Find the top rated birding trails in Morris, 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.
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I use the southern most part of Trail from Bloomindale Ave up to Ohare mostly. Trail is great, views, water at groves is close, only negative is all dead wood after flooding. I t can sit and block trails for months until its removed.
Road from Hickory Grove Campground for about 17 miles. Almost to Anawan and back. Previous night there was a very heavy rain but trail was fine. It’s definitely not pristine but totally rideable. Saw lots of wildlife and birds. Very enjoyable and relaxing as almost no other riders. Cool fall day was nice —there’s so little shade. Would recommend. The campground is great for RVs and they have cabins too. Beautiful location with massive trees
We rode the main trail and explored a few trails leading off the main trail on our mountain bikes. The only complaint is the lack of water. We are going back in a couple of days to do two loops and try more side trails. We will bring a cooler with our supplies
We came thru off of Batavia Rd and was an easy no traffic ride. Easy loop back to Prairie Path Trail. Headed north on Kirk and is under construction and west side bike trail is terrible going up to Faybian Pkwy.
We’ve spent many hours on this trail since we started riding a tandem two and a half years ago. We live close the Virgil Gilman trail in Sugar Grove and have spent most of our time on the southern half of the Fox River trail north and south of its junction with the Gilman Trail. The Fox River Trail also connects with the Illinois Prairie Path and its spurs as you venture north of Aurora through Elgin.
Six weeks or so ago we decided that we would try to ride the entire length of the trail and back. We spent the last couple of weeks on the northern section of the trail making sure that we knew our way through the northern half which has a few sections that go around short breaks in the paved trail such as north of State Street in South Elgin and heading south into South Elgin where the trail meets Raymond Street, there is also a junction to the Elgin spur of the Prairie Path. If you cross Raymond Street, you’ll be on the Prairie Path which you can use to go around South Elgin. To stay on the Fox River Trail, do not cross Raymond – go around the corner to the right. Each of these practice runs also included the hilliest section of the trail between South Elgin and Batavia. Tandems are crazy fast downhill due to the mass and aerodynamics but riding up long hills takes a special kind of love!
Yes, the trail can be busy around the towns; especially on weekends. The same reasons we are attracted to this trail also brings out the people walking and families. We thought doing our end to end ride would be better on a Friday but there were a surprising number of folks enjoying the beautiful day with us. We’re just patient with passing and give a thank you as we go by. More so than some other trails, there are many surface crossings so this trail will not boost your average speed, but we find these limitations to be a reasonable trade-off for this well-maintained trail.
The ride yesterday was generally incident free and went according to plan and was our longest ride to date on the tandem. We started out with a rear derailleur skipping issue which was very annoying (you shift more on a tandem than a single) but a quick adjustment at our first rest stop and all was well. The only other issue was a bridge replacement over Poplar Creek just north of South Elgin. Last Sunday there was no sign of construction, but we approached yesterday to find the trail closed. We checked it out to find that the old bridge had been removed but the new one was not yet installed. Fortunately, we found an unofficial detour and continued. Southbound, there was a sign that indicated the trail would be closed through the end of the month.
Loved exploring this trail today! A bit hillier than Prairie or Salt Creek but nice rolling up and down both ways. We easily found Sag Quaries with Google Maps off of 83 and jumped right on. Couldn't believe no street crossings all the way to Nicks BBQ at the end of the trail! We stopped for lunch than headed back. Nice 24 miles! Loved the Lake Katherine area and the low traffic on this trail! We'll do it again in the fall as the foliage will be beautiful!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in the area for 20+ years and have driven by this little gem more times than I can remember. It is gorgeous!! I took my bike and was amazed at the number of trails and how large the area is. I went on a weekday afternoon so while many people were there walking their dogs or just enjoying the solitude, it never felt crowded. There were many stretches where I was completely alone and had the trail to myself. The parking lot of the Herrick Road entrance can accommodate many cars. It's a great oasis in the Western suburbs and I can't wait to go back!!
This bike trail has the best sights of any! In Batavia you have the huge windmill, Fabyan Japanese gardens, and trolley museum. Pretty wildflowers as you go through Saint Charles and pass Camp Kane. The train museum in St Charles is neat as well as the collection of signals with the Woodcliff sign, then once you get to Elgin you can see a little castle off the path, Pratt's castle! I don't think any other path has as cool sights as this one.
I like the canopied forest intermingled with open prairie. I live fairly close to the trail and have frequently ridden the trail from as far south as the city of Des Plaines to as far north as Libertyville. The trail extends farther south and north. For the parts that I ride the trail is mainly dirt, crushed gravel, and paved trails. During heavy rains, it will be washed out in many spots. Even during relatively dry periods, there is standing in several spots on the trail. Heading north from Des Plaines you have to cross railroad tracks. This is the private property of the railroad and they have done many things to dissuade riders from crossing the track. Farther north you have to cross Milwaukee Ave. without a light. Later you have to cross Dundee without a convenient light. You could use any bike on this part of the trail, and I have encountered a few adventurous riders on touring bikes despite some less than ideal conditions for thin tires. Overall it is a spectacular ride, especially when the prairie flowers are blooming.
A bit confusing due to lack of signage but it’s a great path to ride your bike on. Mountain bike preferably because lots of gravel and grass. We did 27.2 miles from Sheffield ( Hennepin state park ) to Gennezeau. , had lunch in gennezeau at Barney’s a bar & grill. Good sandwiches burgers chicken sandwiches ..... Watch out for the TOE PATHs that can take you away from where you want to go. Again this is due to lack of sinages
This is a great running path, walking path but not a path for serious riders!! Simply stated there are too many intersections on this path. No momentum at all.
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