Find the top rated bike trails in Merrillville, 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 popular Rock Run Greenway Trail is a balanced mix of natural areas and cityscapes that alternate over the length of the trail. The natural areas are frequented by recreational users. The...
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...
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 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 Northerly Island Trail offers access to a vast, natural oasis in one of the largest cities in America. Chicago’s Northerly Island—actually a 91-acre peninsula—was designed by Daniel H. Burnham,...
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 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...
The Burnham Greenway is composed of two distinct portions that both run along a former railroad corridor between Chicago and Lansing, Illinois. There are plans to extend and connect these short...
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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...
Indiana’s Panhandle Pathway follows a former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor out of Winamac south to Kenneth. Along the way, the trail links the communities of Star City, Thornhope, and Royal Center...
The Marquette Trail offers picturesque views of Lake Michigan as it travels through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This scenic route follows an abandoned rail line through a variety of diverse...
The Old Plank Road Trail travels nearly 22 miles between Chicago Heights and Joliet across a densely populated suburban landscape, where you’re never far from a café or espresso stand. Still, you...
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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 Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. As of early 2018, it has a competed section of about 13 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John...
The Kankakee River Trail is fairly wooded and runs primarily through Kankakee River State Park. Walkers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers can enjoy more than ten miles of trail along the north...
The North Judson Erie Trail occupies the railbanked right-of-way of the former JK Line Railroad, running 9 miles from downtown North Judson southeast to US 35 near Bass Lake. Eventually, the trail...
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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...
The Pennsy Greenway is currently open in three segments between Calumet City, Illinois, and Schererville, Indiana. The northern portion begins at the southern end of the Burnham Greenway in Calumet...
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,...
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 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...
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 Marquette Trail offers picturesque views of Lake Michigan as it travels through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This scenic route follows an abandoned rail line through a variety of diverse...
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 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...
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 Pennsy Greenway is currently open in three segments between Calumet City, Illinois, and Schererville, Indiana. The northern portion begins at the southern end of the Burnham Greenway in Calumet...
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 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 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 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...
The Northerly Island Trail offers access to a vast, natural oasis in one of the largest cities in America. Chicago’s Northerly Island—actually a 91-acre peninsula—was designed by Daniel H. Burnham,...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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The Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County parallels active train tracks in the Village of Skokie, providing easy access to both the Oakton–Skokie and Dempster–Skokie stations on the CTA’s Yellow Line....
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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 Tall Grass Greenway Trail is a trail that runs along the right of way for ComEd powerlines. The trail goes mainly through neighborhoods in south Naperville, and meets up with the south branch of...
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...
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 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 Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. As of early 2018, it has a competed section of about 13 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John...
Indiana’s Panhandle Pathway follows a former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor out of Winamac south to Kenneth. Along the way, the trail links the communities of Star City, Thornhope, and Royal Center...
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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...
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...
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 Dunes Kankakee Trail is a 3-mile walking and bike path that begins in the Indiana Dunes State Park and travels south to Chesterton. It connects the Calumet Trail, which is also in the state park,...
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The Veterans Memorial Bikeway begins in Hebron in northwestern Indiana’s Porter County. From there, it follows the diagonal route of the former Pennsylvania Railroad for just over 8 miles through Lake...
The popular Rock Run Greenway Trail is a balanced mix of natural areas and cityscapes that alternate over the length of the trail. The natural areas are frequented by recreational users. The...
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...
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 DuPage River Trail spans nearly 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...
The Northerly Island Trail offers access to a vast, natural oasis in one of the largest cities in America. Chicago’s Northerly Island—actually a 91-acre peninsula—was designed by Daniel H. Burnham,...
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...
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 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...
This is an amazing trail in the city I love. It’ll take you north to Hollywood st and south to the south short cultural center. North you can continue on the streets until hooking up with more trails all the way to WI. South is the same all the way to Indiana. But... ...it’s currently under construction. They’re separating the bike path from the runner/walking path so the trail is being worked on now. When it’s finished it will be magnificent. Just wanted to give you a heads up!
