Explore the best rated trails in Bartlett, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Kenosha County Bike Trail and Alpine Road Multi-Use Path. With more than 121 trails covering 1104 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 Four Sisters Bike Path forms a horseshoe around the northern end of Rochelle, a small city south of Rockford in northern Illinois. The path connects several schools and parks, and the city has...
The Des Plaines River Trail runs alongside the Des Plaines River for just over 56 miles, protecting watershed habitat and forestland through much of Lake and Cook Counties. The trail is a natural...
The Lincolnwood Valley Line Trail connects the existing Valley Line Trail (Sauganash Trail) to the Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County. Like the previous segments, this trail occupies a former Union...
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The Bloomingdale Trail, part of “The 606” park system, is a 3-mile, elevated rail-trail on Chicago’s northwest side. Built on a former rail line, the trail sits 17 feet above four of the city’s...
Leave the cars at home: the Route 30 Bike Path gives users an alternative way to travel from the Village of Frankfort in the east, through Mokena to New Lenox in the west, a distance of over 7.5...
The Long Prairie Trail journeys across the width of agricultural Boone County for nearly 14 miles on the railroad corridor previously used by the Kenosha and Rockford Railroad, later known as the...
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The Salt Creek Trail travels nearly 27 miles from the Brookfield Zoo to Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Along the way it connects several beautiful county forest preserves and other woodland...
The Virgil L. Gilman Trail travels from quiet forest and prairie lands to bustling neighborhoods in just 11 miles, linking a woodsy community college campus with the eastern Chicago suburb of...
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...
Lake Renwick Preserve is home to an artificial lake of the same name that was created from former quarries where aggregates for concrete were once mined. Today, the lake is a recreational amenity in...
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...
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...
This regional trail connects two of DuPage County's forest preserves—Herrick Lake and Danada—on a crushed stone pathway nearly 6 miles long. Together, the preserves cover more than 1,600 acres of...
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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 Techny Trail links downtown Glenview, a charming village northwest of Chicago, with the Techny Basin, a scenic wetlands area adjacent to the West Fork of the Chicago River's North Branch....
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 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...
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 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 Erie Lackawanna Trail connects Crown Point and Hammond, two former rail junctions whose early fortunes were tied to the tracks carrying people and goods to and from Chicago. Despite traveling...
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...
The Hickory Creek Bikeway offers nearly 4 miles of paved pathway through a wooded preserve. On its western end, the trail begins at Hickory Creek Barrens Nature Preserve and Lincolnway Road; on the...
The Erie Lackawanna Trail connects Crown Point and Hammond, two former rail junctions whose early fortunes were tied to the tracks carrying people and goods to and from Chicago. Despite traveling...
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 Waubonsie Trail links Boulder Hill and the Village of Oswego via a greenway corridor within a residential community. The eastern trailhead is in Jaycee Park, which offers a playground, picnic...
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,...
El Paseo runs through the vibrant Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, once home to a large Czech population but now the center of the Lower West Side’s Latino community. The neighborhood is filled with...
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...
The popular Rock Run Greenway Trail is a balanced mix of natural areas and cityscapes that alternate over the length of the trail. The natural areas are frequented by recreational users. The...
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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...
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 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 Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. It traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 and the first...
The Union Pacific Recreation Path offers a short route through the Village of Lincolnwood's east side between Devon and Touhy avenues. Following the former Union Pacific Railroad, the rail-trail...
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...
Moraine Hills State Park Trail offers a wonderful experience for any geology or nature aficionado. A moraine is an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier....
The Salt Creek Trail travels nearly 27 miles from the Brookfield Zoo to Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Along the way it connects several beautiful county forest preserves and other woodland...
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 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 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 Stone Mill Trail runs between Lawrence Road in Harvard and Maxon Road in Chemung. The 1.5-mile, paved trail mostly parallels County Highway 17 (Ramer Road) and active railroad tracks, and will...
The popular Rock Run Greenway Trail is a balanced mix of natural areas and cityscapes that alternate over the length of the trail. The natural areas are frequented by recreational users. The...
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 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 Rote Road Multi-Use Path offers a paved route along the south side of Rote Road in eastern Rockford. It travels for nearly a mile, providing access to neighborhoods, businesses, and the Aldeen...
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...
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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 Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. It traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 and the first...
The Kenosha County Bike Trail is open in two sections separated by dense neighborhoods in the City of Kenosha. The northern segment runs northeast from 35th Street in the city to 1st Street at the...
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...
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 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 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...
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The northern section of the Tinley Creek Trail is a series of color-coded connected loops and spurs that weave through several forest preserves in Cook County. The 24-mile trail system is paved,...
