, Woodruff, Wedgewood, Joliet Country Club. There are several miles of bicycle trails in Joliet, the longest being the I and M Canal State Trail which stretches about 60 miles going all the way to Peru.
Joliet has many family entertainment avenues. There are 2 miniature golf courses at Haunted Trails. Along Route 6 there is a Splash Station which hosts the Midwest's only 6 person slide. Two of the biggest parks are Pilcher Park, hosting more than 640 acres of wildlife; the other is Hammel Woods with a seven-acre dog park and many hiking trails.
