Explore the best rated trails in Chicago, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and ComEd Greenway. With more than 114 trails covering 4788 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I frequently walk my dog on this trail and am becoming increasingly disturbed by the need to dodge the droppings of other people's dogs because they refuse to pick up after them. Perhaps there needs to be better signage, more trash receptacles, or even a dog poop bag dispenser to encourage people to pick up after their pets. It's so gross! There is literal poop on the path and in the areas surrounding the path.
I've ridden this trail for 30 years and it's well maintained and relatively flat. The crushed limestone surface drains water away quickly though in winter, when the ground is frozen, the water can form puddles or freeze so you must be careful. After bigger rainstorms, some of the underpasses can be impassable (e.g., Route 60 especially--there is a side path that connects the trail but you need to cross a major road). The path gets multi-modal usage, from walkers, families, runners, horses, skiers, bicycles, to e-bikes. You can ride this with a road bike if you're confident but cross or gravel bikes are better but certainly not absolutely necessary. Nowadays we see fat-tire bikes, especially in winter, and e-bikes too. People are generally quite respectful of others. The trail is well marked and I recommend starting at Daniel Wright Woods or Old School Forest Preserve which are in southern Lake County. As others have said, going north from there keeps you in Lake County which does a great job of maintaining the trails.
This trail begins off of Voltz near Sunset Ridge and goes about a mile and a half or so across Sunset up to Dundee Rd. If riding through Northbrook, it's a very handy way to avoid Skokie Blvd and make your way up to the North Trail entrance off of Dundee across from Botanic Gardens. It's mostly just a nice, secluded, wooded, but paved strand behind some residential neighborhoods and runs parallel to Skokie. When riding, please be a little more mindful of residents walking, often with dogs and children. It doesn't get very crowded, and people generally aren't expecting bikers like on the major trails.
This trail continues for 10 miles , 20 miles round trip. I start the trail at Belmont ave by Clark Park and continue thru new connection over Addison Ave continue thru Horner Park . You can travel on Manor Ave to enter the trail at Lawrence Ave and connect to the trail on Argyle. I continue the. Trail thru Green Bay Road . I am able to ride the trail their and back usually in 90 to 100 minutes . Excellent trail not very busy , I have been riding five times a week for 3 months Lou
A great place for walkers, hikers, bikers, and families. It’s been wonderfully restored and brings nice surprises during each season.
This has been long overdue. From Harlem Ave. in Frankfort to Schoolhouse Rd. in New Lenox is getting resurfaced. As of 10/26/2022 Harlem to Wolf Rd. in Frankfort is complete. Now if they could resurface the rest too, it would be a 5 star trail.
Rode from Ballou to Manhattan, 2p mile round trip. TraIl is in excellent condition. Yrsil has a nice wind break on both sides of the trail for almost all of the ride. Will rode again.
They just replaced the first 4ish miles that start in Willow springs to the bridge, a serious game changer, the last three miles near lemont have bumps in the trails but that’s what happens when you build on a wetland near a river. freeze thaw expansion… the brewery at the end the best part
This trail is a nice one if you are looking for something other than a super straight rails to trails corridor. I parked at the nearby and beautiful DuPage County St James Forest Preserve and took a connecting trail to the start of the officially named West Branch DuPage River Trail that heads south. Most of the route is in Forest Preserves, alongside the West Branch of the DuPage River.
Once you come upon the spectacular Naperville Riverwalk, north of downtown Naperville which does not allow bikes, you must use city streets. That provides a nice variety. South of downtown the trail is again in parks. One can travel all the way south into Will County, with more options for connecting trails.
In the Chicago suburban area, the Salt Creek Trail, at 27 miles long, is a great trail for what I like to do, which is cycling wayfinding. It’s not a rail to trails so the trail stiches together a variety of different segments in different surroundings: paved paths in forest preserves, separate paths along highways, gravel paths, subdivision roads and even a wood chip path. There are many connecting paths, so don’t expect a sign for every turn and that’s where wayfinding comes in. Use your TrailLink downloaded map and find your way. I made a few wrong turns but that’s part of wayfinding. I parked at Edgewater Park and did out and back rides, first to the south and then to the north. A fine 54-mile ride on a beautiful fall day. I even found two updates that are needed to the TrailLink map, which I will send to Rails to Trails Conservancy.
I started from the south entry point and only made it a few miles in before deciding to just take the roads back south. It hadn't rained for a few days and the bridge underpasses were still full of pooled water and soft mud. I don't even know if I'd ride through them on a mountain bike unless I was really looking to get nasty.
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