Find the top rated trails in Racine, 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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Ridgefield Trace currently consists of two short segments open for use. The western section runs from McHenry County College on US 14 in Crystal Lake to just west of N. Oak Street. Active railroad...
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...
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...
In 1957, baseball legend Hank “The Hammer” Aaron led the Milwaukee Braves to the first of two consecutive World Series appearances and a championship over the usually dominant New York Yankees. In...
The Milwaukee RiverWalk provides a pleasant way to get around Milwaukee from the Historic Third Ward, through downtown, and north to the Lower East Side. It also has easy connections to three other...
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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 Cushing Park Road Recreational Trail begins on the western outskirts of Delafield, a small community about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. From Delafield's Main Street, the trail heads south,...
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 Seven Waters Bike Trail is a scenic corridor stretching more than 17 miles northsouth between Burlington and Muskego Lake into Waukesha County. The trail was originally three trails, locally...
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 North Shore Bike Path runs for nearly 8 miles between Lake Bluff and Mundelein, paralleling State Route 176 for the path's entire length. The trail is one of dozens in the Chicagoland area, all of...
Although short, the West Allis Cross Town Connector represents an important start to a future link between three trails in Milwaukee County. Currently, the trail begins at a junction with the New...
The Oak Leaf Trail is the jewel in the crown of Milwaukee County’s extensive trail system. The trail meanders for more than 120 miles in and around the city of Milwaukee on a changing terrain of flat...
The 53-mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail between Cottage Grove and Waukesha provides a glimpse into the past when glaciers bore down on southeastern Wisconsin in the last Ice Age. Those gigantic sheets...
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 Pike River Pathway is a short trail on both sides of the reconstructed Pike River in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The path is convenient to several neighborhoods in the community. Birds, frogs...
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 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...
The Stone Mill Trail runs between Lawrence Road in Harvard and Maxon Road in Chemung. The 1.5-mile, paved trail mostly parallels County Highway 17 (Ramer Road) and active railroad tracks, and will...
Moraine Hills State Park Trail offers a wonderful experience for any geology or nature aficionado. A moraine is an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier....
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Racine’s southeastern neighborhoods are home to the North Shore Trail, which extends south to the Racine–Kenosha county line. Because Racine County standardized its signs several years ago, you won't...
The Duck Lake Nature Area Trail follows the southern side of Lake Como between Lake Geneva and Como, Wisconsin, not far from the Illinois state line. The trail is more rustic than most rail-trails and...
The Brown Deer Recreational Trail runs through the Village of Brown Deer, a suburb of Milwaukee. The tree-line route parallels an active rail line through commercial and residential areas. Mid-way,...
Although short, the West Allis Cross Town Connector represents an important start to a future link between three trails in Milwaukee County. Currently, the trail begins at a junction with the New...
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 paved New Berlin Recreation Trail runs straight as an east–west compass bearing for 7 miles through the western Milwaukee suburbs, from New Berlin to Waukesha. While it is void of trestles,...
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The Prairie Trail runs the length of McHenry County and is managed by the McHenry County Conservation District. The rail-trail spans just over 26 miles from the Wisconsin border and the farms 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 Stone Mill Trail runs between Lawrence Road in Harvard and Maxon Road in Chemung. The 1.5-mile, paved trail mostly parallels County Highway 17 (Ramer Road) and active railroad tracks, and will...
The Millennium Trail currently spans just over 30 miles in two disconnected segments, but there are plans to extend it to 35 miles and connect it to the Des Plaines River Trail. The trail goes through...
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...
The Pike River Pathway is a short trail on both sides of the reconstructed Pike River in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The path is convenient to several neighborhoods in the community. Birds, frogs...
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...
The North Shore Bike Path runs for nearly 8 miles between Lake Bluff and Mundelein, paralleling State Route 176 for the path's entire length. The trail is one of dozens in the Chicagoland area, all of...
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...
The Lake Country Recreation Trail runs from the western edge of Waukesha to Oconomowoc in Wisconsin’s Lake Country area. Most of the trail was built on a former Milwaukee-Watertown Interurban Railway...
