Find the top rated bike trails in Rockford, 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 Glacial River Trail provides bikers, pedestrians, and in-line skaters with a 55.8-mile off-road/on-road rural route winding through farmland, prairie, wetlands, and woodlands as it passes through...
Built on a former rail bed dating back to the 1850s, the Stone Bridge Trail provides a crushed limestone pathway through rural countryside. A highlight of the trail is passage on Stone Bridge over the...
In the Village of Roscoe, a paved path of just over a mile parallels Main Street (which becomes Frontage Road) and then continues along the south side of McDonald Road, a quiet residential street....
The Rote Road Multi-Use Path offers a paved route along the south side of Rote Road in eastern Rockford. It travels for nearly a mile, providing access to neighborhoods, businesses, and the Aldeen...
The Rock River Parkway Trail in Janesville runs between Rockport Park and S. Jackson Street bridge on the north side of the river. Here, at the trail's eastern terminus, you can easily link to Spring...
Rail-trail fans know that Wisconsin’s Elroy-Sparta State Trail is famous for its three tunnels. The Badger State Trail, which heads south from Madison to the Illinois state line (where it connects...
The paved Rock River Recreation Trail winds throughout downtown Rockford and environs, following the east bank of the Rock River through Shorewood Park and Martin Memorial Park. Officially, the trail...
This path runs along Mitchell Road, starting in Machesney Park. The trail heads north and then travels east where it terminates at Sunny Meadow Drive outside of Russ Park. This short path is just...
Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels through...
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 Hononegah Recreation Path begins near the State Route 2 bridge over the Rock River in Rockton, a small town about 4 miles south of the Illinois–Wisconsin border. The paved trail follows Hononegah...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
The Bull Valley Road Shared-Use Path travels along the south side of Bull Valley Road in the city of McHenry, Illinois. The paved path is suitable for non-motorized uses including walking, jogging,...
The Riverside Recreational Path begins as a gravel lane at the base of Riverside Park on the banks of the Rock River in Roscoe. From there, it continues along Rowena Street, paralleling State Route...
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 DeKalb-Sycamore Trail—also known as the Peace Road Trail—parallels the eastern side of Peace Road from DeKalb to Sycamore in northern Illinois. Along the way, you'll pass a mixture of residential...
Swanson Park Recreation Path is sometimes known as the Cherry Valley Path as it's located in the Village of Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The paved path travels...
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 Puri Path is a paved route in Rock Cut State Park, a beautiful outdoor destination of more than 3,000 acres for the city of Rockford. The path runs through the heavily wooded northeast corner of...
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...
Janesville's Spring Brook Trail provides an important non-motorized route to many of the city's popular recreational amenities. The pathway begins just off the eastern terminus of the Rock River...
The Lowell Parkway Trail runs through the charming town of Dixon, Illinois, boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. The trail occupies the rail bed of the old Illinois Central Railroad, between Lowell Park and...
The White River State Trail is composed of two separate segments: a 12-mile stretch that runs between Elkhorn and just west of Burlington in Walworth County, and a 7-mile section that connects the...
The Lake Geneva Bike Path runs through the scenic resort city, offering connections to many of the community’s amenities. The trail has five unique, color-coded segments. The Blue Route is the...
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...
Swanson Park Recreation Path is sometimes known as the Cherry Valley Path as it's located in the Village of Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The paved path travels...
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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 Long Prairie Trail journeys across the width of agricultural Boone County for nearly 14 miles on the railroad corridor previously used by the Kenosha and Rockford Railroad, later known as the...
The Glacial River Trail provides bikers, pedestrians, and in-line skaters with a 55.8-mile off-road/on-road rural route winding through farmland, prairie, wetlands, and woodlands as it passes through...
The Four Sisters Bike Path forms a horseshoe around the northern end of Rochelle, a small city south of Rockford in northern Illinois. The path connects several schools and parks, and the city has...
