Explore the best rated trails in Riverdale, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Tall Grass Greenway Trail. With more than 103 trails covering 4737 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.
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The Grove Road Trail parallels the local thoroughfare in the Village of Oswego, located near the southwestern edge of the Chicagoland metropolitan area. In the north, the trail begins on the east...
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 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 North Branch Riverwalk is a 0.6 mile biking and walking trail located on Chicago's northside along the North Branch of the Chicago River, nestled between Gordon Tech High School and Lane Tech High...
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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 Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
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...
The Vale Park West Pathway is a multiuse trail in the Chicago suburb of Valparaiso. At 0.7 mile long, the trail passes through a mix of woodland and prairie, as well as over a creek on a 220-foot...
Located in the west side of Illinois' second largest city, this flat, straight bike path sits on the side of Orchard Road. The trail passes by commercial, residential and natural areas, and crucially,...
The Chesapeake and Ohio Greenway (also referred to as the C&O Trail) offers a short, paved route through Merrillville, a town just a few miles south of Gary and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The...
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The Salt Creek Trail travels nearly 27 miles from the Brookfield Zoo to Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Along the way it connects several beautiful county forest preserves and other woodland...
This shared-use path runs east-west through the village of Carol Stream in Du Page county. Sitting on the grassy north side of Lies Road between Fair Oaks Road and Gary Avenue, the path is used as an...
The DuPage River Trail spans over 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 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 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...
Turkey Creek Trail is a short but sweet walk or ride through the beautiful Ivan Gatlin Nature Preserve in the northwestern Indiana community of Schererville. This wetland area provides the opportunity...
The Des Plaines River Trail runs alongside the Des Plaines River for just over 56 miles, protecting watershed habitat and forestland through much of Lake and Cook Counties. The trail is a natural...
The John Husar I&M Canal Trail is the northernmost trail developed on the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. The Illinois & Michigan Canal provided the final link in the water route...
The Kuhn Road Trail starts on Lies Road, at Glenbard North High School and continues south along Kuhn Road, past single-family homes and Friendship Park. The trail officially ends at Barbara O'Rahilly...
The Stearns Road Bike Path is a dedicated sidepath traveling from Hanover Park to the Bartlett, in the Chicago suburbs. The asphalt path sits on the north side of Greenbrook Boulevard/ Stearns Road,...
The Dunes Kankakee Trail is a 5.5-mile walking and bike path that It exists in 2 discrete segments: one that is 2.4 miles paralleling County Road 25 East, and the other segment east of that that is...
The Erie Lackawanna Trail connects Crown Point and Hammond, two former rail junctions whose early fortunes were tied to the tracks carrying people and goods to and from Chicago. Despite traveling...
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...
As the name suggests, the Lake George trail travels along the north shore of Lake George, turning north at Calumet Ave/US 41 to skirt the east shore of Wolf Lake. From Lake George the trail also heads...
The Kuhn Road Trail starts on Lies Road, at Glenbard North High School and continues south along Kuhn Road, past single-family homes and Friendship Park. The trail officially ends at Barbara O'Rahilly...
Leave the cars at home: the Route 30 Bike Path gives users an alternative way to travel from the Village of Frankfort in the east, through Mokena to New Lenox in the west, a distance of over 7.5...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
Although the Phyllis Harmon Path is short, it's an important connector in an east-west bike/ped route between Arlington Heights and Glencoe. Following Dundee Road, the paved trail goes from the Des...
The Bartlett Trail is a recreational trail in the Village of Bartlett, Du Page county. Though short, the trail is conveniently located as a space for exercise, while providing a safe route to school...
The Gary Green Link Trail is part of the Buchanan Street Green Gateway project and follows the Grand Calumet River starting at Bridge Street on its way to Broadway at City Hall. It is about 4.4 miles...
This shared-use path runs east-west through the village of Carol Stream in Du Page county. Sitting on the grassy north side of Lies Road between Fair Oaks Road and Gary Avenue, the path is used as an...
Lake Arlington is an artificial lake and popular recreation area in Arlington Heights in Cook County. The park features amenities to interest visitors of all ages and it is a local favorite for family...
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...
Lake Renwick Preserve is home to an artificial lake of the same name that was created from former quarries where aggregates for concrete were once mined. Today, the lake is a recreational amenity in...
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...
The Kankakee River Trail is fairly wooded and runs primarily through Kankakee River State Park. Walkers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers can enjoy more than ten miles of trail along the north...
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Although its current length is just over a mile, the small-but-mighty Chessie Trail will connect several parks in the northwestern Indiana city of La Porte. At its northern end, the paved pathway...
The Great Divide Trail sits is a one mile non-motorized trail through a negihborhood at the northern tip of Joliet, Illinois. The paved trail, which sits in the shadow of electric transmission lines,...
In just a few short miles, the Wauponsee Glacial Trail leaves the urban confines of Joliet to bask in open farmland and reclaimed tallgrass prairie where the bison roam again. Named for a glacial lake...
The Prairie Crossing Bike Path is a hard surface trail connecting Mundelein to Grayslake in central Lake County, Illinois. The trail is perpendicular to the 30-plus-mile Millennium Trail, which it...
The Gary Green Link Trail is part of the Buchanan Street Green Gateway project and follows the Grand Calumet River starting at Bridge Street on its way to Broadway at City Hall. It is about 4.4 miles...
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...
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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...
