Explore the best rated trails in Peru, IL, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Grove Road Trail . With more than 26 trails covering 4111 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.
I live close enough to bike to this ‘trail’ but to get to it I have to cross a fairly busy street as there is no parking available. This ‘trail’ is more of an extra wide asphalt sidewalk more than anything else. I do enjoy the short ride once I’m on it.
Don't bother. Trail is still closed and the canal has been drained. The wildlife is gone and the trail not maintained. This is why I gave it a one star rating. There isn't a zero rating which it deserves.
We started downtown Peoria and parked at the big lot at the park on Eaton Street. This parking lot has plenty of spaces and seemed to be safe. We do not live around here so all of this was new to us.
The trail was a tiny bit hard to follow in the beginning when we had to cross public streets and there was a good amount of traffic. If you want to avoid the public streets and traffic (especially if you are riding with children) then park closer to the zoo and go riding from that area. The trail does cross over many farm roads but these roads did not have a single moving vehicle on them when we were riding. There are stop signs and it is very safe to cross over these narrow two lane country roads.
We rode all the way to Princeville and then back.....I have to admit we RAN OUT OF BATTERIES on our ebikes. It was really hard to make it back the final 5 miles but we made it!
The trail is a mix of newer asphalt, ground limestone and crushed stone. There are a few spots that are pretty bumpy from tree roots pushing up the asphalt. You do have to pay attention to these areas because they are pretty bad. There were also a few spots where there was crushed stone that had some deep indentations from previous rain storms would be my guess. Your tires could kinda get stuck so just pay attention.
The trail is about 95% flat and very shady. There were spots that definitely had more people that were walking and riding and those areas where near the homes that back up to the trail in some areas. This trail seems to be very clean and safe for people of all ages.
My wife and I had a very enjoyable ride on the Four Sisters Trail in Rochelle. The trail makes a horseshoe loop around the northern part of the city, starting in one park and ending in another. The beginning and end are also joined by street biking to complete the loop.
The trail must have been improved since the last review as the surface was in excellent condition with what appeared to be fairly new asphalt. The trail goes under some of the more major streets in town so there is no danger in crossing those. The only intersections are in quiet residential areas that were easy to navigate.
I can see us going back to this trail as it's a relatively short and flat ride on a newer surface. I highly recommend.
Trail is well marked and maintained . Even though I rode this trail right after a thunder storm, it was still usable. I was impressed with the natural drainage . The tree coverage was beautiful. I hope to return in the fall !
The description is incorrect. This trail is not fit for road bikes. It's a shame that the Great American Rail Rrail put this as a gateway trail as it is in such disrepair and neglect. What a mess.
My husband and I rode this trail round trip (82 miles) with our road bikes. We had breakfast at “Oak and Bean” before the journey (highly recommend; breakfast sandwiches on homemade bagels & homemade bread; custom coffees). and headed north from there. We benefited by downloading the route from the Rails to Trails App as FVT has other trails that branch off from it. We took a few wrong turns but we were able to navigate back to the trail because we had the map from R2T. There are a few spots where the trail is connected by streets going through neighborhoods. Over all this is an excellent trail. Some areas are rough due to cracks in the cement or raised areas due to roots, but it’s not terrible. I recommend this trail . I will ride it again. It’s worth my drive from Grand Rapids MI. Also. Try the “Coffee Garden onMain”. It’s a great restaurant newly opened. You’ll have to bike a few extra miles past Algonquin, but it’s worth it. It’s right off the trail to the right when you hit. A busy intersection.
As several reviews note some sections are in poor repair and you will feel safest on a mtb or hybrid. But the text that 1.3 million people use it seems nuts as I have often ridden sections for 2 or 3 hours and seen only a couple of folks fishing and almost no one on the trail itself. Has very good birding (eagles, owls, waterfowl, whatever is migrating), decent waterfowl, easy to let your dog off leash as the trail is usually bounded by woods of a few dozen yards that screen you from the farmland that makes up almost all of the adjacent land. The locks are nice stopping/camping spots, it crosses over a couple of rivers which is an engineering marvel and the raspberries and mulberries are abundant in season. Not every bike trail has to be smooth pavement so be prepared and enjoy.
This trail kinda goes in a couple of directions. We start south at 111th street and Book road and ride north through downtown Naperville. This trail has some short sections that consist of riding on somewhat busy streets but it is safe. Naperville city residents tend to really respect the safety of bike riders. Nonetheless if you have children riding with you, take great care when on the street portion of this trail.
Parking all along the trail is very safe and free parking.
The trail is hard blacktop that is smooth as ice and very well cared for! The lovely and HUGE Naperville homes that line the river and those in downtown Naperville will be of interest to some. If you are interested in Naperville's North Central College, this trail will take you right into the campus so you can view the buildings there also.
If you want to eat while riding, there are so many incredible restaurants in downtown Naperville.
You will also see wildlife while riding this trail so that is a plus. This is a very busy trail with bikers and walkers all year long!
The main positive is that this corridor is preserved so that someday it can be improved into an actual usable trail for bicycles. Depending on where you are on this trail today the quality of the surface and whether it is passable by bicycle varies. It appears that it may have been nice at one point but most of the surface has been allowed to degrade. Attempts to repair in many places are with aggregate that is too large to be bicycle friendly. Washouts along the side await to wreck you into the old canal.
Large sections are barely maintained at all. Weeds and tree branches have overgrown the path and they hit you as you ride. There are long stretches with no services or water. If this is going to be part of the Great American Rail Trail there will need to be some resources allocated to make it more rider friendly (if planning to connect to the I&M Canal trail you will find similar conditions there).
The main positive is that this corridor is preserved so that someday it can be improved into an actual usable trail for bicycles. Depending on where you are on this trail today the quality of the surface and whether it is passable by bicycle varies. Large sections to the west are barely maintained at all. The weeds have overgrown a single track dirt path and it is hard to even see there is a trail. But as you move into eastern portions of the trail the surface and maintenance do improve. If this is going to be part of the Great American Rail Trail there will need to be some resources allocated to make it more rider friendly especially in the western portions of the trail (if planning to connect to the Hennepin Canal trail you will find similar to even worse conditions there).
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