The Bauer Memorial Path provides a short route through residential and commercial areas of Machesney Park, a northern suburb of Rockford. The trail begins at the Harlem Community Center and travels in...

The Busse Woods Trail system is located within Ned Brown Forest Preserve, a 3,700-acre property in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. There are 11.2 miles of paved trails for cyclists, equestrians...

The Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. As of early 2018, it has a competed section of about 13 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John...

Illinois’ Centennial Trail runs through parts of three suburban counties from Willow Springs Road to Romeo Road/135th Street southwest of Chicago. The trail occupies a thin strip of land between the...

The Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...

The Charles Street Community Path offers a neighborhood route through southeastern Rockford, connecting residents to CherryVale Mall on its eastern end. On its western end, Alpine Park is just north...

The Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...

The DeKalb-Sycamore Trail—also known as the Peace Road Trail—parallels the eastern side of Peace Road from DeKalb to Sycamore in northern Illinois. Along the way, you'll pass a mixture of residential...

The Deer Grove Trail is one of several great Chicagoland trails located in properties of the Forest Preserve of Cook County. Deer Grove is the oldest of all the Cook County preserves. It's comprised...

The Duck Lake Nature Area Trail follows the southern side of Lake Como between Lake Geneva and Como, Wisconsin, not far from the Illinois state line. The trail is more rustic than most rail-trails and...

The East Northbrook Trail is a 1-mile route through a wooded corridor adjacent to an out-of-service rail corridor in the Village of Northbrook. The trail provides access to residential neighborhoods,...

The the Fox River Trail (FRT) was built on stretches of three former railroads: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin; Aurora, Elgin, & Fox River Electric; and Chicago & North Western. Today, it hosts a multitude...

About an hour northwest of Chicago, the beautiful Grant Woods Forest Preserve spans more than 1,000 acres, offering an outdoor respite of prairie, woodlands and marshes. The crushed limestone pathway...

The eastern segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 12 miles of an abandoned railway corridor through DuPage County, between Villa Park and West Chicago. There are plans to extend the...

The western segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 17 miles of a former railway corridor through DeKalb and Kane counties, between LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve and the town of Sycamore....

The Harlem Township Bike Path lies not far from the Rock River in western Machesney Park in the Rockford metropolitan area. The trail consists of a lower (southwest) and an upper (northeast) loop in...

The Hononegah Recreation Path begins near the State Route 2 bridge over the Rock River in Rockton, a small town about 4 miles south of the Illinois–Wisconsin border. The paved trail follows Hononegah...

The John Husar I&M Canal Trail is the northernmost trail developed on the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. The Illinois & Michigan Canal provided the final link in the water route...

The Joliet Junction Trail is a paved path that travels north–south through the west side of Joliet. It occupies an abandoned Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway corridor that in its last years was known...

The KR Trail is a new addition to Kenosha County’s growing bike-ped network. The trail picks up where the Kenosha County Bike Trail leaves off, in Petrifying Springs Park. From the northwest corner of...

The Kishwaukee Riverfront Path winds nearly 7 miles through downtown Belvidere, east of Rockford in northern Illinois. As its name implies, the paved scenic trail follows the waterway for most of its...

The Kishwaukee-Kiwanis Trail winds through the northern Illinois town of DeKalb, coursing along a river, through woodlands, among open spaces through parks and through suburban back yards. The trail...

The Kuhn Road Trail starts on Lies Road, at Glenbard North High School and continues south along Kuhn Road, past single-family homes and Friendship Park. The trail officially ends at Barbara O'Rahilly...

The 13.5-mile Lake Michigan Pathway keeps you in close touch with the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world as it links rail-trails north and south of the port city of Racine. Along the way, the...

Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels through...

The Millennium Trail currently spans just over 30 miles in two disconnected segments, but there are plans to extend it to 35 miles and connect it to the Des Plaines River Trail. The trail goes through...

The North Branch Riverwalk is a 0.6 mile biking and walking trail located on Chicago's northside along the North Branch of the Chicago River, nestled between Gordon Tech High School and Lane Tech High...

The North Branch Trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River over 20 miles through Cook County. The trail was originally a dirt path often used for horseback riding; though it’s now paved, an...

The North Shore Bike Path runs for nearly 8 miles between Lake Bluff and Mundelein, paralleling State Route 176 for the path's entire length. The trail is one of dozens in the Chicagoland area, all of...

The North Shore Channel Trail extends from the junction of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in northern Evanston to the junction of Lawrence Avenue and Francisco Avenue in Chicago. All but the...

Racine’s southeastern neighborhoods are home to the North Shore Trail, which extends south to the Racine–Kenosha county line. Because Racine County standardized its signs several years ago, you won't...

The Orland Park Bikeway provides a great connector across the Chicago suburb of Orland Park. On its southern end, the trail begins at W. 159th Street and winds its way through Centennial Park, which...

Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...

The Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail runs for 6 miles along an abandoned railroad corridor, between the towns of Allens Grove and Clinton. The trail is open to snowmobiles, cyclists, horseback riders and...

The Perryville Path runs nearly 7 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State...

The Pike River Pathway is a short trail on both sides of the reconstructed Pike River in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The path is convenient to several neighborhoods in the community. Birds, frogs...

The Prairie Point Trail is a scenic neighborhood route that connects twice to the longer Grove Road Trail. While never far from houses, the trail offers surprising scenery, including a stretch along a...

Prospect Heights has very few sidewalks, so biking, inline skating or walking are moved to the streets or in the parks. Don't underestimate the Prospect Heights Bike Path which is over four miles of...

The Puri Path is a paved route in Rock Cut State Park, a beautiful outdoor destination of more than 3,000 acres for the city of Rockford. The path runs through the heavily wooded northeast corner of...

The 4.4-mile River Bend Trail is so named for the loop of Fox River along which it follows on its eastern end. It's here that you can connect to the scenic Fox River Trail to travel 43 miles along the...

The Robert McClory Bike Path runs the length of Lake County, knitting together a string of communities on the north shore of Chicago all the way to the Wisconsin border. In 1997, the trail was named...

The paved Rock River Recreation Trail winds throughout downtown Rockford and environs, following the east bank of the Rock River through Shorewood Park and Martin Memorial Park. Officially, the trail...

The Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to the...

An excellent example of land use in greater Chicago, the entire Skokie Valley Trail corridor is a rail-with-trail, paralleled by double tracks that sit about 40 feet to the west of the trail surface....

The Southern Dupage County Regional Trail connects multiple of the larger forest preserves in Dupage county together. Starting near the intersection of 75th st and Ogden Ave in Aurora, the trail runs...

The Stearns Road Bike Path is a dedicated sidepath traveling from Hanover Park to the Bartlett, in the Chicago suburbs. The asphalt path sits on the north side of Greenbrook Boulevard/ Stearns Road,...

Built on a former rail bed dating back to the 1850s, the Stone Bridge Trail provides a crushed limestone pathway through rural countryside. A highlight of the trail is passage on Stone Bridge over the...

The Struckman Boulevard Path is just over a mile long, stretching between Bartlett Road and State Route 59, (although the path narrows from the end of Sunset Park up to the end on SR 59). That said,...

The Tall Grass Greenway Trail is a trail that runs along the right of way for ComEd powerlines. The trail goes mainly through neighborhoods in south Naperville, and meets up with the south branch of...

In just a few short miles, the Wauponsee Glacial Trail leaves the urban confines of Joliet to bask in open farmland and reclaimed tallgrass prairie where the bison roam again. Named for a glacial lake...

Recent Trail Reviews

Kinstone Recreational Path

Side trail that leads to others

It seems to me this should have been called the Hononegah Trail given it passes through the forest preserve and etches the road with the same name. Anyways, the far east part of this path stems off of the Old Bridge Trail which is a great place to bike. When you come off that trail and onto the Kinstone, you go through a small forested area before heading up a hill that starts you along Hononegah Rd. The trail is asphalt/cement and is in pretty good shape. As mentioned, it goes through the front section of the Hononegah FP where they have a bathroom, picnic tables and a water pump all near the trail. The trail ends just east of downtown Rockton but another path picks up that takes you past the Rock River and the downtown area.
There aren't many bells and whistles along this short path but it is a nice continuation to other trails in the area.

Stone Bridge Trail

Continue the Long Prairie Trail

A month or so ago I rode the full length of the Long Prairie Trail. When I reached the Ronald Olson FP I realized that the trail continued as the Stone Bridge Trail. Having liked the Long Prairie Trail I marked the path for a future visit. That didn't take long, I was back a month later and ready to tackle the Stone Bridge and four other paths in the area with my son.
The Stone Bridge Trail is a very well kept limestone trail that only spans about 6 miles. Although short it features areas where you are in a gorge, then on a steep hill. In the middle you can get a history lesson by demounting and walking down the hill at the Stone Bridge site. At the base of the hill you can see the preserved site and read about its historic value.
At the northern base of the trail you can see where the train track line continues north. I sincerely hope they turn this into more biking trail that heads into Wisconsin.

Waterfall Glen

great ride

We rode the main trail and explored a few trails leading off the main trail on our mountain bikes. The only complaint is the lack of water. We are going back in a couple of days to do two loops and try more side trails. We will bring a cooler with our supplies

Pecatonica Prairie Trail

On the decline

I've used this trail for years. The past couple have seen serious decline in the trail's condition. It once was nicely and evenly packed with crushed gravel as recent as three years ago, but now most of it has been overtaken by grass and heavy rains have washed out parts of it. It's still passable on mountain bikes and fat tire bikes, but that's about it. I'm not sure why it has stopped being maintained but at the current rate, in another year or two nature will take it back completely.

