Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Arlington Heights, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 13.5-mile Lake Michigan Pathway keeps you in close touch with the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world as it links rail-trails north and south of the port city of Racine. Along the way, the...
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...
Although just shy of two miles, the Veterans Memorial Trail provides a wooded, paved trail experience for residents in the Chicago suburbs of Romeoville, Lemont, and Woodridge. Those seeking a longer...
The popular Rock Run Greenway Trail is a balanced mix of natural areas and cityscapes that alternate over the length of the trail. The natural areas are frequented by recreational users. The...
The DuPage River Trail spans nearly 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...
The Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...
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...
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...
Prospect Heights Bike Path runs between Woodland Trails Park and Country Garden Park, paralleling the commuter rail tracks on its north–south leg. The trail provides a nice off-road route through 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...
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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 Marquette Trail offers picturesque views of Lake Michigan as it travels through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This scenic route follows an abandoned rail line through a variety of diverse...
The Seven Waters Bike Trail is a scenic corridor stretching more than 17 miles north–south between Burlington and Muskego Lake into Waukesha County. The trail was originally three trails, locally...
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...
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 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...
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The Monon Trail in Lake County, Indiana—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in Indianapolis—links the two Chicago suburbs of Hammond and Munster. The paved trail occupies an abandoned...
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The eastern segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 12 miles of an abandoned railway corridor through DuPage County, between Villa Park and West Chicago. There are plans to extend the...
The Prairie Point Trail is a scenic neighborhood route that connects twice to the longer Grove Road Trail. While never far from houses, the trail offers surprising scenery, including a stretch along a...
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...
About an hour northwest of Chicago, the beautiful Grant Woods Forest Preserve spans more than 1,000 acres, offering an outdoor respite of prairie, woodlands and marshes. The crushed limestone pathway...
Racine County's eastern edge is home to the MRK Trail, a rail-with-trail that extends north from the City of Racine to the Village of Caledonia. Because Racine County standardized its signs several...
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,...
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 Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved 17-mile route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods...
The East Northbrook Trail is a 1-mile route through a wooded corridor adjacent to an out-of-service rail corridor in the Village of Northbrook. The trail provides access to residential neighborhoods,...
This regional trail connects two of DuPage County's forest preserves—Herrick Lake and Danada—on a crushed stone pathway nearly 6 miles long. Together, the preserves cover more than 1,600 acres of...
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 Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...
The eastern segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 12 miles of an abandoned railway corridor through DuPage County, between Villa Park and West Chicago. There are plans to extend the...
The Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. It traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 and the first...
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The the Fox River Trail (FRT) was built on stretches of three former railroads: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin; Aurora, Elgin, & Fox River Electric; and Chicago & North Western. Today, it hosts a multitude...
The Prairie Point Trail is a scenic neighborhood route that connects twice to the longer Grove Road Trail. While never far from houses, the trail offers surprising scenery, including a stretch along a...
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 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...
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 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...
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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 Seven Waters Bike Trail is a scenic corridor stretching more than 17 miles north–south between Burlington and Muskego Lake into Waukesha County. The trail was originally three trails, locally...
The Joliet Junction Trail is a paved path that travels north–south through the west side of Joliet. It occupies an abandoned Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway corridor that in its last years was known...
The H.U.M. Trail (a.k.a. the Huntley-Union-Marengo Trail) was planned to link all three of its namesake northern Illinois towns, but so far only connects Marengo and Union. Interestingly, the...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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....
Prospect Heights Bike Path runs between Woodland Trails Park and Country Garden Park, paralleling the commuter rail tracks on its north–south leg. The trail provides a nice off-road route through the...
The Virgil L. Gilman Trail travels from quiet forest and prairie lands to bustling neighborhoods in just 11 miles, linking a woodsy community college campus with the eastern Chicago suburb of...
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,...
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...
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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 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....
Just 1 mile long, the Valley Line Trail—also known as the Sauganash Trail—extends between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Devon Avenue in the Chicago neighborhood of Sauganash. Two bridges allow for safe...
The Old Plank Road Trail travels nearly 22 miles between Chicago Heights and Joliet across a densely populated suburban landscape, where you’re never far from a café or espresso stand. Still, you...
The Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved 17-mile route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods...
The Paul Douglas and Crabtree Preserve Trail System connects two large nature preserves in northwestern Cook County. The trail begins at the Old Stover Trailhead in the Crabtree Preserve, near the...
Nice scenic path covering 2 creeks and a small bridge. Connects to a longer path if wanting an extended ride. Definitely a few hills but nothing to taxing, especially with the tons of bench's they have directly next to the path you can take a break whenever you like. A bunch of shaded path makes it both beautiful and a great choice on a hotter day.
