Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Rockford, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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 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 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,...
If you can’t make it to Switzerland, then you can do the next best thing: take the Sugar River State Trail to “America’s Little Switzerland,” New Glarus, Wisconsin. Settled in 1845 by a small group...
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...
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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...
There’s no debating the historical significance of the Jane Addams Trail. Not only is it named for a Nobel Peace Prize-winning social activist who grew up nearby, but the trail also passes the site of...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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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...
The Kishwaukee River Recreation Path runs for 2.5 miles in Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The well-maintained, asphalt trail connects the Kishwaukee River Forest...
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 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...
If you can’t make it to Switzerland, then you can do the next best thing: take the Sugar River State Trail to “America’s Little Switzerland,” New Glarus, Wisconsin. Settled in 1845 by a small group...
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 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 Kishwaukee River Recreation Path runs for 2.5 miles in Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The well-maintained, asphalt trail connects the Kishwaukee River Forest...
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 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...
There’s no debating the historical significance of the Jane Addams Trail. Not only is it named for a Nobel Peace Prize-winning social activist who grew up nearby, but the trail also passes the site of...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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....
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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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
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 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 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 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...
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 Kishwaukee River Recreation Path runs for 2.5 miles in Cherry Valley on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. The well-maintained, asphalt trail connects the Kishwaukee River Forest...
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...
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...
The Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail runs for 6 miles along an abandoned railroad corridor, between the towns of Allens Grove and Clinton. The trail is open to snowmobiles, cyclists, horseback riders 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...
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...
If you can’t make it to Switzerland, then you can do the next best thing: take the Sugar River State Trail to “America’s Little Switzerland,” New Glarus, Wisconsin. Settled in 1845 by a small group...
The White River Trail ONLY allows horses on a VERY SHORT section by Springfield. The horses hooves cause “pothole ankle-turners” in the soft limestone trail. Check it out before hauling or riding your horses for a ride!
From Capron to Popular Grove was sand! I'm guessing they’re re-doing it. Did the rest which was just ok. About 50% of paved path was maneuvering around pot holes and bumps. It's too bad, because it goes through some picturesque areas.
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.
Started at Fairfield and 176 (waconda). Ample parking but not that crowded. Went north past the dog park through some gentle turns and inclines. Beautiful ponds along the way with plenty of benches along the way to stop and rest Went all the way to Ray’s and looped back around with a total of about 8-9 miles It is our go to trail for fresh air They also have a two other trails there, one goes northwest and one that goes east toward Mundelein
My husband and I did the whole trail r/t Farewell Bridge Road to Meridian Road and back today. Good spots, and not as good spots. We rode it about two years ago, and it was very sandy in some spots. Those spots have course gravel in them now. We ride hybrid bikes with cross-terrain tires. It was ok, but fat tires work better on the grassy and course gravel areas. It needs some work, but was still an enjoyable scenic ride on a beautiful day.
Oct. 27, 2020 30 year anniversary and we wanted just to get out. It was cold but endurable... We were impressed by our 2 hour round trip ride from the route 29 entrance. In better weather being the kids... Do some fishing.... Watch for animals.
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.
LOVED our ride on this trail today (early October). Scenery was beautiful and the trail was in great condition. I highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience a non-paved trail. New Glarus (America’s Little Switzerland) was also a wonderful experience. Can’t wait to do again next year!
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.
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