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...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
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 Rockton Main Street Path is situated off the Rock River on the southern end of downtown Rockton, a charming Midwestern village near the Illinois–Wisconsin border. It begins at Settler's Park,...
Oregon Park East Bike Path is nestled along the east bank of the Rock River in the small town of Oregon in northern Illinois. The 23-acre park offers athletic facilities, restrooms, grills, and picnic...
The Pecatonica Prairie Trail, formerly known as the Pecatonica Prairie Path, is a 14.3-mile rail-trail extending from the western edge of Rockford to N. Farwell Bridge Road west of Pecatonica. The...
The Chain O' Lakes Bike Path is a paved trail that runs between E. Grand Avenue in Fox Lake and Grant Woods Forest Preserve to the east. The trail parallels the railroad track and Rollins Road/CR 31,...
The Kishwaukee Riverfront Path winds nearly 7 miles through downtown Belvidere, east of Rockford in northern Illinois. As its name implies, the paved scenic trail follows the waterway for most of its...
Although a relatively short trail, the Leland Path provides an important connection between the Hononegah Recreation Path and the Stone Bridge Trail. The pleasant, tree-dotted pathway travels through...
The Stearns Road Bike Path is a dedicated sidepath traveling from Hanover Park to the Bartlett, in the Chicago suburbs. The asphalt path sits on the north side of Greenbrook Boulevard/ Stearns Road,...
The Harlem Township Bike Path lies not far from the Rock River in western Machesney Park in the Rockford metropolitan area. The trail consists of a lower (southwest) and an upper (northeast) loop in...
Stretching from Afton to Janesville, the northern section of the Peace Trail offers a paved, tree-shaded route paralleling the Rock River and an active rail line. At its northern end, the trail merges...
Built on a former rail bed dating back to the 1850s, the Stone Bridge Trail provides a crushed limestone pathway through rural countryside. A highlight of the trail is passage on Stone Bridge over the...
The DeKalb-Sycamore Trail—also known as the Peace Road Trail—parallels the eastern side of Peace Road from DeKalb to Sycamore in northern Illinois. Along the way, you'll pass a mixture of residential...
The trail user can be transported from the bustling Westwood Fitness and Sports Center to a beautiful wooded trail that offers Elkhorn Creek on the far outer loop of the trail, a shelter at the top of...
The Lowell Parkway Trail runs through the charming town of Dixon, Illinois, boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. The trail occupies the rail bed of the old Illinois Central Railroad, between Lowell Park and...
Oregon Park East Bike Path is nestled along the east bank of the Rock River in the small town of Oregon in northern Illinois. The 23-acre park offers athletic facilities, restrooms, grills, and picnic...
The Rock Valley College Path is a paved route looping around and through its namesake campus in Rockford. At its southern end, it connects to the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that continue east to the...
The White River State Trail is composed of two separate segments: a 12-mile stretch that runs between Elkhorn and just west of Burlington in Walworth County, and a 7-mile section that connects the...
The Charles Street Community Path offers a neighborhood route through southeastern Rockford, connecting residents to CherryVale Mall on its eastern end. On its western end, Alpine Park is just north...
From Main Street and Elevator Road in Roscoe, the scenic Kinstone Recreational Path winds its way northeast through woodlands along the north branch of Kinnikinnick Creek to the Stone Bridge Trail....
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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 Pecatonica Prairie Trail, formerly known as the Pecatonica Prairie Path, is a 14.3-mile rail-trail extending from the western edge of Rockford to N. Farwell Bridge Road west of Pecatonica. The...
The Hennepin Canal Parkway, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a state park, follows an old towpath along a canal opened in 1907 and quickly abandoned due to competition...
The Mel Anderson Memorial Path, named for a long-serving alderman of the Seventh Ward, stretches nearly 3 miles, connecting Lockwood Park, Searls Park, Bressler Park and Talcott-Page Park. Mid-way,...
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 Rock River Parkway Trail in Janesville runs between Rockport Park and S. Jackson Street bridge on the north side of the river. Here, at the trail's eastern terminus, you can easily link to Spring...
