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Print Friendly MapThis regional trail connects two of DuPage County's forest preserves—Herrick Lake and Danada—on a crushed stone pathway nearly 6 miles long. Together, the preserves cover more than 1,600 acres of scenic terrain, including woodlands, prairie, and wetlands, as well as two large lakes, Rice Lake and Herrick Lake, where fishing is permitted. In addition to walking and biking, the trail is suitable for horseback riding and an equestrian center is available in Danada.
For a longer journey, from the trail's western end, you can connect to the Illinois Prairie Path, one of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Hall of Fame rail-trails that stretches nearly 60 miles west of Chicago.
Three parking lots are available on the northern end of Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, south of Butterfield Road and east of Herrick Road.
In Danada Forest Preserve, two parking lots are centrally located. From Butterfield Road, head south on Naperville Road and travel about 0.75 mile. On Naperville Road's west side, you can park at the Forest Preserve District Headquarters; on its east side, park at the Danada Equestrian Center.
Starting on Leask Lane (at Butterfield Road) the trail skirts Rice Lake with some steep upward curves until the equestrian center (interesting buildings with history) then flattens out to go under Naperville Road. Along that section of trail on west side of tunnel, see the practice track and starting gate used to train the 1965 Kentucky Derby winner. Trail connects with several trails in the Herrick Lake preserve. Very little shade on most of the trails.
This trail is exactly as described. We even met horses in the trail. Good surface but on busy days one needs to give way to those not as respectful of others. Neat history along the way by the equestrian end of the trail.
We did 7.6 mile trail starting on the east side by Danada Farm. Looked at all the magnificent horses. The weather was perfect and the trail even better. The crushed gravel was really smooth. It was a perfect combination of prairie and forest preserve scenes. We did the whole circle around Herrick Lake and ended back in the east side. Perfect Sunday ride!
We rode this trail today and loved the beautiful fall colors! We started at Danada off of Naperville Rd....loved the scenery, trail width and Herrick Lake! We then connected to Blackwell Forest Preserve via Butterfield for a longer ride (turning in just past Winfield Rd) Blackwell was beautiful, too! We found Two Brothers in Warrenville for lunch but used the GPS to find that and jump back on trail. 20 mile round trip...a great day!!!
This is the best trail I’ve ridden on this summer. Moderate climbs with excellent mile markers and maps. Also plenty of options for those looking for a longer ride. Don’t forget to check out the equestrian center too. This is a can’t miss trail.
I’m glad I rode this trail today but next time would avoid the hottest time of the day because aside from the westernmost part, much of the trail is in open sky. That said, the curves are nice and the open space. I finished on the eastern end and was happy I could ride Naperville Rd. north to Blanchard and then President Street to reconnect to the Illinois Prairie Path. So it made a nice loop.
Enjoyable bike ride. Wide, multi use.
What a great trail to just kick back, ride your bike and enjoy the scenery. No pressures of getting lost - well marked trail. If you wind around a couple times through the different spurs you can get quite a few miles in. I loved the day and will return next summer. Herrick Lake is so peaceful.
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 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.
Nice out-and-back gravel trail with an interesting offshoot side trail that is quite entertaining to go through at a good clip on a bike. The trail is relatively flat and wide in most parts, though on the weekends, the walkers with headphones seem to forget that it's a multiple use path and walk 3- or 4-wide. A really nice path to get some mileage in on the weekdays, and it's connected to the Prairie Path, which is a really nice bonus.
A few more hills to climb in this park would make it 5-stars, but it's still a regular in my ride routes.
Easy access to NE trail head on corner of leask rd and butterfield. From briarcliff area, I took south loop road to sidewalk by chic-fill-a and crossed at butterfield and leask rd. I had my 3 yr old in a trailer. Easy. Great views all the way. We rode to Herrick lake - no worries, then headed north on Herrick rd to prairie path and took it north, back home. Forest, prairie, hills, great mix. Very enjoyable.
I am a regular user of this trail, well actually group of trails. The description shows 5 miles of trail, but there are several well marked trails that take you through forest, savannah, prairie, and past marshland for well over 5 miles, if you wish.
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