Find the top rated trails in Fairview Heights, 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.
Wildwood Greenway is an eight-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian trail in Wildwood, a western suburb of St. Louis. It is part of a trail system offering twelve miles of asphalt trail throughout the...
The Glen Carbon Heritage Bike Trail is part of a trail network spanning more than 100 miles managed by Madison County Transit (MCT), which also runs busses equipped with bike racks for passenger...
The Delyte W. Morris Trail lies entirely on the campus of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE). It is named for the university's president at the Carbondale campus in the 1960s who helped...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Goshen Trail is a namesake of the old Goshen Road that was built in 1808 to supply salt to the first permanent settlers of Madison County. The modern bike trail...
Travelers on the Creve Couer Park Trails will enjoy watching the sailboats and kayakers on the sparkling Creve Coeur Lake as they loop around the water. The flat paved trail system continues through...
Caution: Trail closures are occurring in two areas along the southern half of this trail: 1) near the construction site of the new I-270 bridge over the Mississippi River, and 2) at the construction...
The River Des Peres Greenway Trail provides a flat, paved route along the River Des Peres Drainage Channel in southwestern St. Louis. Although this urban trail is seldom crowded, one of its drawbacks...
Hesse Trail connects two neighborhoods and a park in the city of O'Fallon with plans to extend and connect it to other trails in the large Metro-East area. It is a short, completely tree-covered...
The Madison Count Transit (MCT) Watershed Trail is all about trains, bridges and waterways. It follows an abandoned rail corridor built in 1868, the first to serve the city of Edwardsville, itself the...
Earth City Levee Trail, which opened in June 2015, is part of a growing trail network called the Missouri River Greenway. It connects directly with the Riverwoods Trail in Bridgeton, forming a paved...
The Rock Hollow Trail offers a beautiful, wooded excursion in the City of Wildwood, just west of St. Louis. The paved 2.3-mile trail is built on what was once Lawler-Ford Road. A trailhead with...
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was part of the renowned Route 66 and crosses a scenic stretch of the Mississippi River. It links two states—Illinois and Missouri—north of St. Louis. The bridge is short...
The Meramec Greenway Trail is planned to one day encompass 60 miles of pathway throughout St. Louis and west to Pacific, Missouri, connecting residents to the Meramec River, the city's parks and the...
The St. Vincent Greenway Trail winds through the north and south campuses of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) before emerging into the lush woodlands of St. Vincent Park. The park offers a...
The Mississippi Greenway is a growing multi-use trail in the St. Louis area that will eventually span 32 miles. Sometimes it’s referred to as the Mississippi River Trail or the Mississippi River...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nickel Plate Trail is the longest of the county’s trails and perhaps the most diverse in its offerings. On the west, it begins at a junction with the MCT Nature Trail,...
As its name implies, the Monarch-Chesterfield Levee Trail was built on top of an embankment created to protect Chesterfield from Missouri River flooding. As such, it offers a wide, flat route over...
The Benld-Gillespie Bike Trail is part of two developing Illinois initiatives: the Route 66 Trail from Chicago to St. Louis, loosely following the historic highway; and the Illinois Traction System...
This short, but beautiful trail, takes travelers from Truman Park's lake north to Aubuchon Creek through a lush wooded area. The park offers places to fish, play sports and picnic. Future plans...
While exploring the seven mile Lakeside Park Trail you are treated to views of the 140 acre lake at Lakeside Park. Lakeside Park Trail's asphalt and concrete surfaces are ideal for biking, walking,...
Big bluffs, mighty rivers, the largest state park and one giant bird—you'll find them all along the Sam Vadalabene Great River Road Bike Trail. This unique rail-trail starts in the 8,050-acre Pere...
This trail gets its name from the MetroLink Red Line train track it parallels through eastern Belleville and (briefly) the village of Swansea. It is a classic rail-with-trail configuration, where...
The MCT Bluff Trail is the shortest trail in the Madison County network, but it highlights a feature of regional topography which can be evidenced on several other trails. The American Bottom is a...
The River Des Peres Greenway Trail provides a flat, paved route along the River Des Peres Drainage Channel in southwestern St. Louis. Although this urban trail is seldom crowded, one of its drawbacks...
The McKinley Bridge has a long and storied past. In 1910, it opened to both railroad and vehicular traffic. Railroad tracks ran through the strong center portion of the bridge under the trusses, and...
Only 10 miles from the famed Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the 8-mile Grant's Trail is heavily used for recreation and commuting. The trail was named for the former President Ulysses S. Grant, and like...
The Hamilton Carr Trail begins off Woods Road in Rockwoods Reservation, a state forest and wildlife conservation area that offers hiking trails, picnic areas, caves and interesting rock formations....
The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Goshen Trail is a namesake of the old Goshen Road that was built in 1808 to supply salt to the first permanent settlers of Madison County. The modern bike trail...
The Arnold City Park Trail follows former residential streets through a wooded area along the Meramec River in a southwestern suburb of St. Louis. It forms a loop that begins and ends at the gravel...
The Meramec Greenway Trail is planned to one day encompass 60 miles of pathway throughout St. Louis and west to Pacific, Missouri, connecting residents to the Meramec River, the city's parks and the...