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 Beerline Trail, so named because the corridor was once used by freight trains transporting the ingredients for beer to some of Milwaukee’s famous breweries, has contributed to the revitalization...
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....
Broad blue skies strung with white cloud wisps; gem-green fields harboring cattails and butterflies; canopied glens giving way to cavernous quarries. It's all part of the ride on the Bugline...
The Eisenbahn State Trail gives a nod to Wisconsin’s German heritage in its name—Eisenbahn is German for “railway.” The strict translation, “iron road,” refers to the iron rails originally used as...
The City of Franklin Hike and Bike Trail follows a corridor originally used by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light, an interurban railroad in southeastern Wisconsin. The corridor was later acquired...
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...
The Duck Lake Nature Area Trail follows the southern side of Lake Como between Lake Geneva and Como, Wisconsin, not far from the Illinois state line. The trail is more rustic than most rail-trails and...
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 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...
If you’re going to visit the historical communities that lie just west of Lake Michigan, why not use the former route of the venerable interurban railroad? The Ozaukee Interurban Trail stretches the...
The Lincolnwood Valley Line Trail connects the existing Valley Line Trail (Sauganash Trail) to the Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County. Like the previous segments, this trail occupies a former Union...
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 Milwaukee RiverWalk provides a pleasant way to get around Milwaukee from the Historic Third Ward, through downtown, and north to the Lower East Side. It also has easy connections to three other...
The Pike River Pathway is a short trail on both sides of the reconstructed Pike River in the Village of Mount Pleasant. The path is convenient to several neighborhoods in the community. Birds, frogs...
The Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve is a natural gem hidden in an high-income neighborhood of Lake Forest, Illinois. Those 600 acres are home to perhaps the best-preserved example of the rare...
The North Shore Bike Path runs for nearly 8 miles between Lake Bluff and Mundelein, paralleling State Route 176 for the path's entire length. The trail is one of dozens in the Chicagoland area, all of...
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 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...
Broad blue skies strung with white cloud wisps; gem-green fields harboring cattails and butterflies; canopied glens giving way to cavernous quarries. It's all part of the ride on the Bugline...
The White River State Trail is composed of two separate segments: a 12-mile stretch that runs between Elkhorn and just west of Burlington in Walworth County, and a 7-mile section that connects the...
The Cushing Park Road Recreational Trail begins on the western outskirts of Delafield, a small community about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. From Delafield's Main Street, the trail heads south,...
The Lake Country Recreation Trail runs from the western edge of Waukesha to Oconomowoc in Wisconsin’s Lake Country area. Most of the trail was built on a former Milwaukee-Watertown Interurban Railway...
Moraine Hills State Park Trail offers a wonderful experience for any geology or nature aficionado. A moraine is an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier....
Honey Creek Pkwy is a very pleasant windy smooth road. Although you do have to go across Wisconsin Ave and Bluemound road which can be quite busy streets.
We picked up the Oak Leaf branch opposite 72nd st that goes through Wauwatosa. Once we got on the trail there were a lot of people and kids walking in large groups. A few bikers too. Good thing the trail is wide as you go past Hart and Hoyt parks.
We made a left on Swan Blvd. Quite a busy street with fast traffic but luckily you're not on it very long. Right after you pass under the railroad bridge you make a right onto Underwood Pkwy. Very bumpy road but lightly traveled
Trail was closed where it passes under Hwy 100/Mayfair Road but detour was clearly marked. Detour had you cross Waterplank road then wind through the industrial park which was deserted on Saturday afternoon until routing you to cross Hwy 100 on Research Drive. Even though we pushed the button we never did get a walk light across Hwy 100.
We met up again with the Oak Leaf trail which was pleasant then took the Hank Aaron trail back east.
Love the length of this. Usually do it in a little over an hour, and at just under 20 Miles this is a perfect ride to help you maintain and work on a faster pace when training for those much longer rides. Surface is good enough, not the best but not even close to being bad. Good straight aways, only a few roadway crossings on the entire path so you can maintain a good speed without having to stop or slow down.
This is a nice training ride. It is very flat and not a lot of scenery the first 10 miles out of West Bend. Bring sunscreen because most of it is in the open.
