Find the top rated trails in Crystal Lake, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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 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...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
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 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...
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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....
The Chicago Lakefront Trail is aptly named; it spans 19 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan, going right through downtown Chicago and passing many cultural and tourist attractions throughout the...
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 Lake Geneva Bike Path runs through the scenic resort city, offering connections to many of the community’s amenities. The trail has five unique, color-coded segments. The Blue Route is the...
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...
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...
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...
This is a newly constructed path that runs between S. Main Street and the Rock River in Rockford. It was built as part of the re-building of S. Main Street and runs from South Park south to the...
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 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...
This path runs along the north side of Highway 11 and south of the city of Janesville. The eastern end starts about 3/4 of a mile west of I-39 and runs all the way to S County Road D, crossing over...
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 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 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 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 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 DuPage River Trail spans nearly 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...
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 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 WE Energies Trail, so named because it uses a Wisconsin Energy Corporation utility corridor for much of its route, links Racine and Oak Creek in Racine and Milwaukee counties. Despite the presence...
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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,...
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 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...
Although just shy of two 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 longer...
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 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 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...
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...
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....
Swanson Park Recreation Path is sometimes known as the Cherry Valley Path as it's located in the Village of Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The paved path travels...
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 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 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...
Blackberry Trail follows a stretch of Blackberry Creek in Montgomery, Illinois. The trail is accessible from the forest preserve entrance at Caliendo Circle. Heading north, the trail reaches Mayfield...
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 Kiwanis Bike Trail, named for the Kiwanis Club that spearheaded the effort to build the trail, parallels the western bank of the Rock River through the southern Wisconsin community of Janesville....
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 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 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 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 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 Lake Geneva Bike Path runs through the scenic resort city, offering connections to many of the community’s amenities. The trail has five unique, color-coded segments. The Blue Route is the...
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...
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 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...
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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 trail has so much potential. That's what really makes it disappointing. The eastern portion spent much of this summer being used by the electric utility, so it was technically closed. I rode it a few times in the evenings, but it definitely required a mountain bike. West of Welden Road it returned to the regular trail. Overall it's okay with a few soft spots. You definitely don't want to ride it if there's been rain recently. There are quite a few places that don't drain very well. I prefer my mountain bike over my commuter, even though my commuter has 38c tires. I enjoy riding it for a change of pace, but I'm sure I couldn't get my wife to ride it with me.
I ride this path about once a month and really like it. It's only been complete for about a year and is hardly used. The hill just north of Harrison gives a good workout when riding from north to south. A stop at Bing's is a great reward for climbing the hill. A stop at Klehm Arboretum is east as the traffic lights can sense bicycles, making it safe to cross Main Street to get to Klehm. It would be nice if the trail extended just a little bit further on the south end to reach the traffic lights and give access to streets west of Main, but it isn't difficult to cross over and get to them with the current set up. I subtracted one star because of the short section that is regular sidewalk rather than path.
If you start in Algonquin I suggest parking in the park at the corner of Rt. 62 and Main St. I parked near the clock tower and had to ask a passing cyclist where to catch the trail. Once on the trail, the portion from Algonquin to Elgin is one of the best marked trails I've been on. It is very well maintained and passes through historic areas and scenic beauty. There were many walkers and joggers as well as cyclists. Also, there are plenty of quality rest areas along the way.
Have photographed 30 deer since walking from Dam No 4 Woods to Campground Road Woods, a nice relaxing walk to see squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits and o yes the deer. This is a beautiful trail to walk and much safer than walking on the street or road. I live one mile from Dam No 4 Woods so it is easy for me to get there.
Solid 17 mile path for a decent workout. Fairly flat and well maintained. Follows highway IL 64 for the most part but does veer away in certain parts. Country and town mixed together. Excellent ride for the recreational biker who wants to get away but not to far away from civilization for a couple hours. Started and ended in Sycamore so there are easy amenities before and after the ride.
Set out on a gorgeous fall day and enjoyed the scenery, but not for very long. I had a road bike and spent most of the first six miles east from Elkhorn watching the trail surface. It was pretty well maintained but the 'concrete' only applies to the road crossings. The rest is somewhat crushed gravel. And then just past the coffee shop (about mile six) it gets sandy and very large gravel and I had to turn around. The good news is that the roads are excellent out here, so I rode back on those. Passed almost no other trail users and the tree canopy is lovely. Would like to ride this again but definitely suggest you take a hybrid bike!
There’s the official path. While nice and paved, also has nice locally known paths. If you have a dirt/gravel capable bike, seek out the more challenging side trails. They are marked at the trailheads but the signage is hidden behind tall grasses and trees. Parts of the trails are visible via Google Maps Satellite view. Pro tip: bring mosquito repellent.
Great Sept evening spin, goldenrod, milkweed,rattlesnake master...
But to pause in pedalling made us mosquito fodder. Don't forget repellant!
I have walked this frequently and have had a lot of fun and excitement saw many deer and small animals chipmunks, squirrels and saw a couple of cardinals, I walk this once a day and have a good time met a lot of nice people while walking .
My husband and I rode this trail for the first time. We rode the Naperville and Bolingbrook sections many times. This section is as good. It has large portions with shade. Several toilets. Picnic tables. A dog park. Picturesque photo op trail branches. One drawback: dog poop. Strangly enough, not near the dog park. The poop is scattered 30 ft or so on either side of access points. No reason for it, because free bags are provided at each access point. Good thing dog walkers are too lazy to walk any farther. We will go back. The poop is not enough to keep us away. Also, we saw a police 🚔 patroling the trail.
Remember the big flood? Tornadoes? This trail is maintained as well as possible considering our financial state in this state. The only real problem this year is the collapsed & under repair Morris viaduct that closed the trail. You must ride on the road to Stratton Park, then back on a continuous trail through Lockport. Safe from traffic, beautiful river views, professionally repaired washed out sections plus fairly responsive fallen tree removal keeps the trail ridable. Occasional trees down may require lifting bike over. I try to break off branches to clear a temp path till they cut it up usually withing a week or two.
Some shallow flooding occurs after heavy rains between Ottawa & Marseilles that is still ridable...Appox 2-4 in deep max.
All in all a wonderful fitness ride from Morris to Buffalo Rock.
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