Explore the best rated trails in Harvard, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Seven Waters Bike Trail (Route of the Badger) and New Berlin Recreation Trail. With more than 124 trails covering 1134 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.
It is a nice setting. It has a lane for walking and a lane for bikes. Last I was there, dogs were not allowed. I enjoyed this trail. It’s a big circle. There is also a park for kids.
The path is now paved from Big Hill Park, which is just North of Beloit WI off of Afton Road, and goes to Janesville WI. In Janesville there are several paved paths which directly connect. There is plenty of parking at Big Hill Park, along with water, and bathrooms. A good portion of the trail runs along the scenic Rock River. I’ve seen many native species as I road. Enjoy your ride!
I frequently walk my dog on this trail and am becoming increasingly disturbed by the need to dodge the droppings of other people's dogs because they refuse to pick up after them. Perhaps there needs to be better signage, more trash receptacles, or even a dog poop bag dispenser to encourage people to pick up after their pets. It's so gross! There is literal poop on the path and in the areas surrounding the path.
I've ridden this trail for 30 years and it's well maintained and relatively flat. The crushed limestone surface drains water away quickly though in winter, when the ground is frozen, the water can form puddles or freeze so you must be careful. After bigger rainstorms, some of the underpasses can be impassable (e.g., Route 60 especially--there is a side path that connects the trail but you need to cross a major road). The path gets multi-modal usage, from walkers, families, runners, horses, skiers, bicycles, to e-bikes. You can ride this with a road bike if you're confident but cross or gravel bikes are better but certainly not absolutely necessary. Nowadays we see fat-tire bikes, especially in winter, and e-bikes too. People are generally quite respectful of others. The trail is well marked and I recommend starting at Daniel Wright Woods or Old School Forest Preserve which are in southern Lake County. As others have said, going north from there keeps you in Lake County which does a great job of maintaining the trails.
I live near this trail and its a great ride! It follows some of the best midwestern countryside you can ask for and runs along side the Winnebago County Forest Preserve Wetlands in Pecatonica.
There is also a local bike shop named The Bicycle Hub in Pecatonica on Main Street just 1 block from the trail. They offer full service bike repair and are also a retail store. You can feel confident that if anything happens on the trail this shop can help support you, even if its simply to share in your excitement of the ride!
Wide enough and paved. Now Trail has been extended north of lies road to army trail. South end of trail connect to the great western.
This trail begins off of Voltz near Sunset Ridge and goes about a mile and a half or so across Sunset up to Dundee Rd. If riding through Northbrook, it's a very handy way to avoid Skokie Blvd and make your way up to the North Trail entrance off of Dundee across from Botanic Gardens. It's mostly just a nice, secluded, wooded, but paved strand behind some residential neighborhoods and runs parallel to Skokie. When riding, please be a little more mindful of residents walking, often with dogs and children. It doesn't get very crowded, and people generally aren't expecting bikers like on the major trails.
A great place for walkers, hikers, bikers, and families. It’s been wonderfully restored and brings nice surprises during each season.
I started out my ride from my home about 9 miles north of downtown Milwaukee where I caught "the Hank" and made my way west to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. I started out at 3:00 am, so it didn't really get light out until I got to about Wales. After that, I was on non-paved trail (my personal fav) for the rest of the ride to Madison. The trail is really very nice and mostly flat with a lot of varying landscapes. Since it's October, there were a ton of migrating birds and pretty good fall colors all along the trail, and I didn't see another human riding until I was about 5 hours into my trip near Lake Mills. The only thing keeping me from giving this trail 5 stars are the bridges, which are mostly bad. They do have a rubber strip running down the middle of them which helps, but they are still mostly bouncy and you have to deal with a 3-6" rise at the start of each of them. The west end of the trail was closed near Cottage Grove, and I had to take a detour on streets, which was fine. This is a highly recommended ride, especially during fall.
I had ridden the northern end of the Prairie trail & saw the sign forg the Hebron trail so decided one day to check it out. Rode from the Prairie Trail junction to the “trail end” at Lange Road & back again. About an hour round trip but that included stopping to take photos. It’s a well groomed trail, plenty wide for comfortable passing of others. West of Keystone Road crossing is pretty much straight & flat but scenery still varies.
This trail is a nice one if you are looking for something other than a super straight rails to trails corridor. I parked at the nearby and beautiful DuPage County St James Forest Preserve and took a connecting trail to the start of the officially named West Branch DuPage River Trail that heads south. Most of the route is in Forest Preserves, alongside the West Branch of the DuPage River.
Once you come upon the spectacular Naperville Riverwalk, north of downtown Naperville which does not allow bikes, you must use city streets. That provides a nice variety. South of downtown the trail is again in parks. One can travel all the way south into Will County, with more options for connecting trails.
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