Explore the best rated trails in Chicago Ridge, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Tall Grass Greenway Trail. With more than 104 trails covering 4732 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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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 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 Fort Hill Bike Path trail sits on the north side of Peterson Road/ County Road 20. The trail peels away from the Prairie Crossing Bike Path at Midlothian Road and extends west, passing industries...
The Kankakee River Trail is fairly wooded and runs primarily through Kankakee River State Park. Walkers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers can enjoy more than ten miles of trail along the north...
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...
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 Lily Cache Greenway travels east-west across Bollingbrook, from the ComEd Greenway to the Plainfield border. The trail more or less follows the course of its namesake creek, and is characterized...
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 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 Major Taylor Trail is named after legendary African American cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor, who was one of the most celebrated bicycle racers of the late nineteenth century, setting several...
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The Fort Beggs Bike Trail (North) is a nearly mile-and-a-half long trail in Plainfield, Illinois. The trail shares the electric utility right-of-way, stretching from Fort Beggs Drive south to Spring...
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 Randall Road Bike Trail offers a 4-mile paved north-south route along its namesake roadway in a suburb west of Chicago. A highlight of the journey is the trail's passage through the LeRoy Oakes...
The Buffalo Creek Trail makes a loop around the scenic Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve in Long Grove. The crushed-gravel trail provides access to facilities throughout the park. Along the way, you’ll...
Turkey Creek Trail is a short but sweet walk or ride through the beautiful Ivan Gatlin Nature Preserve in the northwestern Indiana community of Schererville. This wetland area provides the opportunity...
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 Dunes Kankakee Trail is a 5.5-mile walking and bike path that It exists in 2 discrete segments: one that is 2.4 miles paralleling County Road 25 East, and the other segment east of that that is...
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 Pennsy Greenway stretches between Calumet City, Illinois, and Schererville, Indiana. The trail begins at the southern end of the Burnham Greenway on the eastern edge of the Forest Preserve...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 Preservation Path is a two-mile paved trail in the community of Matteson, Illinois. The path begins on Vollmer Road and terminates at the Old Plank Road Trail. The trail is paved with center...
The village of Palatine has connected many of its community assets with two long sections of off-road, multi-use trail. The more popular northern section is the one most references call simply and...
The Bull Valley Road Shared-Use Path travels along the south side of Bull Valley Road in the city of McHenry, Illinois. The paved path is suitable for non-motorized uses including walking, jogging,...
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...
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The Monon Trail in Lake County, Indiana—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in Indianapolis—links the two Chicago suburbs of Hammond and Munster. The paved trail occupies an abandoned...
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...
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...
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 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...
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,...
The Fort Beggs Bike Trail (North) is a nearly mile-and-a-half long trail in Plainfield, Illinois. The trail shares the electric utility right-of-way, stretching from Fort Beggs Drive south to Spring...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
The Grove Road Trail parallels the local thoroughfare in the Village of Oswego, located near the southwestern edge of the Chicagoland metropolitan area. In the north, the trail begins on the east...
Closure Notice: As of April 2021, the portion of the bike path on the Route 176 bridge over the Des Plaines River is closed for bridge repairs. Trail users can follow posted detour signage via the Des...
The Randall Road Bike Trail offers a 4-mile paved north-south route along its namesake roadway in a suburb west of Chicago. A highlight of the journey is the trail's passage through the LeRoy Oakes...
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 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 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 Monon Trail in Lake County, Indiana—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in Indianapolis—links the two Chicago suburbs of Hammond and Munster. The paved trail occupies an abandoned...
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The Tinley Creek Trail is currently in two segments. This southern segment is within the South Green Belt Forest Preserve between Flossmor and Matteson, just west of I-57. The trail traverses wooded...
This shared-use path runs east-west through the village of Carol Stream in Du Page county. Sitting on the grassy north side of Lies Road between Fair Oaks Road and Gary Avenue, the path is used as an...
The Lily Cache Greenway travels east-west across Bollingbrook, from the ComEd Greenway to the Plainfield border. The trail more or less follows the course of its namesake creek, and is characterized...
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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 Great Divide Trail sits is a one mile non-motorized trail through a negihborhood at the northern tip of Joliet, Illinois. The paved trail, which sits in the shadow of electric transmission lines,...
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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,...
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 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 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,...
The Burnham Greenway is composed of two distinct portions that both run along a former railroad corridor between Chicago and Lansing, Illinois. There are plans to extend and connect these short...
Turkey Creek Trail is a short but sweet walk or ride through the beautiful Ivan Gatlin Nature Preserve in the northwestern Indiana community of Schererville. This wetland area provides the opportunity...
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...
The DuPage River Trail spans over 30 miles across two counties: DuPage and Will. It's currently open in several disconnected segments mainly in parks and forest preserves beginning in Warrenville and...
Although just shy of three miles, the Veterans Memorial Trail provides a wooded, paved trail experience for residents in the Chicago suburbs of Romeoville, Lemont, and Woodridge. Those seeking a...
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...
This is a solid low pressure multi-use trail that is in good shape. It provides the rider with some Urban, Suburban, Industrial and Country scenery. There are numerous parking lots for easy access to the trail. You will enjoy riding past golf courses, wetlands, BlackBerry Farm and taking a lap around the Waubonsee Valley Community College Campus. There are a number of roads to cross on the east side of the Fox river, so heading to the West provides a more relaxing experience. The bottom line is that if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the River Trails to the North, throw your bikes on your rack and enjoy the fall colors on the V.L. Gilman trail!
I love it because i saw everything and see cool boats and it was not dirty it's so clean and beautiful i have fun and it was awesome
Nice trail and very good for a decent workout. Lots of up and down hills. Noticed a trekking path as well (need to explore next time). Deers crossing the road and the curling paths. Really good trail. ¿¿¿ Be careful in the curves though, might just be slippery if you are coming down without control.
09/01/2021 - Excellent trail. Beautiful September day for a ride. This is a well maintained trail perfect for road or mountain bikes. Rode from Sycamore trail head to the St. Charles ( LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve) head and back. I can highly recommend to any biker looking for a great ride. And a special thanks to the gentleman who joined me spontaneously for part of the way. Good conversation always makes the miles go fast.
Porter County should really consider paving this trail as it would be a great asset to attracting bikers to the lake shore
I hope that this trail will improved soon. It would be a great safe connector from the state park to Michigan city, but currently, it is not a great option
Very intense ride for my first time riding there so relaxing great parking and the smell of nature is in invigorating¿¿¿
Rode Greenway Trail for the 1st time, southbound from Addison. Essential to constantly pay attention to where you’re going. Had to stop to use detailed trail map a few times/TrailLink app. No sign telling you to exit Illinois Prairie Path in Elmhurst. No direction given at end of Rex Avenue: go left thru residential or right to enter Sleepy Hollow Park? Went left but no trail signs. Went back, entered park behind a guard rail where you’ll ride on a wood chips trail. At Butterfield, didn’t see direction on where to pick up the trail on the other side. (thru the parking lot behind an office building to the S.E. corner). TrailLink app is a must with occasional stops to check it. Not all that enjoyable for me. Rated Fair. Henry entered park behind a guard rail,Where are you encounter a wood chips trail. At Butterfield,
Plainfield, IL has the worst paths. They are all short and go nowhere.
I was looking for parking on Dundee rd to get into this trail, then realized I had to park in the Deer Grove trail and then cross Dundee and get into the trail. It’s was really nice and smooth ride until Hicks rd. After that there were multiple minor stops. But overall it was good to ride this trail. Really liked the atmosphere and the clean and well maintained path. Overall good experience!!!
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