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 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 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...
I went on a walk/roll with my husband on this beautiful trail. The Fall colors were enchanting. He was able to get my wheelchair through the path without a problem. I love the wooded pathway and all of the beautiful trees and scenery.
We just moved to Lindenhurst at the very beginning of the trail. I have many parts of the trail out of Volo when we stayed at Fish Lake Beach in our motorhome. I am a senior rider. The trail had lots of wildlife and lots of wildflowers.
I have placed and maintain 140 geocaches. Along this trail from Elgin south to south wheaton. Lots of shade and not too hilly. Perfect for biking.
I have had some rough riding over the years with rarely cut grass. This year the DNR has shifted gears and improved this trail a lot. The best I've rode in several years. Jane Adams hooks up to the Badger at the State line. Ruts and holes have really been worked on. And weeds cut as best as they can keep up with it. I have ridden this trail many times this year.
Excellent job, DNR. Keep it up. I have also seen more people walking, jogging and riding this and the Sugar Trails this year since I started in 1986 riding.
In the past I gave this a rather bad review. This year however the Wisconsin DNR and whatever other agencies help maintain this trail from Brodhead, Wi. to New Glarus have it in absolutely wonderful shape.
I heard around Brodhead it was rough. Not so this year. In fact I will ride it again the first week of Oct. 2020. The leaves and trail was a tree tunnel to heaven. Great work on this and the Badge Trail this year.
Road with my son last Saturday from St. Charles to Richmond, IL. Spent the night at the Baymont Inn in Richmond, nothing fancy but friendly staff and clean. Surprisingly lively Saturday Night crowd in Richmond, had a good time grabbing dinner and having a night cap at a sidewalk table. The walk into town is not a stroll but fine on a nice evening. There is a wine/cheese place with a restaurant within a five minute walk from the hotel where we got a takeout breakfast. The Fox River Trail was good with some rough spots in South Elgin. Looks they may be re-routing the trail further from the river towards some new housing. Not a big deal but we were surprised at the trail conditions on that short stretch.
The Prairie Trail was fine for the most part. There was some construction in Crystal Lake and Algonquin that was a little unpleasant but again not that big a deal. The hills in Stern's Woods are short and steep and not typical for the trails in the area. Don't let this stop you from making the trip. We cruised right through with a little huffing and puffing. It did look like a southbound ride would offer a few more uphills. This was our first time north of Crystal Lake and we both enjoyed the ride, would do it again.
Beautiful tree canopies. Trail mostly grass, but biking it was no problem. Very little use, only encountered 4 other people & they were walking. Parking lot at Clinton, but only street in parking at Allen-Grove.
Date of ride: 09/20/2020 Bike: hybrid with 42mm tires The Cheese Country trail, as other reviews state, is not a relaxing ride. You have to work for every mile. The gravel is large and there are lots of soft patches. I rode on a weekend so there was quite a bit of ATV traffic. All of the riders were respectful and slowed down to pass, but they kicked up a lot of dust. The 47 miles from Mineral Point to Monroe took 6 hrs. The scenery is nice, but you won’t get to enjoy it much as you’ll be focusing on the trail. If you are looking for a pleasant cerusged limestone trail
We enjoyed writing on this trail as a family. The tunnels are closed, because there were rocks falling from the ceiling (We ran into one of the employees who monitors the trails).
Rode from Monroe to Monticello, and then to the Stewart Tunnel. Was told the tunnel was closed, but not monitored, so we could still ride thru. Not the case, tunnel entrance was gated and locked - disappointing. The trail itself had some pretty scenery but is not well maintained or mowed.
Was on the trail up by Orangeville, a truck with a car trailer pulled off of 26 onto the trail . Not sure how he made the 2 bridge but wasn’t their when we made it back . Bring the bug spray sometimes Their terrible and sometimes their not ! Otherwise a nice trail to Freeport. Went to the pecatonica trail outside of Freeport over grown with grass. Not sure how far it was like that
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