Find the top rated atv trails in Valparaiso, whether you're looking for an easy short atv trail or a long atv trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a atv trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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.
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
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 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.
When people think of trails, they think of trees, prairies, forest, ponds and lakes. You get very little of that here. But it’s an experience. Carving through the local neighborhoods to complete this “trail”. If you’re not comfortable south of 105th, take your whisk broom back to your cozy higher tax bracket trails. I’m on a mission to bike or walk all Cook county Forest Preserve trails this summer. Wish me luck!
This trail has a little bit of everything! Our family parked at the Davis Campground trail head. There was plenty of parking, a picnic area and a restroom at that location. The first 3.6 miles of the 10.6 mile (each way) trail is crushed rock - so I would not recommend that portion for folks with road bikes. The rest of the trail is asphalt which is in good condition. The busy sections (through Kankakee River State Park) are divided with markings for left/right traffic. There are some hilly sections, but there's nothing too tough and 90% of the length of the trail is shaded by a lush tree canopy. Some of the highlights of the trail include a suspension bridge, multiple lookout spots along the river - and some really fun twisty turning sections that keep you focused and alert behind the handlebars! Our family stopped at the suspension bridge where there is walking trail access to river below. Below the bridge there are rocks to climb on to explore the clear river water and it's many fish. To make a day of it, bring lunch to enjoy at one of the many picnic/lookout areas along this beautiful and well maintained river. Just a great day of exercise, nature observing and family fun! Highly recommend.
We rode the trail Wed, July 25. First time since last fall. We were pleasantly surprised to find the parking lot off of 135th St to be newly paved with the parking spaces marked! In addition, the port-a-potty, which was clean, and handicap accessible, has been replaced by a permanent large vault toilet. It remains clean. We rode from 135th St to the fork that branches off to the Cal-Sag. Great Trail, but no other facilities or benches other than the two, one and two miles from 135 St. Great trail, but could use some flashing lights just before you cross the road to enter the industrial area. Lots of traffic there. I believe that is Lamont Rd. Loved riding through Waterfall Glen.
I've ridden this trail many times at different times of the year. There are several branches - Elgin, Geneva, Aurora, Batavia - and it also extends eastward from Wheaton/Dupage County. Most recently on a perfect day (July 24, 2019) I rode the Fox River Trail to the Geneva branch to the Aurora branch. Each time I hope it will be a better experience but alas it's just a flat out boring grind. It should really be called the ComEd trail since a lot of it follows ComEd high tension wires - which means straight as a ruler flat as a pancake boring as heck miles. The only other trail that is straighter an more boring is the so-called Great Western Trail from Sycamore to St. Charles. - yuk.
Granted, some of the path goes through nicely wooded areas - for example from West Chicago to Wheaton and the Aurora branch to 59 with the exception of a mile or so is fairly nice.
About 90% of the trail is crushed stone - some of it badly in need of attention and maintenance. I realize it was an unusually wet Spring and lots of flooding - but some of the path is dicey. There's a stretch just west of Farnsworth Road that has been "patched" with rough cut stone - NOT crushed rock - that is dangerous - especially if one hits it as speed.
From Geneva to West Chicago and from West Chicago to Aurora it's just a grind. Nothing much to look at, very little variation in direction and mild change in elevation - just pounding out the miles. Lots of weeds to ComEd's "Prairie Restoration" especially in comparison to the Prairie Restoration at Fermi Lab which is much more diverse and interesting - and authentic.
With the beauty of the Fox River trail is an alternative - as well as several others - I'm writing the Prairie Path off my list.
Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this in Illinois. Referred to as the Lake Michigan Trail, this one can be ridden along the lake for more than the advertised 19 miles. I've done every inch of this path numerous times and always look forward to coming back. The entire trail is cement or asphalt making it an easy mover. Wind can obviously play a role (yeah, go figure) as can traffic (many walk, peddle and run this trail). The sites...well...they are as you can imagine, limitless. There are an endless number of places to stop for a rest and an equal number of curiousities to pull over and check out. My favorite is north of Oak Street beach. After a good number of miles I like to pit stop here and jump into the lake to cool off. This isn't for everybody. : ) In all seriousness this path has so much to offer you might ride it 50 times before noticing something new.
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.
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