Find the top rated bike trails in Plainfield, 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 the Fox River Trail (FRT) was built on stretches of three former railroads: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin; Aurora, Elgin, & Fox River Electric; and Chicago & North Western. Today, it hosts a multitude...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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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 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 North Branch Riverwalk is a 0.6 mile biking and walking trail located on Chicago's northside along the North Branch of the Chicago River, nestled between Gordon Tech High School and Lane Tech High...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 North Shore Bike Path runs for nearly 8 miles between Lake Bluff and Mundelein, paralleling State Route 176 for the path's entire length. The trail is one of dozens in the Chicagoland area, all of...
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 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 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...
Although just shy of three miles, the Veterans Memorial Trail provides a wooded, paved trail experience for residents in the Chicago suburbs of Romeoville, Lemont, and Woodridge. Those seeking a...
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...
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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....
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...
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...
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 Busse Woods Trail system is located within Ned Brown Forest Preserve, a 3,700-acre property in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. There are 11.2 miles of paved trails for cyclists, equestrians...
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 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 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 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...
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 Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods in...
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 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...
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...
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 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...
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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 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...
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 the Fox River Trail (FRT) was built on stretches of three former railroads: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin; Aurora, Elgin, & Fox River Electric; and Chicago & North Western. Today, it hosts a multitude...
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 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...
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 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...
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 Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods in...
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 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...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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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...
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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 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 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...
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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