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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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...
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 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...
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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 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 Lily Cache Greenway travels east-west across Bollingbrook, from the ComEd Greenway to the Plainfield border. The trail more or less follows the course of its namesake creek, and is characterized...
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When complete, the Veterans Memorial Trail will stretch close to 12 miles, connecting a series of memorials honoring US veterans from every era. At present, 1.3 miles are complete and usable, located...
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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 Lincolnwood Valley Line Trail connects the existing Valley Line Trail (Sauganash Trail) to the Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County. Like the previous segments, this trail occupies a former Union...
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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...
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 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 Prairie Crossing Bike Path is a hard surface trail connecting Mundelein to Grayslake in central Lake County, Illinois. The trail is perpendicular to the 30-plus-mile Millennium Trail, which it...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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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....
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 Great Divide Trail sits is a one mile non-motorized trail through a negihborhood at the northern tip of Joliet, Illinois. The paved trail, which sits in the shadow of electric transmission lines,...
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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...
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 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 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 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 2.3-mile multiuse trail wraps around Lake Andrea in Pleasant Springs Park. The trail is an easy walk, run or ride around the lake, and is accessible for a wide range of users. It also helps users...
The Bartlett Trail is a recreational trail in the Village of Bartlett, Du Page county. Though short, the trail is conveniently located as a space for exercise, while providing a safe route to school...
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 Southern Dupage County Regional Trail connects multiple of the larger forest preserves in Dupage county together. Starting near the intersection of 75th st and Ogden Ave in Aurora, the trail runs...
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 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...
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 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...
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....
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 Chesapeake and Ohio Greenway (also referred to as the C&O Trail) offers a short, paved route through Merrillville, a town just a few miles south of Gary and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The...
The Kuhn Road Trail starts on Lies Road, at Glenbard North High School and continues south along Kuhn Road, past single-family homes and Friendship Park. The trail officially ends at Barbara O'Rahilly...
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....
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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...
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...
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 DuPage River Trail spans over 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 and...
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The Fort Beggs Bike Trail (North) is a nearly mile-and-a-half long trail in Plainfield, Illinois. The trail shares the electric utility right-of-way, stretching from Fort Beggs Drive south to Spring...
This bike path sits on the east side of Almond Road between Washington Street and Fairfield Lane in Gurnee. The 8-foot wide asphalt path is used by residents as a spot for exercise and recreation, but...
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...
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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...
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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...
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 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 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 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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Illinois’ Centennial Trail runs through parts of three suburban counties from Willow Springs Road to Romeo Road/135th Street southwest of Chicago. The trail occupies a thin strip of land between the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
First-time visitors to the Oak Savannah Trail might be surprised at the profusion of natural areas they’ll encounter as they travel the 9.5 miles between Hobart and Griffith in northern Indiana’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...
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 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...
Rode the OPRT for the second time yesterday (4/25), covering 31 miles from Western to Cedar and back.
Most importantly, it's a great ride through the far south suburbs - easy to access at several points and with Frankfort more or less midway-ish if you want a break to eat or drink. Also, the trail is almost completely straight and flat, not counting a few moderate climbs for overpasses and some stretches of *very* gradual incline or decline. A few areas with root-bumps in the trail, I've seen better and worse in this regard.
This may be unique to our chosen days of riding, but we have found the OPRT to be a very windy trail. There is a fair amount of tree and brush cover, but also large open areas (including one area where you traverse a large pond on a narrow causeway). Our first ride was last November, this time mid-spring. So, granted, spring and fall can be turbulent weather seasons. But both times the trail was so windy, we decided it would be a great place to return on one of those 90-degree summer days! Your mileage may vary on this issue.
Also, strangely, we encountered FOUR motor vehicles on the trail yesterday - three cars and one trail bike. All were east of Frankfort, and the three cars were near Western where we parked. One parked, one idling, and one moving - ahead & away from us. Haven't seen anything like this on other trails, other than an occasional vehicle doing trail maintenance; this was not that. The trail is clearly posted, no motor vehicles, so these folks were just flouting the rules. Again, don't know if this is common on OPRT but we didn't see it the first time. At one point we were BETWEEN the parked and idling cars, which felt a little hinky. But no issues, we weren't accosted, etc. Just a few individuals using a resource for its other-than-intended purpose.