The Illinois Prairie Path (IPP) was one of the nation’s first rail-trail conversions. It consists of five connected trail segments with three main branches that converge at Volunteer Park (West...
The Little Calumet River Levee Trail zig-zags east-west between Gary and Munster in Lake County, bringing residents to the river and its wetlands, and offering ample opportunities for birding and...
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 Branch Trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River over 20 miles through Cook County. The trail was originally a dirt path often used for horseback riding; though it’s now paved, an...
Although the Phyllis Harmon Path is short, it's an important connector in an east-west bike/ped route between Arlington Heights and Glencoe. Following Dundee Road, the paved trail goes from the Des...
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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,...
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The 4.4-mile River Bend Trail is so named for the loop of Fox River along which it follows on its eastern end. It's here that you can connect to the scenic Fox River Trail to travel 43 miles along the...
The Singing Sands Trail stretches over 4 miles across Michigan City. The paved trail picks up from the eastern end of the Calumet Trail at US/12 at the border of Porter and LaPorte Counties. The trail...
The Erie Lackawanna Trail connects Crown Point and Hammond, two former rail junctions whose early fortunes were tied to the tracks carrying people and goods to and from Chicago. Despite traveling...
The Great Divide Trail sits is a one mile non-motorized trail through a negihborhood at the northern tip of Joliet, Illinois. The paved trail, which sits in the shadow of electric transmission lines,...
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The western segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 17 miles of a former railway corridor through DeKalb and Kane counties, between LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve and the town of Sycamore....
The North Branch Riverwalk is a 0.6 mile biking and walking trail located on Chicago's northside along the North Branch of the Chicago River, nestled between Gordon Tech High School and Lane Tech High...
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...
First-time visitors to the Oak Savannah Trail might be surprised at the profusion of natural areas they’ll encounter as they travel the 9.5 miles between Hobart and Griffith in northern Indiana’s...
The trail system in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve makes a loop around the entire park. The preserve is geologically significant, featuring glacier-carved rock ridges, ravines and wetland potholes,...
Although its current length is just over a mile, the small-but-mighty Chessie Trail will connect several parks in the northwestern Indiana city of La Porte. At its northern end, the paved pathway...
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....
This review focuses on the section in Cook County, from Higgins Road south to North Avenue. Rode this in 2020; was hoping for better conditions today (7/4/2022) but am extremely disappointed. The route suffers from extreme neglect. There are erosion washouts; new makeshift alignments around trees that were downed years ago--and around mud spots that have never been filled in; dark tunnels full of mud and tree branches (Higgins Rd. is the worst); horizontal tree roots across the path; areas where the gravel is too coarse and where it is too deep (especially over the Kennedy Expressway). Numerous crossings of four-lane arterials--attempt these only at less busy times like Sunday mornings. Also, don't ride within a week after any significant rainfall, because it will return to mud. On more numerous occasions I have ridden the more northerly section between Algonquin and Palatine Roads--it is in better shape and does not have the deplorable tunnels. But beware: the long-awaiting crossing over the Union Pacific RR between Golf and Central Roads will not open until 2024 or later, so we will have to continue a detour along East River Road. Three stars north of Algonquin, but only one star south of there, for an overall average of two--and that is being generous.
A mix of smooth asphalt and concrete sidewalk squares. All brand new. This trail crosses several car-intersections and train tracks. Crossing the amtrak tracks in downtown Michigan City requires navigating around a barricade on gravel. I was disappointed this trail exists very close to Mount Baldy, yet there’s no safe way to access the park. Bikers, pedestrians, and skaters on the Singing Sands Trail are exposed to highway 12 (50mph road) if they want to go to Mount Baldy.
I will admit I had low expectations for this trail based on some of the reviews but was pleasantly surprised. I rode this trail for 26 miles from Oswego to South Elgin. From Oswego north for about 2.5 miles there is some root heave and it’s annoying. Beyond that 95% of this trail is paved and the rest is smooth crushed limestone. Signage along the way was adequate
My advice is skip John Husar black segment as it’s only a little over 3 miles, straight and full of small bumps.
I rode this trail on my commuter bike from start to end about 18 miles round trip. I give an average review because of all the steer crossings and in some spots really bad root heave. The areas I enjoyed the most were JJC north to McDonough road. I would not ride this trail again but for runners walkers or fat tires it is probably just fine.
Like other reviews have stated, this new CHUNK rock they decided to use eliminates the enjoyment this trail use to provide. We always start In Symerton so we can have lunch and a cheap beer after the ride. ..sorry no more
Easy, wide, mostly flat bike trail with plenty of shade, good distance with trails that connect off this one to make a longer ride if desired. Plenty of picnic benches and port-a-potty if needed.
What was once one of the best trails in Southwest suburban Chicago has deteriorated due to tree roots continually pushing up through the pavement from Frankfurt throughout new Lenox. In addition traffic has increased on the north south roads with cars barely paying attention let alone stopping for bikes. Frankfort and new Lenox need to put some serious work into their sections of the trail
I read the review of this trail but went anyway and rode an 11 mile section out and back. It is 100% paved but there is root heave along the entire length from Frankfort to New Lenox and boy is it annoying. It’s like riding over a 1” piece of steel rod over and over.
Just an FYI that if you access the Cal Sag Trail at Freedom Park in Alsip (MM13) the trail is
closed at 127th Street & Rt 83 (MM12) until the end of 2022. I did not notice any detours for the trail. On a side note the benches installed look great!
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