Explore the best rated trails in Union, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Tall Grass Greenway Trail. With more than 136 trails covering 1114 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Bloomingdale Trail, part of “The 606” park system, is a 3-mile, elevated rail-trail on Chicago’s northwest side. Built on a former rail line, the trail sits 17 feet above four of the city’s...
The North Shore Channel Trail extends from the junction of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in northern Evanston to the junction of Lawrence Avenue and Francisco Avenue in Chicago. All but the...
The Timber Ridge trail is located on the eastern side of the Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in west Chicago. The preserve offers several trails, fishing, picnicking, and is home to Kline Creek Farms,...
The Fort Hill Bike Path trail sits on the north side of Peterson Road/ County Road 20. The trail peels away from the Prairie Crossing Bike Path at Midlothian Road and extends west, passing industries...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
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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...
Baumann Park is adjacent to the Kishwaukee River in Cherry Valley, a community on the outskirts of Rockford in northern Illinois. A paved pathway runs through the park and loops around Baumann Park...
The Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. It currently has a competed section of over 15 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John Husar I&M...
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 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 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 Bauer Memorial Path provides a short route through residential and commercial areas of Machesney Park, a northern suburb of Rockford. The trail begins at the Harlem Community Center and travels in...
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 Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...
The Prairie Crossing Bike Path is a hard surface trail connecting Mundelein to Grayslake in central Lake County, Illinois. The trail is perpendicular to the 30-plus-mile Millennium Trail, which it...
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 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,...
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...
This shared-use path runs east-west through the village of Carol Stream in Du Page county. Sitting on the grassy north side of Lies Road between Fair Oaks Road and Gary Avenue, the path is used as an...
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The city of Joliet saw its electric utility corridors as a recreational opportunity. One such trail is the Fort Beggs Bike Trail, which starts on Theodore Street and heads northwest in the shadow of...
The ComEd Greenway is an asphalt multiuse pathway running north-south through the village of Bollingbrook. The trail's name is an abbreviation of Commonwealth Edison, the name of the electric utility...
The KR Trail is a new addition to Kenosha County’s growing bike-ped network. The trail picks up where the Kenosha County Bike Trail leaves off, in Petrifying Springs Park. From the northwest corner of...
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...
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Illinois’ Centennial Trail runs through parts of three suburban counties from Willow Springs Road to Romeo Road/135th Street southwest of Chicago. The trail occupies a thin strip of land between the...
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...
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The eastern segment of the Great Western Trail in Illinois follows 12 miles of an abandoned railway corridor through DuPage County, between Villa Park and West Chicago. There are plans to extend the...
The Deer Grove Trail is one of several great Chicagoland trails located in properties of the Forest Preserve of Cook County. Deer Grove is the oldest of all the Cook County preserves. It's comprised...
The Racine-Sturtevant Trail runs for 3.5 miles from the western side of Racine to near the eastern edge of the Village of Sturtevant. The trail occupies an abandoned rail corridor for most of its...
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...
The Buffalo Creek Trail makes a loop around the scenic Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve in Long Grove. The crushed-gravel trail provides access to facilities throughout the park. Along the way, you’ll...
The Ridgefield Trace is a multi-use pathway that runs through suburban Crystal Lake, Illinois. The trail takes its name from the original Indian trace that once ran along the route of what is now...
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The Salt Creek Trail travels nearly 27 miles from the Brookfield Zoo to Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Along the way it connects several beautiful county forest preserves and other woodland...
The DeKalb Nature Trail provides a pleasant, tree-lined route in northern DeKalb. Near its western trailhead, it crosses the Kishwaukee River and passes through the Nehring Forest Preserve. Further...
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...
This path runs along the north side of Highway 11 and south of the city of Janesville. The eastern end starts about 3/4 of a mile west of I-39 and runs all the way to S County Road D, crossing over...
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...
Lake Arlington is an artificial lake and popular recreation area in Arlington Heights in Cook County. The park features amenities to interest visitors of all ages and it is a local favorite for family...
The Tall Grass Greenway Trail is a trail that runs along the right of way for ComEd powerlines. The trail goes mainly through neighborhoods in south Naperville, and meets up with the south branch of...
The Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...
The 2.3-mile multiuse trail wraps around Lake Andrea in Pleasant Springs Park. The trail is an easy walk, run or ride around the lake, and is accessible for a wide range of users. It also helps users...
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Racine’s southeastern neighborhoods are home to the North Shore Trail, which extends south to the Racine–Kenosha county line. Because Racine County standardized its signs several years ago, you won't...
Although just shy of three miles, the Veterans Memorial Trail provides a wooded, paved trail experience for residents in the Chicago suburbs of Romeoville, Lemont, and Woodridge. Those seeking a...
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 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 Prairie Crossing Bike Path is a hard surface trail connecting Mundelein to Grayslake in central Lake County, Illinois. The trail is perpendicular to the 30-plus-mile Millennium Trail, which it...
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...
The Kuhn Road Trail starts on Lies Road, at Glenbard North High School and continues south along Kuhn Road, past single-family homes and Friendship Park. The trail officially ends at Barbara O'Rahilly...
In southeastern Rockford, a paved pathway begins at a connection with the Charles Street Community Path then heads south along Mulford Road through a residential area. At Harrison Avenue, the path...
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,...
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...
Helping to forge a connection between the northern and southern segments of the Kenosha County Bike Trail, the Kenosha Pike Bike Trail also has plenty to offer in its own right, giving trail users a...
The Timber Ridge trail is located on the eastern side of the Timber Ridge Forest Preserve in west Chicago. The preserve offers several trails, fishing, picnicking, and is home to Kline Creek Farms,...
