Find the top rated bike trails in Crystal Lake, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Pecatonica Prairie Trail, formerly known as the Pecatonica Prairie Path, is a 14.3-mile rail-trail extending from the western edge of Rockford to N. Farwell Bridge Road west of Pecatonica. The...
The Rockton Main Street Path is situated off the Rock River on the southern end of downtown Rockton, a charming Midwestern village near the Illinois–Wisconsin border. It begins at Settler's Park,...
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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....
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The Bloomingdale Trail, part of “The 606” park system, is a 3-mile, elevated rail-trail on Chicago’s northwest side. Built on a former rail line, the trail sits 17 feet above four of the city’s...
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 Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to the...
The Charles Street Community Path offers a neighborhood route through southeastern Rockford, connecting residents to CherryVale Mall on its eastern end. On its western end, Alpine Park is just north...
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...
The Struckman Boulevard Path is just over a mile long, stretching between Bartlett Road and State Route 59, (although the path narrows from the end of Sunset Park up to the end on SR 59). That said,...
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...
The Puri Path is a paved route in Rock Cut State Park, a beautiful outdoor destination of more than 3,000 acres for the city of Rockford. The path runs through the heavily wooded northeast corner of...
The Hononegah Recreation Path begins near the State Route 2 bridge over the Rock River in Rockton, a small town about 4 miles south of the Illinois–Wisconsin border. The paved trail follows Hononegah...
The Timber Ridge trail is located on the eastern side of the Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in west Chicago. The preserve offers several trails, fishing, picnicking, and is home to Kline Creek Farms,...
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...
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 Long Prairie Trail journeys across the width of agricultural Boone County for nearly 14 miles on the railroad corridor previously used by the Kenosha and Rockford Railroad, later known as the...
Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels through...
The Randall Road Bike Trail offers a 4-mile paved north-south route along its namesake roadway in a suburb west of Chicago. A highlight of the journey is the trail's passage through the LeRoy Oakes...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
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 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...
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 Palos Heights Bike Trail offers a north-south route through residential and commercial areas on the west side of the community. It's also a key connector between two regionally important...
The Major Taylor Trail is named after legendary African American cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor, who was one of the most celebrated bicycle racers of the late nineteenth century, setting several...
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 Bauer Memorial Path provides a short route through residential and commercial areas of Machesney Park, a northern suburb of Rockford. The trail begins at the Harlem Community Center and travels in...
The Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to the...
The Pecatonica Prairie Trail, formerly known as the Pecatonica Prairie Path, is a 14.3-mile rail-trail extending from the western edge of Rockford to N. Farwell Bridge Road west of Pecatonica. The...
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 Perryville Path runs nearly 7 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State...
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...
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....
This is a newly constructed path that runs between S. Main Street and the Rock River in Rockford. It was built as part of the re-building of S. Main Street and runs from South Park south to the...
This path runs along the west side of the North Alpine Road in the Village of Machesney Park. It starts at the Schnuks parking lot and stretches about a mile north to the Lowe’s store parking area....
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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...
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The city of Joliet saw its electric utility corridors as a recreational opportunity. One such trail is the Fort Beggs Bike Trail, which starts on Theodore Street and heads northwest in the shadow of...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
The Fort Hill Bike Path trail sits on the north side of Peterson Road/ County Road 20. The trail peels away from the Prairie Crossing Bike Path at Midlothian Road and extends west, passing industries...
The Orland Park Bikeway provides a great connector across the Chicago suburb of Orland Park. On its southern end, the trail begins at W. 159th Street and winds its way through Centennial Park, which...
The Root River Pathway uses a combination of off-road trail and on-road route to form a crescent around the City of Racine. The trail closely follows the bends of the Root River, making it a great...
The Fort Hill Bike Path trail sits on the north side of Peterson Road/ County Road 20. The trail peels away from the Prairie Crossing Bike Path at Midlothian Road and extends west, passing industries...
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 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 Puri Path is a paved route in Rock Cut State Park, a beautiful outdoor destination of more than 3,000 acres for the city of Rockford. The path runs through the heavily wooded northeast corner of...