Have photographed 30 deer since walking from Dam No 4 Woods to Campground Road Woods, a nice relaxing walk to see squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits and o yes the deer. This is a beautiful trail to walk and much safer than walking on the street or road. I live one mile from Dam No 4 Woods so it is easy for me to get there.
My husband and I rode this trail for the first time. We rode the Naperville and Bolingbrook sections many times. This section is as good. It has large portions with shade. Several toilets. Picnic tables. A dog park. Picturesque photo op trail branches. One drawback: dog poop. Strangly enough, not near the dog park. The poop is scattered 30 ft or so on either side of access points. No reason for it, because free bags are provided at each access point. Good thing dog walkers are too lazy to walk any farther. We will go back. The poop is not enough to keep us away. Also, we saw a police 🚔 patroling the trail.
I rode this trail to get my 100 mile ride in from Chicago. I liked it. The other reviews are true, it can be a little bumpy and there were a couple sections that could have been marked better but overall it was nice. There were places the trail seemed to split and I can’t wait to go back to explore where they go.
Remember the big flood? Tornadoes? This trail is maintained as well as possible considering our financial state in this state. The only real problem this year is the collapsed & under repair Morris viaduct that closed the trail. You must ride on the road to Stratton Park, then back on a continuous trail through Lockport. Safe from traffic, beautiful river views, professionally repaired washed out sections plus fairly responsive fallen tree removal keeps the trail ridable. Occasional trees down may require lifting bike over. I try to break off branches to clear a temp path till they cut it up usually withing a week or two.
Some shallow flooding occurs after heavy rains between Ottawa & Marseilles that is still ridable...Appox 2-4 in deep max.
All in all a wonderful fitness ride from Morris to Buffalo Rock.
The Crown Point section is now GREAT! Smooth new asphalt.
However, the Schererville section is horrendous! pouring a little tar into cracks for many years has not stopped the prolific and gaping cracks!! The Griffith and Highland sections also need repaving also, still a lot of cracks. The Schererville section needs REPAVING; it's the worst.
Maybe they need to stop the snowmobiles on the trail, the quad runners, and the service vehicles from driving on the pavement!
It used to be skateable for roller blades. Now we can't even stand to ride road bikes or a recumbent trike on the trail. Wrist and rear hurting cracks that jar your teeth they hit so hard.
The Cat3 wannabe's still ride on it as there are no bike lanes in Northwest IN to be out on the streets and the people in vehicles expect you to ONLY be on a trail.
Yes flat nature trail with no facilities unless you go into N Judson but not very helpful at the other end. There were low branches but for the most part clean. Only came across a hand full of people and they were part a youth group ride that were ahead of us. It was a very hot windy day, not the best conditions for cycling. We parked in town unable to find the parking lot with the picnic table which is on Rt 10 east of town pass over trail parking up on right
Nice scenic path covering 2 creeks and a small bridge. Connects to a longer path if wanting an extended ride. Definitely a few hills but nothing to taxing, especially with the tons of bench's they have directly next to the path you can take a break whenever you like. A bunch of shaded path makes it both beautiful and a great choice on a hotter day.
Started at Dam No 4 Woods and walked to Golf Rd and Big Bend Lake , saw plenty of animals deer, squirrels , chipmunks and beautiful scenery along the trail. Nice peaceful walk plenty to see , nice surface to walk on not muddy saw 1 deer by the 294 underpass and south of Oakton St saw 2 deer in the woods about 20 feet away from me, what a beautiful sight to see a doe and her fawn took pictures of this. It was a beautiful walk and I had a lot of fun.
Decided to do this trail instead of the Old Plank Trail. Much better than the long straight trail. Many winding turns, the loop through the Preserve at the end is a nice turn around spot. Signage could be a little better though.
I thought the trail was great but there are many low hanging branches on the north side of the path that really need to be trimmed.
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