Find the top rated bike trails in Lombard, 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 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...
Note: Erosion caused by surging waves off Lake Michigan has caused the trail to collapse in sections. The eastern half of the trail along Lake Michigan is closed indefinitely. See the Chicago Park...
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The Tinley Creek Trail is currently in two segments. This southern segment is within the South Green Belt Forest Preserve between Flossmor and Matteson, just west of I-57. The trail traverses wooded...
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 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...
Ridgefield Trace currently consists of two short segments open for use. The western section runs from McHenry County College on US 14 in Crystal Lake to just west of N. Oak Street. Active railroad...
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....
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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,...
The Kenosha County Bike Trail is open in two sections separated by dense neighborhoods in the City of Kenosha. The northern segment runs northeast from 35th Street in the city to 1st Street at the...
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...
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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 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 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 Fermilab Trail garners its name by running though the campus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the former home of the Tevatron particle accelerator. The 3.9-mile particle...
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...
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 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 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...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
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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...
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...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
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 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...
Ridgefield Trace currently consists of two short segments open for use. The western section runs from McHenry County College on US 14 in Crystal Lake to just west of N. Oak Street. Active railroad...
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...
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 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...
Running between the suburbs of Chicago Heights and Joliet, the Old Plank Road Trail offers views of oak trees and sugar maples, prairie grasses, and wildflowers that peek up through the...
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 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...
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....
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....
Little Calumet River Levee Trail stretches from Munster to Gary, Indiana. The trail zigs and zags through a number of local parks including Riverside Park, Wicker Memorial Park, Homestead Park,...
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...
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...
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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...
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...
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 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...
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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 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...
Ridgefield Trace currently consists of two short segments open for use. The western section runs from McHenry County College on US 14 in Crystal Lake to just west of N. Oak Street. Active railroad...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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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...
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 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...
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 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 Fermilab Trail garners its name by running though the campus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the former home of the Tevatron particle accelerator. The 3.9-mile particle...
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 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...
Running between the suburbs of Chicago Heights and Joliet, the Old Plank Road Trail offers views of oak trees and sugar maples, prairie grasses, and wildflowers that peek up through the...
The Kishwaukee-Kiwanis Trail winds through the northern Illinois town of DeKalb, coursing along a river, through woodlands, among open spaces through parks and through suburban back yards. 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...
We’ve only done Oswego to Geneva so far but I’m already so impressed. Beautiful well maintained trail. While it’s a great trail for getting a workout in you’ll be torn between it and stopping to take in the amazing scenery.
I live near Fermilab and can access it by bike without having to drive over. 99 times out of 100 I probably wouldn't choose this path. Fermi is a huge chunk of land that should offer a far better bike trail in my opinion. As it stands the path that leads you from the west side of the property to the east can be best described as a straight-ish cement/asphalt trail with little more eye candy than the main building itself. They used to house buffalo to the east on their farm but they were moved out years ago. Now all that stands is a farmhouse. Near the east side of the property is a small village but aside from a bathroom and maybe a vending machine, there's nothing of interest here. To get more miles you can veer off on any road in the compound but these take you down gritty asphalt roads without much more fanfair, and a bumpy ride to show for it. There's a lot of potential for a great bike path in here, but I don't think the powers that be want a great deal of folks meandering through. By the way, be prepared to show your ID to get in. That is mandatory.
Unlike its superior sister trail to the west, the GFT-D falls short. While living in Wheaton for years I rarely gave this path any of my time. It was sun-baked, not the best kept and didn't offer any of the scenery that its sister trail does in Kane County. In all honesty, I would recommend avoiding this path and making your way west to the 'better' segment. Or test both out and come to the same conclusion.
This trail started around the lake, then opened up to the back area making path available to Warrenville Road, Herrick Road and Naperville Road. While the Herrick lake area was always nice I especially enjoy the segment that heads over to Naperville Road and through Danada Farms and the nearby lake that ends at Butterfield Road. The area in the back of Herrick is just circular paths without frills, but they offer additional miles.
At less than 10 miles this trail isn't going to be a grand adventure. But take it for what it is, a rolling, scenic, half sun/half canopy trail with views of the forest, street-side, ponds, prairie, and wildlife. My son and I knocked out this path last summer and enjoyed it. Plenty of places to start/end your ride as there are multiple parking areas/parks in the area. On your ride be sure to try and find the lions (2). They roam in the same spot and do not move. Cheers.
For close to five years I lived at the zero marker for the IPP in Wheaton. This gave me unabated access to a wonderful path that offered multiple paths in every direction. Each path differed in terms of scenery but the trail was always kept up nicely and offered great views of parks, towns and history. I don't ride the IPP much these days as I live near the Fox River Trail and call that my favorite now. But I have very fond memories of riding every inch of the IPP more than many times. Cheers.
I usually pick up the VLG from the Fox River Trail just south of downtown Aurora and ride it west to it's endpoint at Waubonsee Community College. The path is mostly crushed limestone and canopied with great tree cover. It's usually in great shape although I've seen some water flooding in some areas during the spring. These were ridable through at slower speeds. The trail itself has plenty of pitstops with benchs/etc and cover. Along the way you'll see a few golf courses, Blackberry Farm and waterpark, the countryside, forested areas and finally the college. There are also several bridges, maybe a half dozen or so. The largest crosses over Route 56.
I've been riding the FRT from Oswego to South Elgin for over 25 yrs. And there isn't a bad part. Traveling along a scenic river while riding from town to town will please all bikers of any age. The FRT is a string of majestic sites like a huge windmill, island parks, sculptures, Riverboats, picturesque river views, a slew of bike shops, plenty of parks and places to stop. The path runs on both sides of the river and for many stretches on both. The trail itself is always in impeccable condition and varies in traffic from bikers, joggers and walkers. This is one of the best trails in Illinois, if not the best.
This path might also be called the wind tunnel path, or the power line path. Most of the Tall Grass Greenway travels under a large string of power lines so it's hard to stray. The trail itself is asphalt and very well kept up. Depending on the wind, the trail can present an unabated push or shove to your ride. I completed the trail round trip and felt both sides of it. The parts of trail I enjoyed most weren't actually part of the TGGT trail at all: the far east end where it becomes a path along the river is a very nice crushed limestone ride, and the far west side where it travels south to 111th St and along a very old cemetary on one side and train tracks on the other. This is a good, solid path, but I think the extension paths on both ends were better.
There are plenty of benches and areas to rest along the way.
For several years I've ridden this path and waited for word to get out as to how GREAT it is. To get the full effect I usually ride from Dean Street in St. Charles out to Sycamore. That's about 35 miles. The trail is a mix of asphalt and crushed limestone and it's 100% well maintained. There's a good split of canopy and sunlight offering riders an opportunity to cool off under the tree's and get decent views in other spots. The trail takes you through a couple of small towns, each of which offers opportunities for food/water. There are several bridges along the way as well as benches and picnic tables for rest breaks. West of Campton Hills you'll probably see a drastic drop in traffic. You'll also see a nice mix of wildlife out here. A great number of birds including an electric blue finch-like bird frequents the area, as do horse farms and other small critters. Just a beautiful path that runs through forested areas, over small streams and b offers great views of the distant prairie. Cheers
Very nicely marked trail. We had ridden the trail that connects at this starting point. Nice shade along the way, couple of nice bathrooms as well. Very scenic, passes over a lake and next to one. It connects to another trail at the end, Erie Lackawana. Will do that one next time.
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