Find the top rated birding trails in Freeport, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We camped at Blue Mound State Park and biked the first day to Dodgeville. The camp is at mile marker 22, so 36 miles round trip. Great scenery as the elevation is high: distant farmlands, golf courses, forest,…. The trail is in great condition, winding and rolling throughout farmlands, wooded area, prairies, and small rural communities. Our return trip was in misting rain and the forecast for storms later that week canceled our plans for the eastern leg until another time.
First time on the trail. I had a mountain bike, which was appropriate. Trail was mostly two 8-10 inch bare patches with grasses/weeds between. Otherwise, it was fine. Covered bridge was a surprise.
The Park District has the necessary equipment to blow the debris off the path once or twice a year. I quit riding it. Too much junk begging me to have a flat tire
Trail is great. We'll maintained maintained good smooth and hard packed
Very nice. Not for biking or running, but perfect for ATVs, though frequent bridges are a bit of a pain. Lots of close by paved trails for runners.
Loved this trail. It's in great shape and is a scenic rides. On a hot day, the trees provide a lot of shade. Enjoy!
Rode on Friday the 18th. Saw 2 walkers but no bikers. Started at the Galena Recreation Park. Added the 2.6 miles to get to the bottom of Chestnut Mountain Resort and the trail to entrance of Buehler Preserve. Ended with a total of 21.1. Because of my age I was glad to have my pedal assist bike. Nice day.
A couple buddies and I rode the Hennepin Canal trail Memorial Day weekend from approximately Wyanet to the Quads, then took the Great River Trail up to Fulton, country roads to Sterling/Rock Falls, and back down on the north branch of the Hennepin. Great two-day ride, about 130mi. We had one gravel bike, one MTB, and one roadie. Gravel was definitely best, but we all did great. About half the Hennepin is paved, the rest fine gravel or soft dirt. Maybe a couple spots with chunky gravel or potholes, but nothing too difficult. Even the sections that are supposedly in the worst disrepair (north branch between Rt 92 & I-88) are easily rideable. I’m sure it coulda been difficult on skinny tires if there had been recent rains, but the trail was totally dry and the guy on skinnies was fine. Honestly, don’t get scared by some of the reviews on this site. No, it’s not perfectly maintained pavement, but if you want to set personal speed records on your carbon roadie, go somewhere else. This path is a bit more rugged, more remote and wild, but its still Northern Illinois, it ain’t THAT hard. An experienced biker with a moderate sense of adventure can handle this on just about any bike. Just make sure you have water, some snacks and a charged cellphone. Overall, I’d say this is a great loop for anyone looking for a long but fairly easy ride. Easy trip out from the Chicago area, Quads or Central Illinois.
Rode the section from the Roland Olson Forest Preserve to just short of Poplar Grove. The first section between the preserve and Caledonia wasn't too bad but still some bumpy spots. After Caledonia it got progressively worse and prior to Poplar Grove I gave up and turned around. If you are looking to go around 15mph or faster you might need a full suspension bike because it is in terrible shape. Asphalt needs to be repaved.
Had a fun ride on this trail. In spite of rain all of the previous day, the trail was in good shape. It wasn’t crowded. Pretty scenery and lots of “cathedral tree shade”. We even saw indigo buntings! A few inclines, but we have Ebikes, so no problems for us. We will do this again next time in Galena
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.
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