I had a very nice bike ride on the trail from Elkhorn to the west end of Burlington. Started at the well-marked parking lot just east of Elkhorn, the trail is relatively flat and hard-packed gravel. It passes through farm fields and rich tunnels of greenery. I enjoyed lots of colorful wildflowers and birds along the way. Even glimpsed a beaver that visited the trail near the White River bridge. The creeks and river are well marked, and there are plenty of benches to rest along the way. Took a little side trip off trail in Lyons and visited its veterans memorial at the flag pole, listing its local war heroes dating back to the Spanish-American War. There's a nice coffee shop in Springfield. I rested in its shady yard, but it's only open on weekends. Heading back from the Burlington trail head, I noticed the trail gradually goes uphill, or at least it seemed that way, as I completed the 24-mile round trip on a hot summer day.
Decided to do this trail instead of the Old Plank Trail. Much better than the long straight trail. Many winding turns, the loop through the Preserve at the end is a nice turn around spot. Signage could be a little better though.
First off, this is my go-to trail and I love it. However, there are 2 areas of the trail that have been closed too long and I wonder who is responsible for making repairs.
The first is on the south side of Elgin along Raymond St where the path used to run along Poplar Creek and go under a bridge. That portion of the trail has been closed for several years now and nothing appears to be happening with regard to repairs.
Bikers are forced to proceed south on Raymond then right on Riverview Drive and go 2-3 blocks to rejoin the trail. There are no directional signs for users to follow.
The second area is near the South Elgin dam where brush and fallen branches have closed the trail making it necessary to cut across a grassy field adjacent to an industrial area in order to rejoin the trail. Again, no signs are in place to aid bikers to find their way around.
Again I ask who is responsible for repairing these areas?
I love this trail for biking! Great forest and savanna scenery. Thankfully most of it is not parallel to roads, and none of it is old train tracks, which I find more boring. Really feels like you're moving across country under your own power.
We live near the southern section of this trail, so we have rode that portion multiple times. It is a night and day difference with the northern portion. The southern end is just not very pleasant. Trail is in poor shape, poor signage and due that section of river, the area is prone to flooding. Viaducts are usually impassable, flora is mostly invasive species, lot of trash , etc etc.
The north end however (maintained by Lake Co. as opposed to Cook Co.) is just great. Well groomed, tons of signage, usable viaducts, clean, etc. This section meanders through forest, open prairie , some farmland. The scenery is beautiful, especially mid summer with the plants in full bloom.
Highly recommend sticking to north of Cook Co. We plan on finishing the entire trail a section at a time until we hit Wisconsin!
Walked the trail from Bryn Mawr to Touhy and had a excellent time. very happy to see the Touhy overpass being built and the call boxes that can summon medical help if needed are excellent to have if a person does not have a cell phone to call 911 once my bicycle is repaired I will be riding this trail from Bryn Mawr to Dempster.
Great trail to walk on once my bicycle is repaired I will be riding this trail all the way up to Skokie , nice that Sauganash Park is by the trail for use of the drinking fountain or restrooms.
The reviews are ALL about biking. This trail is sort of inline friendly but it has a lot of flotsam, sticks, debris from trees, and there are lots of repairs made with that sticky tar substance, that the skate wheels are not too good on. Some parts are pretty rough asphalt and some are fairly smooth. Bigger wheels are probably better, though they also make you faster. The street crossings are semi cut curbs with lots of bumps and broken cement to make your wheels stick, unless you're good at navigating these obstacles or good at jumping. This gets worse the further east you go on the trail. *There's a few places where the trail runs downhill (going W at Wolf Rd for one) and then spills directly into a busy street. You'd better practice your stopping skills. I think they should send a sweeper down this path at least a few times a month. I bike this trail and it's really good for that. I've skated it as well, but that was over 10 years ago when I was more confident. One bad fall with a twisted rotator cuff made me more wary since (a jogger wouldn't make way and my avoidance of her made me lose it). People walking 3 abreast and those with dogs on long leashes are also good to avoid.
Ditto on the comments about bumpy sections. The trail could use some better signage where it deviates, and could use mile markers. Also, I suggest if you start in the north, park behind the Wendy's next to the Indiana Welcome Center along I-80. Besides the south end, that's the only restroom you will find on the trail. And watch out crossing roads...seldom will drivers stop for you.
Excellent trail to walk on, once I get my bicycle repaired I will be riding this trail Great idea to have the callboxes that way if someone needs medical help they can be taken care of.
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