Note: Erosion caused by surging waves off Lake Michigan has caused the trail to collapse in sections. The eastern half of the trail along Lake Michigan is closed indefinitely. See the Chicago 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,...
The Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods in...
The Erie Lackawanna Trail connects Crown Point and Hammond, two former rail junctions whose early fortunes were tied to the tracks carrying people and goods to and from Chicago. Despite traveling...
The 9-mile Green Bay Trail runs parallel to Chicago's Metra commuter rail line north of the Chicago city limits. Stretching through North Shore towns such as Kenilworth, Winnetka, Highland Park and...
The Palos Heights Bike Trail offers a north-south route through residential and commercial areas on the west side of the community. It's also a key connector between two regionally important...
Nice job by LCFP I’m adding new trails. Little crowded at times but overall a great new area. Hooks into long grove’s trail so you can visit downtown long grove
This is the best trail I’ve ridden on this summer. Moderate climbs with excellent mile markers and maps. Also plenty of options for those looking for a longer ride. Don’t forget to check out the equestrian center too. This is a can’t miss trail.
Peaceful and quiet. Easy access. Terribly bumpy and really needs to be re-paved.
From riding the bluffs to the west and then down close to the Cal Sag in the middle and finally a little more urban to the east you wouldn't know you were in a major metropolitan area. This is a ride that can be taken as the seasons change again and again.
For short family rides, moderate rides or long rides (the maps show a ride to Calumet City) this is one of Chicago lands's finest. Coo-do's to the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Starting at the southernmost point, near the zoo, is great for 2-3 miles. Woodsy, well-maintained asphalt. Very promising. Sadly, the trail then goes onto a big main road, next to a golf course...not fun.
Then we tried from the Northernmost point, at Busse Woods. Terrible. 3 miles through suburban streets, and then onto *terribly* maintained asphalt...bumping along waiting for it to end. We rode a total of 6.5 miles in this direction and then turned around. Very disappointing.
The middle portion of the trail looks promising, so perhaps we'll give that a try one of these days.
8mi paved loop through woods and wildflowers, past picnic groves and dam, elk were visible, also a model airfield was busy nearby. We went on a bike ride Sunday mid-day and there was a ton of foot traffic to navigate around. Everyone respected the yellow line so that was appreciated!
Not too bad. Wish they’d repair the bumps like they did Rock Run. I don’t mind the branches and there are a few spots between Joliet and New Lenox; that you can stop for something to snack on if you were riding a long way. They were doing repairs in August, east of Frankfort, on the trail. Going to give it 4 stars. Further away from busy Frankfort you get, the less people you see walking across the trails blocking the path. Remember to share the trails with each other.
Though short for bicycling, it is perfect for running or just taking a peaceful walk. A portion of it runs just along the southbound lane of I 55 but there is a barrier so you don’t hear the noise of traffic. It is a peaceful place to walk with not a lot of traffic but also stretches around to turtle lake which is also beautiful. There is an area to fish there also I highly recommend it.
The part through the downtown of Lemont is very nice but going west is in bad shape and east bound is gravel, not well maintained. In parts, if you had an accident they might find you for a few days. Short trail in both directions - goes no where. Skip this trail and ride the Cenntenial Trail on the other side of the river. It is a 5 star trail - Lemont is a 1 star
This could be an awesome trail if some repaving were done, from Crown point to tunnel where Sherrerville section starts it’s great. But from that point north it has deep cracks about every 10 or 15 feet and feels like you are riding over perpetual railroad tracks. It hooks right into the oak Savannah trail as well but you have to endure a rough ride to get there. Real shame this trail has been neglected, it could and should be a great trail
My friends and I first rode the original trail from the zoo to I-294 in about 1963. It was a dirt horse path and we often ran into horses near the west end of the trail. After it rained it was a sloppy mess. We often bounced over the hoof prints stamped into the wet soil after it dried up. We could only dream of it some day being paved. There was only a short distance of about 400 feet paved east of Maple Avenue (17th Ave).
There are shelters along the way on the west portion that were built during the depression. The park area just east of Il Rt 45 (La Grange Rd) is shown in aerial photographs taken in the 1930’s. The railroad underpass is part of the old horse trail.
Part of old La Grange Road is on the right just south of Cermak Road. Check out the old La Grange Road bridge abutments heading south from Cermak Road on the left. There is a yellow rope up so you don’t accidentally walk off the edge. An old subdivision that was never built is off to the right south of 31st St. Only the side walks were built and they are covered over with vegetation. There were street lights along the sidewalks when I was a kid.
The path was paved sometime in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. It nice trail and it’s been extended at both ends over the years. I have been riding up and down it for about 57 years. Time goes fast. Don’t miss it.
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