The Ted Jones Trail runs for 2.2 miles between the town of Ferguson and the University of MissouriSt. Louis (UMSL), where it joins with the St. Vincent Greenway on the west side of campus. From...
Although a relatively short route, the Riverwoods Trail offers plentiful scenic views of the Missouri River and historic St. Charles. The trail closely follows the river's shoreline through wetland...
Earth City Levee Trail, which opened in June 2015, is part of a growing trail network called the Missouri River Greenway. It connects directly with the Riverwoods Trail in Bridgeton, forming a paved...
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was part of the renowned Route 66 and crosses a scenic stretch of the Mississippi River. It links two states—Illinois and Missouri—north of St. Louis. The bridge is short...
The St. Louis Riverfront Trail follows the Mississippi River on the Missouri side, from Gateway Arch heading north to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, part of the legendary Route 66. The trail is...
The St. Vincent Greenway Trail winds through the north and south campuses of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) before emerging into the lush woodlands of St. Vincent Park. The park offers a...
The Rock Hollow Trail offers a beautiful, wooded excursion in the City of Wildwood, just west of St. Louis. The paved 2.3-mile trail is built on what was once Lawler-Ford Road. A trailhead with...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nature Trail goes through richly varied surroundings of city, farm and wood. In the west, it begins at beautiful Wilson Park in Granite City. From there, it makes its...
The Glen Carbon Heritage Bike Trail is part of a trail network spanning more than 100 miles managed by Madison County Transit (MCT), which also runs busses equipped with bike racks for passenger...
The St. Louis Riverfront Trail follows the Mississippi River on the Missouri side, from Gateway Arch heading north to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, part of the legendary Route 66. The trail is...
The Glen Carbon Heritage Bike Trail is part of a trail network spanning more than 100 miles managed by Madison County Transit (MCT), which also runs busses equipped with bike racks for passenger...
The McKinley Bridge has a long and storied past. In 1910, it opened to both railroad and vehicular traffic. Railroad tracks ran through the strong center portion of the bridge under the trusses, and...
The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...
This trail gets its name from the MetroLink Red Line train track it parallels through eastern Belleville and (briefly) the village of Swansea. It is a classic rail-with-trail configuration, where...
The Rock Hollow Trail offers a beautiful, wooded excursion in the City of Wildwood, just west of St. Louis. The paved 2.3-mile trail is built on what was once Lawler-Ford Road. A trailhead with...
The Mississippi Greenway is a growing multi-use trail in the St. Louis area that will eventually span 32 miles. Sometimes it’s referred to as the Mississippi River Trail or the Mississippi River...
The Meramec Greenway Trail is planned to one day encompass 60 miles of pathway throughout St. Louis and west to Pacific, Missouri, connecting residents to the Meramec River, the city's parks and the...
The St. Vincent Greenway Trail winds through the north and south campuses of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) before emerging into the lush woodlands of St. Vincent Park. The park offers a...
The West Alton Trail occupies the right-of-way of an old railroad bed. The crushed-stone trail runs for 2 miles between St. Charles Street at US 67 in West Alton and the Lincoln-Shields Recreation...
The Arnold City Park Trail follows former residential streets through a wooded area along the Meramec River in a southwestern suburb of St. Louis. It forms a loop that begins and ends at the gravel...
Only 10 miles from the famed Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the 8-mile Grant's Trail is heavily used for recreation and commuting. The trail was named for the former President Ulysses S. Grant, and like...
Wildwood Greenway is an eight-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian trail in Wildwood, a western suburb of St. Louis. It is part of a trail system offering twelve miles of asphalt trail throughout the...
This short, but beautiful trail, takes travelers from Truman Park's lake north to Aubuchon Creek through a lush wooded area. The park offers places to fish, play sports and picnic. Future plans...
The Madison Count Transit (MCT) Watershed Trail is all about trains, bridges and waterways. It follows an abandoned rail corridor built in 1868, the first to serve the city of Edwardsville, itself the...
Katy Trail State Park is the nation's longest continuous rail-trail, offering nearly 240 miles of scenic trail from Clinton east to Machens on the outskirts of St. Louis. The Katy Trail is in the...
Spanning nearly five miles, the Busch Greenway provides an important connector between Missouri’s famed Katy Trail, the August A. Busch Conservation Area, and Missouri Research Park in western St....
The River Des Peres Greenway Trail provides a flat, paved route along the River Des Peres Drainage Channel in southwestern St. Louis. Although this urban trail is seldom crowded, one of its drawbacks...
Opened in the Fall of 2012, Arches Rail Trail continues to be improved by an active local support group. It lies between Butler and Hillsboro, Illinois, along a section of an old 1850s route that...
Although a relatively short route, the Riverwoods Trail offers plentiful scenic views of the Missouri River and historic St. Charles. The trail closely follows the river's shoreline through wetland...
My wife and I rode the whole trail over 6 days, including the "closed" section between mile markers 34-35. [which was easily ride-able]Wow! It is hard to come up with anything bad to say. Great conditions the entire length. A few shirt bumpy sections, which were not as bumpy as most trails. All this spots were marked well. The whole trail was signed very well.If you have ever considered a through ride, do it as soon as you can. It is truly amazing.
