Explore the best rated trails in Country Club Hills, 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 96 trails covering 930 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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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 Marquette Trail, also known as the Marquette Greenway, will one day span more than 50 miles through Northwest Indiana, connecting communities along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The...
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 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...
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...
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...
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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 Vale Park West Pathway is a multiuse trail in the Chicago suburb of Valparaiso. At 0.7 mile long, the trail passes through a mix of woodland and prairie, as well as over a creek on a 220-foot...
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...
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 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...
As the name suggests, the Lake George trail travels along the north shore of Lake George, turning north at Calumet Ave/US 41 to skirt the east shore of Wolf Lake. From Lake George the trail also heads...
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,...
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 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...
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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 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...
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The Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County parallels active train tracks in the Village of Skokie, providing easy access to both the Oakton–Skokie and Dempster–Skokie stations on the CTA’s Yellow Line....
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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...
The Chesapeake and Ohio Greenway (also referred to as the C&O Trail) offers a short, paved route through Merrillville, a town just a few miles south of Gary and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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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 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 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 Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
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 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...
The Iron Horse Heritage Trail in Portage, Indiana, runs for over 2 miles between Max Mochal Road (SR 149) at the east end and Hamstrom Rd. at the west end. The trail passes through a greenway corridor...
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,...
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...
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...
The Oswego Prairie Trail is a short paved route that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison. The path forms a direct link between two parks in Oswego—Farmington...
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...
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 Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. It currently has a competed section of over 15 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John Husar I&M...
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 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 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...
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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...
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 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...
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When complete, the Veterans Memorial Trail will stretch close to 12 miles, connecting a series of memorials honoring US veterans from every era. At present, 1.3 miles are complete and usable, located...
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...
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 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 Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County parallels active train tracks in the Village of Skokie, providing easy access to both the Oakton–Skokie and Dempster–Skokie stations on the CTA’s Yellow Line....
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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 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 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 trail system in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve makes a loop around the entire park. The preserve is geologically significant, featuring glacier-carved rock ridges, ravines and wetland potholes,...
Good workout due to the many hills, maybe not for beginners but not too advanced either. A lot of people walking but fairly wide trail. I went counterclockwise from the Lemont parking lot so it’s more downhill at the beginning and more uphill towards the end.
This is my go-to trail. It's a straight shot, and fairly open to the wind and sun, but I love it for the meditational aspects. There's light traffic on the trail and crossroads (and better yet, bridges over some crossroads). This lets my mind wander and enjoy the ride. I love to start at Wasco and ride west out-and-back toward Virgil and Sycamore.
I frequent this trail almost twice a month or more for inline skating because of the asphalt. A few bridges to cross but nothing to difficult. The trail crosses into Naperville where you go into a part of a forest preserve but then goes out into open fields. Beautiful all year round and always clean.
It’s clean with some recently repaired spots where roots broke through. Careful crossing by Walmart. Beautiful riding to the power plant.
This was an excellent choice for the first longer ride of the year. I did an out and back from the south end. The trail was not crowded, but there were enough people passing by to feel comfortable. The trail is in good condition as evidenced by the significant number of road bikers zipping along. The only sketchy location was at the curve just southeast of the Lemont Road crossing. The trail there was muddy and people were riding on Canal Bank Road, but beware of the big pothole going westbound. It was semi-hidden in a shadow and hitting it would be bad. The ride was serene, with an interesting mix of open water and industrial views. I took the hike up Centennial Hill and agree it's worth the time.
Prairie Duneland was the first rail trail we rode, so for us it's a sentimental favorite. It's also close to home, so we ride it often.
As others have noted, most of the trail is well shaded and screened by trees, making it a cooler ride on hot days. The tree screening also helps make windy days more manageable.
But, with trees come roots, which often are the source of bumps and cracks on paved trails. Other than a short stretch near the Cleveland Avenue trailhead in Hobart, this trail mostly has escaped that problem. (Technically, that stretch is actually on the Oak Savannah trail, see below.)
Another good thing about Prairie Duneland is that it connects to several other trails. Just west of 149, the Iron Horse Heritage Trail branches off to the north - at about 2 miles it's a relatively short but nice trail.
Prairie Duneland also connects seamlessly at its west end to the Oak Savannah trail - in fact, if you start in Chesterton and head west, the last mile and a half or so before Cleveland Ave is actually the Oak Savannah. If you're so inclined (and willing to put up with a stretch of some twists and turns with non-existent signage through downtown Hobart), you can ride the entire Oak Savannah, link to the Erie Lackawanna Trail in Griffith, and end up in Crown Point.
These trails are all almost entirely flat and well paved. The one warning is that a rail crossing at roughly mid-point on Oak Savannah can sometimes be blocked by stopped trains.
I've been riding this trail since the early 90s and absolutely adore it. In high school I would ride from St Charles to Batavia and back every morning, and now I love doing 50 mile round trips from Oswego up to St Charles.
Absolutely scenic any time of year. As some have mentioned it can get busy on summer weekends, but nothing too bad. 99% of it is paved so road bikes should have no problems at all.
Tons of parks to take breaks at, lots of great restaurants and food stops as well. The trolley museum in Elgin, the Fabyan museum, Japanese tea garden, and windmill in Batavia are must-stops.
The FRT also links up to the Virgil Gilman Trail, the Prairie Path (one of its spurs), and quite a few others, so if you're really looking to rack up the milage you have a lot to choose from!
I have to agree with the previous reviewer in that this trail is not a destination in itself but does connect two very good trails. Leroy Oaks on the south end is very nice and worth some time (yes the bridge is rough, it has always been that way, I often wonder why). If you make the loop through St Charles using the Fox River Trail it’s a nice 15 or so mile trip.
I agree with the reviews of the trail south of Lake Cook Rd. It’s ok for a few miles south but there’s a notable difference of trail conditions from the trail north. Two different counties and budgets to maintain them, I assume. Traveled this trail multiple times this past COVID season. It’s my first year biking in 40 yrs and wow, what a great trail.
Runs along the river. The park is nice but the trail seems a little dirty with trash around the sides. There are multiple benches along the trail for resting. Not a bad trail, but not a very pretty trail either. So if you’re looking for some sight-seeing as you run then this may not be the ideal spot to run.
Runs along the river. The park is nice but the trail seems a little dirty with trash around the sides. There are multiple benches along the trail for resting. Not a bad trail, but not a very pretty trail either. So if you’re looking for some sight-seeing as you run then this may not be the ideal spot to run.
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