Fermilab Trail

Good ride, Kirk Road is a mess

We came thru off of Batavia Rd and was an easy no traffic ride. Easy loop back to Prairie Path Trail.
Headed north on Kirk and is under construction and west side bike trail is terrible going up to Faybian Pkwy.

Fox River Trail (IL)

Oswego to Algonquin and back

We’ve spent many hours on this trail since we started riding a tandem two and a half years ago. We live close the Virgil Gilman trail in Sugar Grove and have spent most of our time on the southern half of the Fox River trail north and south of its junction with the Gilman Trail. The Fox River Trail also connects with the Illinois Prairie Path and its spurs as you venture north of Aurora through Elgin.

Six weeks or so ago we decided that we would try to ride the entire length of the trail and back. We spent the last couple of weeks on the northern section of the trail making sure that we knew our way through the northern half which has a few sections that go around short breaks in the paved trail such as north of State Street in South Elgin and heading south into South Elgin where the trail meets Raymond Street, there is also a junction to the Elgin spur of the Prairie Path. If you cross Raymond Street, you’ll be on the Prairie Path which you can use to go around South Elgin. To stay on the Fox River Trail, do not cross Raymond – go around the corner to the right. Each of these practice runs also included the hilliest section of the trail between South Elgin and Batavia. Tandems are crazy fast downhill due to the mass and aerodynamics but riding up long hills takes a special kind of love!

Yes, the trail can be busy around the towns; especially on weekends. The same reasons we are attracted to this trail also brings out the people walking and families. We thought doing our end to end ride would be better on a Friday but there were a surprising number of folks enjoying the beautiful day with us. We’re just patient with passing and give a thank you as we go by. More so than some other trails, there are many surface crossings so this trail will not boost your average speed, but we find these limitations to be a reasonable trade-off for this well-maintained trail.

The ride yesterday was generally incident free and went according to plan and was our longest ride to date on the tandem. We started out with a rear derailleur skipping issue which was very annoying (you shift more on a tandem than a single) but a quick adjustment at our first rest stop and all was well. The only other issue was a bridge replacement over Poplar Creek just north of South Elgin. Last Sunday there was no sign of construction, but we approached yesterday to find the trail closed. We checked it out to find that the old bridge had been removed but the new one was not yet installed. Fortunately, we found an unofficial detour and continued. Southbound, there was a sign that indicated the trail would be closed through the end of the month.

Cal-Sag Trail

Beautiful trail, no street crossings!!

Loved exploring this trail today! A bit hillier than Prairie or Salt Creek but nice rolling up and down both ways. We easily found Sag Quaries with Google Maps off of 83 and jumped right on. Couldn't believe no street crossings all the way to Nicks BBQ at the end of the trail! We stopped for lunch than headed back. Nice 24 miles! Loved the Lake Katherine area and the low traffic on this trail! We'll do it again in the fall as the foliage will be beautiful!

Danada and Herrick Lake Regional Trail

Herrick Lake - A Little Gem in Western DuPage County

I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in the area for 20+ years and have driven by this little gem more times than I can remember. It is gorgeous!! I took my bike and was amazed at the number of trails and how large the area is. I went on a weekday afternoon so while many people were there walking their dogs or just enjoying the solitude, it never felt crowded. There were many stretches where I was completely alone and had the trail to myself. The parking lot of the Herrick Road entrance can accommodate many cars. It's a great oasis in the Western suburbs and I can't wait to go back!!

Prairie Trail (IL)

Awesome Path!

August 7th. Almost a perfect summer day and definitely perfect for a ride. Did a 30 mile round tripper from just south of Wisconsin line to south of McHenry and back. Condition of trail for that portion was about the best I've ever seen on any trail. Highly recommend parking at the trailhead for the Hebron Trail off Keystone Road at the north end of the trail. Hebron Trail will then take you straight east to hook up with Prairie Trail where you can begin and head south. No problems, well maintained all the way. Passes through several small, medium sized towns on this stretch with McHenry being the biggest. Plenty of access to services, food, water if you need it. Plan is to continue from McHenry on down south for my next leg of this trail. Can't wait to see what's ahead.

Baumann Park Recreation Path

Very Nice

Fox River Trail (IL)

Best sights of any bike trail!

This bike trail has the best sights of any! In Batavia you have the huge windmill, Fabyan Japanese gardens, and trolley museum. Pretty wildflowers as you go through Saint Charles and pass Camp Kane. The train museum in St Charles is neat as well as the collection of signals with the Woodcliff sign, then once you get to Elgin you can see a little castle off the path, Pratt's castle! I don't think any other path has as cool sights as this one.