Explore the best rated trails in Antioch, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the New Berlin Recreation Trail and Brown Deer Recreational Trail. With more than 130 trails covering 1205 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.
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The Racine-Sturtevant Trail runs for 3.5 miles from the western side of Racine to near the eastern edge of the Village of Sturtevant. The trail occupies an abandoned rail corridor for most of its...
Racine County's eastern edge is home to the MRK Trail, a rail-with-trail that extends north from the City of Racine to the Village of Caledonia. Because Racine County standardized its signs several...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
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 Paul Douglas and Crabtree Preserve Trail System connects two large nature preserves in northwestern Cook County. The trail begins at the Old Stover Trailhead in the Crabtree Preserve, near the...
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,...
Broad blue skies strung with white cloud wisps; gem-green fields harboring cattails and butterflies; canopied glens giving way to cavernous quarries. It's all part of the ride on the Bugline...
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 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 Poplar Creek Trail is a 9.5-mile paved loop around Poplar Creek Forest Preserve near Hoffman Estates. The trail has a couple of hills but is otherwise level and makes for a pleasant journey...
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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...
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 Kishwaukee River Recreation Path runs for 2.5 miles in Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The well-maintained, asphalt trail connects the Kishwaukee River Forest...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
The Seven Waters Bike Trail is a scenic corridor stretching more than 17 miles northsouth between Burlington and Muskego Lake into Waukesha County. The trail was originally three trails, locally...
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 H.U.M. Trail (a.k.a. the Huntley-Union-Marengo Trail) was planned to link all three of its namesake northern Illinois towns, but so far only connects Marengo and Union. Interestingly, the...
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 Pike River Pathway is a paved, multi-use trail that runs along both sides of the reconstructed Pike River through the Village of Mount Pleasant and unincorporated parts of Racine County. The path...
In the Village of Roscoe, a paved path of just over a mile parallels Main Street (which becomes Frontage Road) and then continues along the south side of McDonald Road, a quiet residential street....
The Bartlett Trail is a recreational trail in the Village of Bartlett, Du Page county. Though short, the trail is conveniently located as a space for exercise, while providing a safe route to school...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
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 2.3-mile multiuse trail wraps around Lake Andrea in Pleasant Springs Park. The trail is an easy walk, run or ride around the lake, and is accessible for a wide range of users. It also helps users...
The White River State Trail is composed of two separate segments: a 12-mile stretch that runs between Elkhorn and just west of Burlington in Walworth County, and a 7-mile section that connects the...
Just 1 mile long, the Valley Line Trail—also known as the Sauganash Trail—extends between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Devon Avenue in the Chicago neighborhood of Sauganash. Two bridges allow for safe...
Helping to forge a connection between the northern and southern segments of the Kenosha County Bike Trail, the Kenosha Pike Bike Trail also has plenty to offer in its own right, giving trail users a...
The Rockton Main Street Path is situated off the Rock River on the southern end of downtown Rockton, a charming Midwestern village near the Illinois–Wisconsin border. It begins at Settler's Park,...
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...
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 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...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
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 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...
Baumann Park is adjacent to the Kishwaukee River in Cherry Valley, a community on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. A paved pathway runs through the park and loops around Baumann Park...
The Timber Ridge trail is located on the eastern side of the Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in west Chicago. The preserve offers several trails, fishing, picnicking, and is home to Kline Creek Farms,...
Helping to extend the excellent network of trails around the city of Racine deeper west into the heart of the county, the Racine County Bike Trail serves as a disconnected addition to the...
The Glacial River Trail provides bikers, pedestrians, and in-line skaters with a 55.8-mile off-road/on-road rural route winding through farmland, prairie, wetlands, and woodlands as it passes through...
The DeKalb Nature Trail provides a pleasant, tree-lined route in northern DeKalb. Near its western trailhead, it crosses the Kishwaukee River and passes through the Nehring Forest Preserve. Further...
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 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 Kishwaukee River Recreation Path runs for 2.5 miles in Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The well-maintained, asphalt trail connects the Kishwaukee River Forest...
The Oak Leaf Trail is the jewel in the crown of Milwaukee County’s extensive trail system. The trail meanders for more than 125 miles in and around the city of Milwaukee on a changing terrain of flat...