The ComEd Greenway is an asphalt multiuse pathway running north-south through the village of Bollingbrook. The trail's name is an abbreviation of Commonwealth Edison, the name of the electric utility...
The KR Trail is a new addition to Kenosha County’s growing bike-ped network. The trail picks up where the Kenosha County Bike Trail leaves off, in Petrifying Springs Park. From the northwest corner of...
The paved Rock River Recreation Trail winds throughout downtown Rockford and environs, following the east bank of the Rock River through Shorewood Park and Martin Memorial Park. Officially, the trail...
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 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 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...
The Chicago Lakefront Trail is aptly named; it spans 19 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan, going right through downtown Chicago and passing many cultural and tourist attractions throughout the...
The DeKalb Nature Trail provides a pleasant, tree-lined route in northern DeKalb. Near its western trailhead, it crosses the Kishwaukee River and passes through the Nehring Forest Preserve. Further...
With farmland to the east and the Des Plaines River Floodplain to the west, this picturesque trail is a relaxing adventure on two feet or on wheels. The crushed stone trail runs from Prairie Springs...
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....
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 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 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...
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...
The Bull Valley Road Shared-Use Path travels along the south side of Bull Valley Road in the city of McHenry, Illinois. The paved path is suitable for non-motorized uses including walking, jogging,...
Really nice trail, but not well marked. Because it jogs from trail to street and over bridges it took some doing to navigate correctly. But it is a decent paved trail, great views of the Rock River, and not many other cyclists. Glad I took my hybrid, though, because there were lots of cracks and bumps and I"m not sure a road bike would be very happy on this trail.
Please note: when you cross the bridge on Riverside Dr. heading north, the trail connection restarts IMMEDIATELY at the end of the bridge on the other side of the road. There is nothing to indicate the path entrance and you have to go up to the light on the south side of the road to cross the street and go down the sidewalk on the north side to regain the trail. There is also one really steep switchback to get you down to the river level again.
The best part of the ride was the last northern section from the sports complex up to the forest preserve. Great blacktop, beautiful scenery! A road bike would be fine on this section.
Nice meandering ride through the different Racine parks. Only ran into gravel between Colonial Park and Lincoln Park, everything else was paved.
Great asphalt trail with minimal intersections. Could use a bit of a resurface in some areas though.
Only did about 5 miles starting in Carpentersville near Main Street Bicycles and rode south for a bit towards Elgin. Stopped on our way back in Dundee at Diamond Jim’s for lunch. Was a fun day! Beautiful trail along the river, a lot of shade because most of it is wooded along the way.
Nice easy ride. Only gravel part is from Colonial Park to Lincoln Park.
This trail is close to my home and so easy to walk. Beautiful views of random artwork and the city. Will be my go-to when I need to be outside.
Needs some attention. Looks like Rochelle may expand the bike trail in the future which would be a plus!
Good workout due to the many hills, maybe not for beginners but not too advanced either. A lot of people walking but fairly wide trail. I went counterclockwise from the Lemont parking lot so it’s more downhill at the beginning and more uphill towards the end.
This is my go-to trail. It's a straight shot, and fairly open to the wind and sun, but I love it for the meditational aspects. There's light traffic on the trail and crossroads (and better yet, bridges over some crossroads). This lets my mind wander and enjoy the ride. I love to start at Wasco and ride west out-and-back toward Virgil and Sycamore.
The trail doesn’t really get you to the lake, or go around the lake, like the name implies. And instead of a trail, it’s basically a glorified sidewalk, so you don’t need to worry about biking in the road. We use it to get to the bakery, which is in downtown Fox Lake. You can take your pastry 2 minutes down Nippersink and eat it by the lake, but the bike path fizzles out pretty much at the Metra station.
I frequent this trail almost twice a month or more for inline skating because of the asphalt. A few bridges to cross but nothing to difficult. The trail crosses into Naperville where you go into a part of a forest preserve but then goes out into open fields. Beautiful all year round and always clean.
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