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.
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.
I rode the north end of this trail three years ago. It was very enjoyable and I would give that ride 5 stars. Ever since, I've looked forward to riding the south section.
I made the trip on Easter Sunday. I started at the trailhead at the NE corner of Midewin off Hoff Road. From there, I rode south, a 25 mile out-and-back to Custer Park. Pros: beautiful weather, interesting little towns, wide open vistas, light traffic, friendly folks, Kankakee River bridge. Con: the trail remembers everything that traversed it when it was wet and soft. There were petrified bike tire ruts, snowmobile/washboard tracks, deer hoofprints, bootprints, etc. In addition, as others as mentioned, there are a few soft spots, but worst of all, a verrry rocky section along Midewin. The ride was a boneshaker and I spent way too much time looking at the trail instead of the scenery. The south section could be a 5-star section, too, but based on the rough surface, I give it 3 stars.
Will County FPD says they're making improvements: https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/News-Events/News/Limestone-Screening-Work-Begins-on-Two-Mile-Sectio . Hopefully future riders have smoother experiences!
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.
It’s clean with some recently repaired spots where roots broke through. Careful crossing by Walmart. Beautiful riding to the power plant.
This was an excellent choice for the first longer ride of the year. I did an out and back from the south end. The trail was not crowded, but there were enough people passing by to feel comfortable. The trail is in good condition as evidenced by the significant number of road bikers zipping along. The only sketchy location was at the curve just southeast of the Lemont Road crossing. The trail there was muddy and people were riding on Canal Bank Road, but beware of the big pothole going westbound. It was semi-hidden in a shadow and hitting it would be bad. The ride was serene, with an interesting mix of open water and industrial views. I took the hike up Centennial Hill and agree it's worth the time.
Prairie Duneland was the first rail trail we rode, so for us it's a sentimental favorite. It's also close to home, so we ride it often.
As others have noted, most of the trail is well shaded and screened by trees, making it a cooler ride on hot days. The tree screening also helps make windy days more manageable.
But, with trees come roots, which often are the source of bumps and cracks on paved trails. Other than a short stretch near the Cleveland Avenue trailhead in Hobart, this trail mostly has escaped that problem. (Technically, that stretch is actually on the Oak Savannah trail, see below.)
Another good thing about Prairie Duneland is that it connects to several other trails. Just west of 149, the Iron Horse Heritage Trail branches off to the north - at about 2 miles it's a relatively short but nice trail.
Prairie Duneland also connects seamlessly at its west end to the Oak Savannah trail - in fact, if you start in Chesterton and head west, the last mile and a half or so before Cleveland Ave is actually the Oak Savannah. If you're so inclined (and willing to put up with a stretch of some twists and turns with non-existent signage through downtown Hobart), you can ride the entire Oak Savannah, link to the Erie Lackawanna Trail in Griffith, and end up in Crown Point.
These trails are all almost entirely flat and well paved. The one warning is that a rail crossing at roughly mid-point on Oak Savannah can sometimes be blocked by stopped trains.
I've been riding this trail since the early 90s and absolutely adore it. In high school I would ride from St Charles to Batavia and back every morning, and now I love doing 50 mile round trips from Oswego up to St Charles.
Absolutely scenic any time of year. As some have mentioned it can get busy on summer weekends, but nothing too bad. 99% of it is paved so road bikes should have no problems at all.
Tons of parks to take breaks at, lots of great restaurants and food stops as well. The trolley museum in Elgin, the Fabyan museum, Japanese tea garden, and windmill in Batavia are must-stops.
The FRT also links up to the Virgil Gilman Trail, the Prairie Path (one of its spurs), and quite a few others, so if you're really looking to rack up the milage you have a lot to choose from!
I have to agree with the previous reviewer in that this trail is not a destination in itself but does connect two very good trails. Leroy Oaks on the south end is very nice and worth some time (yes the bridge is rough, it has always been that way, I often wonder why). If you make the loop through St Charles using the Fox River Trail it’s a nice 15 or so mile trip.
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