The Ridgefield Trace is a multi-use pathway that runs through suburban Crystal Lake, Illinois. The trail takes its name from the original Indian trace that once ran along the route of what is now...
The Fermilab Trail garners its name by running though the campus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the former home of the Tevatron particle accelerator. The 3.9-mile particle...
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 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...
Although the Phyllis Harmon Path is short, it's an important connector in an east-west bike/ped route between Arlington Heights and Glencoe. Following Dundee Road, the paved trail goes from the Des...
The Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve is a natural gem hidden in an high-income neighborhood of Lake Forest, Illinois. Those 600 acres are home to perhaps the best-preserved example of the rare...
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...
The Illinois Prairie Path (IPP) was one of the nation’s first rail-trail conversions. It consists of five connected trail segments with three main branches that converge at Volunteer Park (West...
The Rock River Parkway Trail in Janesville runs between Rockport Park and S. Jackson Street bridge on the north side of the river. Here, at the trail's eastern terminus, you can easily link to Spring...
The Beerline Trail, so named because the corridor was once used by freight trains transporting the ingredients for beer to some of Milwaukee’s famous breweries, has contributed to the revitalization...
Broad blue skies strung with white cloud wisps; gem-green fields harboring cattails and butterflies; canopied glens giving way to cavernous quarries. It's all part of the ride on the Bugline...
With farmland to the east and the Des Plaines River Floodplain to the west, this picturesque trail is a relaxing adventure on two feet or on wheels. The crushed stone trail runs from Prairie Springs...
This bike path sits on the east side of Almond Road between Washington Street and Fairfield Lane in Gurnee. The 8-foot wide asphalt path is used by residents as a spot for exercise and recreation, but...
Racine County's eastern edge is home to the MRK Trail, a rail-with-trail that extends north from the City of Racine to the Village of Caledonia. Because Racine County standardized its signs several...
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 Prairie Crossing Bike Path is a hard surface trail connecting Mundelein to Grayslake in central Lake County, Illinois. The trail is perpendicular to the 30-plus-mile Millennium Trail, which it...
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...
I rode from east to west over two days from Wakesha to Cottage Grove with an extension to my Verona home in via roads, Capital City Trail, and Military Ridge trail. I did an overnight in Lake Mills at the Econo Lodge (clean and quiet and allow bicycles in their first-floor rooms).
Trail conditions were good except for "gopher holes" in multiple areas and overgrowth hanging over the trail in places. One needs to keep their eyes on the trail! Found a great coffee shop in Deerfield (Deerfield Coffeehouse) only a couple of blocks from the trail.
The most difficult (and dangerous) part of the trip was riding the series of roads from the Cottage Grove terminus of the trail to the Capital City trail. There was lots of fast traffic, no bike lane, and a detour due to the bridge construction on Femrite.
we went from downtown Madison to downtown Milwaukee, an 88-mile ride, and for more than half of it we rode the length of the Gloacial Drumlin Trail. The trail is completely flat, virtually without hills although after Wales there is a long shallow downhill for about six or seven miles. The trail was in very good condition: in 52 miles, there were just three or four places where we hit loose gravel. Those were scary but just for a second. And there was no place anywhere that had broken glass on the trail. We took breathers about every 12 miles, and twice left the trail to go to the center of small towns. Recommended: the main square park in Lake Mills, nice and shady with benches. Also, the Bike Doctor in Dousman, but the best was lunch at Mama D's in Wales. The service was a little slow but it was perfect because all the sweat dried and we were so much more comfortable on our second wind, all the way to Milwaukee. After Dousman, the trail turns to pavement and that feels good. It's not crowded.
Also, almost the entire length of the trail is shaded. Whoever planned this trail really knew what he was doing. It raised our comfort. It was perfect for a long hike like ours.
I really liked Grant Woods--a little difficult to get there via other trails, but worth it. Watch out for snowmobile trails that are a little rough--my bike computer routed me on to one of these and I ended up in a muddy rutted path.
This is a good connector if you're trying to reach some of the forest preserves, but you're right on the road the whole way and traffic is heavy.