I ride a trike with 2" balloon tires. the first 5 miles from Rusco dr. were great. At Barton it switched to traffic bond (stone) . The stone on top of a hard base was loose . This made for a bumpy and noisy ride. Have ridden hundreds of miles on stone trails and never seen this much loose stone. Still ride able though.
We decided to bike this trail because it was going to be in the 90s (Fahrenheit) today and we figured it would be mostly shaded. It was mostly shaded with a lot of greenery and a creek that wound back and forth along most of the trail. There were some clouds of bugs but they didn't bite. Many areas of the trail had been filled in with loose fill but the rest of the trail was firm and dry as the weather has been quite hot lately. There is a very clean porta potty near the bike rental place. I'd like to bike the other leg of the trail to Kansasville someday.
Won’t be riding this again on the road bike. Fumes from roads make this not so pleasant. Sculptures and play ground for kids are great but that’s about it. Got lost when it flips to other side of river. This route is for kids on bikes, not serious cyclists. Fun all the same with the kids for sure
Coming from the uk I was pessimistic about city cycling. After getting bored of the lake front trail and north Sheridan/Green Bay road repeats this trail is a god send. Love it. Perfect for road biking and quiet(midweek) will continue to look for other trails but this one will be hard to beat.
A friend and I rode sections of the Oak Leaf trail as part of a multi-day trip from Chicago to Cedarburg, WI. We rode 10 different trails and found some sections of the Oak Leaf trail to be as good as it gets! It is paved and well maintained and generally runs through quiet country and/or neighborhoods. We only had a couple of issues - one being that part of the trail was closed and the detour signs were not clear for people from out of state. We are very thankful for friendly "natives" who helped us find our way to where the trail was open. The second was a section near Oak Creek that had 4 small sections with significant flooding - about 18 inches of water. It is kind of fun riding through big puddles, but unfortunately, the water was deep enough to soak the bottom of our saddlebags. Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed riding on this trail (the sections of the trail we did ride) and would recommend it highly! We found very few other riders/users - but I am guessing that rain, wind and cloudy days keep locals indoors--because the trail itself is wonderful!
This little trail provides a smooth connection between the Oak Leaf Trail and the Ozaukee Interurban trail. It is very nice with a good, smooth surface - riding through Browndeer neighborhoods. One can ride miles and miles in Wisconsin without riding on a road!
On a recent trip riding trails from Chicago to Cedarburg, WI, we found this trail to be one of the best of the 10 trails we rode during our 6 day trip. It does cross streets, and drivers generally don't stop (although we thought pedestrians had the right of way in Wisconsin - the average driver doesn't seem to know that!). But the trail is in such great condition and generally goes through quiet fields and neighborhoods. We thoroughly enjoyed it especially after some very sluggish days on wet crushed limestone. We kept thinking how lucky all the people who live near that trail are and in fact, of all the trails we rode, this one had the most other trail riders/walkers/runners!
Excerpted from my blog (https://desplainesrivertrailcycling.blogspot.com/)
April 12, 2018
First ride of 2018, 42 miles down and only 1,958 to hit my annual target! The afternoon started out warm and sunny, a rare occurrence this Spring as the start of April hasn't been this cold in Chicago in 137 years with multiple snow storms! About 90 minutes into my ride the wind shifted and it was like someone turned on an air conditioner - in five minutes the temp went from high 60's to 50 degrees which is where I usually draw the line on riding 'cause it gets too cold for me.
Overall trail conditions are pretty decent with no flooding from Deerfield Road up to Independence Grove and while the trail surface is somewhat rutted from the long winter it is in reasonably good shape. One word of caution, bring plenty of water as none of the wells along the trail are open for the season and are wrapped in plastic film.
I did the circuit around Independence Grove and from a distance spotted what appeared to be two baby owls peeking out of the hole in tree. I thought it was my lucky day and quickly snapped this pic (see on blog) only to get closer and realize they were fake, the dead giveaway is the yellow glue on their feet - fake news indeed :-)
Not much in the way of color on the trail yet, it has been too cold for any spring flowers.
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