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The Spring Creek Greenway Trail, separated into distinct eastern and western portions of the trail, spans 8.45 miles throughout two distinct sections of preserved and protected lands.
At its western end, the trail loops through the Hadley Valley, a 854 acre preserve home to forests, savannas and wetlands. The preserve is not only home to plants like the tall swamp marigold, the wahoo and the great angelica and hundreds of species of invertebrates, fish, mammals and amphibians, but is also a renowned and award-winning example of conservation. The preserve has undergone prescribed burnings, invasive species control and native species reestablishment and more that has won the preserve the 2019 Excellence in Ecological Restoration award from Chicago Wilderness and more. The trail here takes a long loop around the outside of the park and then follows the namesake Spring Creek as it heads northeast towards Bruce Road.
The eastern end of the trail is situated within Messenger Marsh Dog Park, a 650-acre park, also part of the large Will County Preservation District. This section of the preserve is home to over 1100 bird species and is not only a dog park, but also has space for picnicking, shoreline fishing and even geocaching.
While these two sections of the Spring Creek Greenway Trail don't connect, they each provide around 4 miles of crushed limestone trail situated in pristine natural environments, the perfect escape from the suburban expanse of Northern Illinois, and are worth a visit.
There is parking (and restrooms!) available at Messenger Marsh, 16131 S Bell Rd, and at Hadley Preserve at 16504 Maple Rd. and along Bruce Road. See TrailLink Map for more information.
The section from Bruce Road to the 355 tollway is gravel (not crushed limestone) and rather rough. The remainder of the trail westward is crushed limestone and is very scenic. At the 355 tunnel, you can head north on the Veterans Memorial trail which is asphalt and in excellent shape, super smooth with no annoying cracks. Night and day difference from the start of this trail.
This is a really great trail to run on. It is very soft, especially the stretch just east of Gougar. There is a lot of really beautiful scenery. I ran the entire trail today and it was exactly 7 miles. This is not a good place to ride a bike unless you enjoy riding a soft soggy trail. There are horses on this trail so be sure to keep dogs on a leash. Just as side note, there are two dogs that run around loose from a local house. But they are totally friendly. They have run up to me twice now. They’re just tail wagers. and sniffers.
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