I took the Metra from Chicago to Harvard, IL to connect with this trail. The roads from Harvard to the trailhead are not ideal, but the trail itself is well-maintained and good even with 25mm road tires. I took the quick detour up to the WI border and than back south to connect with the Fox River trail--overall a good experience!
06/20/ 22 Rode the trail today from Poplar Grove to the west end on to the Stone Bridge Trail to Rockton Rd and returned.
I was born and raised in the Belvidere area but have never been on this trail but I remember watching trains on it when I was a kid.
Kind of a spur of the moment thing I loaded my bike and drove up to Poplar Grove to pick up the trail. I traveled west from Poplar Grove and the trail was vary pleasant despite it being a 90 degree day with low humidity. Trees cover most of the trail so it's vary shady. I was a little surprised how rough the asfalt trail is between Poplar Grove and Caledonia even for a fat tire bike. I would be vary careful with a road bike. West of Caledonia the trail is in better shape. The Stone Bridge Trail is crushed stone and alot smoother then the asfalt of the Long Prairie Trail.
Not a lot to see along the trail where you can see thru the trees and brush on both sides, but you get a few glimpses of farm fields and a few houses.
Not a lot of people on the trail so it's easy to find long empty stretches.
I don't really understand why they felt the need to place signs at every farm crossing. Your not likely to meet anything crossing outside of planting and harvest season and some of those crossing are so overgrown no one has used them in a long time. Just think the sign money could have been used else where.
Where the trail crosses HWY 173 there is a button to activate warning lights for traffic on 173. (I didn't notice that until after I had crossed on my return trip.) There are no warning lights at the HWY 76 crossing. Think they could be used there also.
There are no water points anywhere along the trail except at the west end. Why? You would think at least the towns would have water points.
There are restaurants just off the trail in Poplar Grove and the HWY 76 crossing but don't know of anything in Caledonia.
All in all my first rail trail ride was a pleasant experience. I'm looking forward to doing the trail from Poplar Grove to the east end.
About a 24 mile round trip from Poplar Grove to the west end of the Stone Bridge Trail and back.
With my ebike I returned to Poplar Grove with 5% battery.
I'm not sure if ebikes are a loud on the Long Prairie Trail or not. Guess I need to find out.
Two of us road from Caledonia west and back. I usually love shade but, with shade, we couldn't see upcoming bad spots on the trail. From Caledonia, we went east intending to go to Poplar Grove and back. Bump after bump. After halfway or so there, we turned around to leave. It was hard on our bikes and no fun. I hope it gets over-hauled someday.
We planned to ride the entire trail on our trip north from Illinois to Milwaukee. The route was a great off-road link for our trip.
Trail marking could be better. I do not recall any signage of the Seven Waters Trail. There were no good maps on the route and the two we saw were faded and barely readable.
One mid-block crossing of the highway was interesting.
After going through Saller Woods we left the trail briefly to go into Rochester for food and rejoined it on Main on the east side of town. Found a decent convenience store on the road.
As I recall most of the south section of the trail was crushed limestone. Around Waterford a segment was paved. The worse conditions on the trail we’re the segment north of the Muskego access. Rather than nice limestone screenings it appeared to be a coarse material of ground recycled asphalt. We had wide tires but it was not pleasurable at all especially we were touring “loaded”. Road bikers will not appreciate the surface. To avoid anymore of that surface, we jumped off on Champion Drive to get to the end of the trail at Cape Road and ultimately to Ryan Road.
That last rough section and lack of way finding lowered our rating of the whole trail. Tie this trail to the Oak Leaf into Milwaukee and you would have a big winner.
Note to self. A valid Driver License is a must to get onto the trail.
There are bumps and cracks and worn asphalt and crushed gravel and even dirt! It kinda gives this flat straight trail some character . I rode my Mtn bike - it was just fine Only way to ride a road bike here would be a crossover or a Roubaix style bike with tires to accomodate the terrain. Plenty of places along the trail to refill water bottles or get food . Mexican restaurant in caledonia ( Arturos?) is very good . And its worth continuing on the stone bridge trail to see the bridge - if your into historical architecture.
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