Find the top rated running trails in Lake Station, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Traveled roundtrip from 135th St (Romeo Rd). then south to Joliet at the Ironworks. Because the trail follows the old I&M canal there are no steep grades. Some parts in Lockport are paved but most of the trail is crushed limestone with few other trail users outside the cities. There are numerous markers all along the trail that explain the history of the canal and the surrounding area.
Have always loved this trail. Peaceful ride. Only thing is we just went down it on 7/6/2024. It needs a lot of repairs soon or it isn't going to last long. Sad because we love riding this trail.
The section from Bruce Road to the 355 tollway is gravel (not crushed limestone) and rather rough. The remainder of the trail westward is crushed limestone and is very scenic. At the 355 tunnel, you can head north on the Veterans Memorial trail which is asphalt and in excellent shape, super smooth with no annoying cracks. Night and day difference from the start of this trail.
5 mile circle of Wolf Lake and Lake George . The 3.5 miles along Wolf Lake are lovely. The West side goes parallel to Toll Road but you are mostly hidden by reeds and brush. Can extend up to Lake Michigan for 1 mile lake front ride. Makes over all ride about 8 or 9 miles. Lots of parking at Hammond Wolf Lakefront.
Excellent visit for the second time we were able to make this trip from Joliet to Peru, it was wonderful, it is a safe road I think it lacks some maintenance but in general it is a very good, recommendable
Great trail. Good mix of hills.
My Overall Thoughts Of This Path Is Amazing, Except The 12 Miles From North Chicago To The State Line, Is The Downside. Ever Since I've Been Living In Waukegan For 8 Years, This Path Has Not Changed. The Path Is Still Crushed Limestone To This Day, And Lake County Hasn't Paved it Yet. Bike Paths Are Not Supposed To Be Unpaved, All Paths Should Be Paved Except The Forest Preserve. The North Chicago, Waukegan, and Zion Sections Are Sketchy. These Area's Has A Lot of Street Crossings, And I Have An E-Bike, That I Ride On Here Most of The Time. With That Amount Of Street Crossings, It Drains My Battery, And I Can't Even Get To My Destination Without Getting Stranded. Before Spring This Year, I Got Stuck Nearly 3 Times On This Trail. Back On February 11th, 2024, I Was Riding To The State Line Which Was 9 Miles From Waukegan, And Then As I Was Heading Home, I saw 2 Or 3 Deers By The Trail Intersection In Beach Park Where Lions Woods Is At. So I had To Take A Shortcut Home. So I Turned Around And Turned Left On The Lions Woods Savanna Trail West, And Turned Left On Butrick Ave, And Went Straight Down. When I Left The Trail My Bike Tire Pops! With All The Constant Stoppings For These Cross Streets Is Really Bad, And I Had To Walk The 2 Miles Back Home. I Hope The City Of Waukegan Tells Lake County To Pave This Asap. Now The Second Time, On February 18th 2024, I was Riding To Highwood, And Thats 12 Miles Away From Waukegan. So When I was Entering Downtown North Chicago, My Bike Battery Dies. Thanks To The Constant Stops! If This Part Of The Trail Was Continued It Would Not Happen. Lake County! You Really Need To Pave This Path, It's Not Good, And With All This Limestone, Is Making The Treads Of My Bike Tire's Ware Out. If You Guys Have Kids, Make Sure They Have An Electric Scooter With Tires, And Not Rubber. I Contacted The Lake County Division Of Transportation, Asking Them If They Could Pave The Trail From North Chicago, To The State Line, They Never Responded. People Need To Stop Being Lazy And Pave This Path. The Only Part Of This Trail That Is Paved Is When Exiting North Chicago South To Great Lakes Navel Base, Lake Bluff, lake Forest, Highwood, Highland Park, And The County Line. Btw This Path So Far Looks Better With The New Bike Signs, And The Mile Markers, Which I'm Very Happy About. Now, When It Started Getting Warmer, In The North Chicago / Waukegan Section, The People Are Putting Graffiti On The New Bike Signs, Which Is Disappointing. How Am I Supposed To Navigate If They Are Going To Be Doing That? I Don't Know, But They Better Stop! Let's Hope Soon They Pave This Trail Soon! Now 2 Days Ago I Was Taking Some Night Photos Of This Trail, Right By Dugdale, And Belvidere Rd, Which Is The Small Portion Of The Trail Which Was Really Dark With No Lights, And It Was an Amazing Spot To Take Pictures. That Night I Saw Really Bright Lights Coming From The South Thinking it Was The Police Patrolling On The Trail, But There Was 4 People With Electric Scooters Which Was Cool, However, When I was Taking Photos Of The Trail, They Were Looking At Me Like I was Doing Something. Number 1, You Do Not Own The Trail, Number 2, Don't Give People Looks Just Because They Are Taking Pictures, Number 3, Your Kids Should Not Be Out Riding At 10:00 At Night, They Should Be In Bed. Now Today! As I Was Cruising On My E-Bike This Afternoon, I Saw This Idiot Speeding With His Dirt Bike On The Trail, It's A Good Thing I Pulled Over, Because He Would Have Gotten Dust All Over Me From The Ground. If It Says No Motorized Vehicles, Why Are People Doing It? Waukegan Really Needs Strict Rules Here. If I See That Guy Doing It Again, I'm Calling The Police. Anyway It's Still A Nice Trail, It Just Needs A few Updates, And Lets Hope They Pave The Whole 12 Miles From North Chicago To The State Line.
We rood from the William G. Stratton State Park to Rockdale which is a 46 mile round trip. We saw deers, water fowl, birds, and a large black snake on the trail. The trail is mostly unpaved crushed limestone that runs along the canal. It does have ample cover from the sun with plenty of trees and water views. Someone else pointed out that they experienced a fallen tree that was covered with poison ivy on their ride. While there was more poison ivy along the trail than I have ever seen in my life, there was a low chance of coming in contact with it unless you go off the trail and into the brush. The trail does need some grooming as there were a few large holes on the trail, an un marked rked flooded under pass and some parts that had signs that they might’ve under repair.
This is such a nice trail. Part of it is nice and secluded while other parts are next to the road. It's definitely worth riding.
Not a good trail for biking. Trail is adjacent to busy roads which is really loud. Also you have to stop at traffic lights every 1-2 minutes, and these lights take a long time to change.
In April a limestone parking area was added to the east side of Starke County Road 700 East adjacent to the current southeast trailhead. On May 25 a 5K Run and 3K Walk was held beginning a few feet northwest of this location. The starting point for the event is painted on the pavement with the turnarounds for the 5K Run and 3 Walk also painted--for persons training for other competitions and a possible repeat event here in 2025.
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