Also, the bridge over the Missouri River (I-64 bridge) is temporarily closed.
A construction worker from the sewer district said the trail would be closed until March 2018 - the closed section is between the Boone's crossing bridge and the Chesterfield Valley Athletic complex. You can bypass the closed section by using gravel roads to connect to "North outer forty road". Ride on this road for about 1/2 mile to bypass the closed trail section.
Also, the bridge over the Missouri river is also closed. So you can't get to St. Charles County or the Katy Trail. I'm not sure the duration of this closing, but it does not look like a major project
We chose to ride a section of the Katy Trail between Matson and Hermann on June 9th. This was our third bicycle excursion, and my favorite by far! We stayed in Hermann, and opted to utilize the BikeHermann bike rental and shuttle service so that we could have a one-way, continuous ride (we aren't big on ride-out-ride-back). The shop owner, John, was very helpful and gave us pointers and sites to look for along the trail, such as old-timey general stores and historic markers.
This trail was very well maintained; there were a few spots where new lime/gravel had been added due to flood damage in May. All things considered, this trail was repaired quickly and repaired right, and any place new material was added was well marked by "rough surface" signs to give trail users a little warning. Trail markers are plentiful (so much that we rarely used our trail map), and the section we rode was mostly shaded (maybe 3/4 of the route), which made for a comfortable ride. Several benches, wineries, and trailheads offering water, restrooms and other amenities were plentiful on this section as well. There are some really great views of the river around mm 96, and the sandstone bluffs along this route are gorgeous.
At McKittrick, we took the Hermann trail spur off of the Katy and onto MO Hwy 19. I was a little concerned about sharing the busy road with cars, especially crossing the bridge over the Loutre River. However, the bike lane on this bridge is very generous on space and the area in general is bike-friendly. The second bridge, that crosses the Missouri, has a separate bike/walking path on the west side. I would come back and ride this one again, or maybe the next section to the north. This is a very nice trail.
Biked the trail near the St. Louis Arch. Very safe, and a dedicated lane each way for bikers and a dif. path for walkers.
We rode our tandem 15 miles out from the trailhead in Alton. A little rough in two sections because of recent flooding, but I am really glad we rode this trail. The Channel of Rocks Canal and bridge were the highlights of this for us. Tug boats, barges- everywhere! I only wish we had another day to explore this and other river trails in the area. Was it a perfectly smooth surface? No, but if two seniors, 68yrs and 71 yrs old can ride 30+ miles on a tandem and have fun, then so can you. (Pa. Tandem Team)
This is a really nice trail with beautiful scenery. The people are real friendly. My bike computer stated around 4 miles from the north end of Centennial park to centreville ave. The trail was close south of that point which should be around another 2 miles. If you are looking for a trail that you can get up to speed and maintain it then this isn't for you. There are a lot of curves that will reduce your speed. But it was nice for a good leisurely bike ride. I would recommend it.
I live close to this trail and ride it all the time! As of 3/25/2017, they've opened it up to shiloh-scott station which adds 3.8 miles to the trail past east belleville ymca. They are also working on the trail by caryle avenue to cut out the neighborhood(and make it more straight), that is coming along nicely and once done, will cut out a road to wait for cars to cross. Over at the other end of trail memorial hospital, they have not started yet on expanding to fairview heights station. Overall great trail for our area!
Noisy noisy noisy highway right up against it!
Busy, boring, straight, flat, and the path(s) are mostly along the top of a levee, so it slopes off rapidly on both sides.
If there is any wind whatsoever you'll get the full brunt of it, possibly more due to the updrafts from the slopes.
Do not take a younger kids here.
There are several other better options nearby, take a pass on this one.
Un-FREAKIN’-Believable! The review could end here.
Buy “The Complete Katy Trail Guidebook” by Brett Dufur.
I only had two days to ride to make the best of the eastern half. I will return to ride the western half and the Bluffton and McKittrick/Herman sections I missed. Day 1 - I rode from Columbia to Portland (ride the M-K-T, visit the MLK Memorial Gardens, stop at the iron bridges, enjoy the bluffs, creeks & river, linger at Cooper’s Landing & eat at Dotty’s Cafe). Day 2 - I rode from Trelor to St. Charles (talk to folks at Turner KT Shelter, drink a beverage at Augusta & enjoy the well-earned bounty of St. Charles).
I really like this trail for my skill at roller skating and age. I start at the Hardees end and skate to near the river where it starts to go downhill. I then turn around and return to my start point. As a result, i skate about 10 miles. I am surprised how little it is used; I rarely encounter other users. I've used this trail 3 times and when weather gets warmer, i will use it more often. There are several locations where trucks/cars enter the flood plain; as a result, there might be pieces of gravel to skate around. But I have been lucky and have had no accidents. Pretty good for a 70 year old lady.
from umsl rec center to Ferguson end is 2.5miles. it makes a nice easy give miles. I don't want to repeat what has been already said except I did feel perfectly safe the entire way this morning.
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