The Waubonsie Trail links Boulder Hill and the Village of Oswego via a greenway corridor within a residential community. The eastern trailhead is in Jaycee Park, which offers a playground, picnic...
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 North Shore Channel Trail extends from the junction of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in northern Evanston to the junction of Lawrence Avenue and Francisco Avenue in Chicago. All but 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 North Branch Trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River over 20 miles through Cook County. The trail was originally a dirt path often used for horseback riding; though it’s now paved, an...
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...
This path runs along the north side of Highway 11 and south of the city of Janesville. The eastern end starts about 3/4 of a mile west of I-39 and runs all the way to S County Road D, crossing over...
The Robert McClory Bike Path runs the length of Lake County, knitting together a string of communities on the north shore of Chicago all the way to the Wisconsin border. In 1997, the trail was named...
Always a good experience--goes through some nice areas, trail is in good condition.
This is a good connector if you're trying to reach some of the forest preserves, but you're right on the road the whole way and traffic is heavy.
I took the Metra from Chicago to Harvard, IL to connect with this trail. The roads from Harvard to the trailhead are not ideal, but the trail itself is well-maintained and good even with 25mm road tires. I took the quick detour up to the WI border and than back south to connect with the Fox River trail--overall a good experience!
06/20/ 22 Rode the trail today from Poplar Grove to the west end on to the Stone Bridge Trail to Rockton Rd and returned.
I was born and raised in the Belvidere area but have never been on this trail but I remember watching trains on it when I was a kid.
Kind of a spur of the moment thing I loaded my bike and drove up to Poplar Grove to pick up the trail. I traveled west from Poplar Grove and the trail was vary pleasant despite it being a 90 degree day with low humidity. Trees cover most of the trail so it's vary shady. I was a little surprised how rough the asfalt trail is between Poplar Grove and Caledonia even for a fat tire bike. I would be vary careful with a road bike. West of Caledonia the trail is in better shape. The Stone Bridge Trail is crushed stone and alot smoother then the asfalt of the Long Prairie Trail.
Not a lot to see along the trail where you can see thru the trees and brush on both sides, but you get a few glimpses of farm fields and a few houses.
Not a lot of people on the trail so it's easy to find long empty stretches.
I don't really understand why they felt the need to place signs at every farm crossing. Your not likely to meet anything crossing outside of planting and harvest season and some of those crossing are so overgrown no one has used them in a long time. Just think the sign money could have been used else where.
Where the trail crosses HWY 173 there is a button to activate warning lights for traffic on 173. (I didn't notice that until after I had crossed on my return trip.) There are no warning lights at the HWY 76 crossing. Think they could be used there also.
There are no water points anywhere along the trail except at the west end. Why? You would think at least the towns would have water points.
There are restaurants just off the trail in Poplar Grove and the HWY 76 crossing but don't know of anything in Caledonia.
All in all my first rail trail ride was a pleasant experience. I'm looking forward to doing the trail from Poplar Grove to the east end.
About a 24 mile round trip from Poplar Grove to the west end of the Stone Bridge Trail and back.
With my ebike I returned to Poplar Grove with 5% battery.
I'm not sure if ebikes are a loud on the Long Prairie Trail or not. Guess I need to find out.
Two of us road from Caledonia west and back. I usually love shade but, with shade, we couldn't see upcoming bad spots on the trail. From Caledonia, we went east intending to go to Poplar Grove and back. Bump after bump. After halfway or so there, we turned around to leave. It was hard on our bikes and no fun. I hope it gets over-hauled someday.
We planned to ride the entire trail on our trip north from Illinois to Milwaukee. The route was a great off-road link for our trip.
Trail marking could be better. I do not recall any signage of the Seven Waters Trail. There were no good maps on the route and the two we saw were faded and barely readable.
One mid-block crossing of the highway was interesting.
After going through Saller Woods we left the trail briefly to go into Rochester for food and rejoined it on Main on the east side of town. Found a decent convenience store on the road.
As I recall most of the south section of the trail was crushed limestone. Around Waterford a segment was paved. The worse conditions on the trail we’re the segment north of the Muskego access. Rather than nice limestone screenings it appeared to be a coarse material of ground recycled asphalt. We had wide tires but it was not pleasurable at all especially we were touring “loaded”. Road bikers will not appreciate the surface. To avoid anymore of that surface, we jumped off on Champion Drive to get to the end of the trail at Cape Road and ultimately to Ryan Road.
That last rough section and lack of way finding lowered our rating of the whole trail. Tie this trail to the Oak Leaf into Milwaukee and you would have a big winner.
Just an FYI that if you access the Cal Sag Trail at Freedom Park in Alsip (MM13) the trail is
closed at 127th Street & Rt 83 (MM12) until the end of 2022. I did not notice any detours for the trail. On a side note the benches installed look great!
Note to self. A valid Driver License is a must to get onto the trail.
There are bumps and cracks and worn asphalt and crushed gravel and even dirt! It kinda gives this flat straight trail some character . I rode my Mtn bike - it was just fine Only way to ride a road bike here would be a crossover or a Roubaix style bike with tires to accomodate the terrain. Plenty of places along the trail to refill water bottles or get food . Mexican restaurant in caledonia ( Arturos?) is very good . And its worth continuing on the stone bridge trail to see the bridge - if your into historical architecture.
I park at the trailhead just over the border on Russel Rd. I frequent this trail because it's only 10 min. from my home. I enjoy riding through marshland and near the river to see the diverse foliage and wildlife. This trail does undulate a bit so your legs and gears are gonna get a workout. (but not too bad) This trail gives me the opportunity to ride pretty much as long or short a distance I wish. Some of the crushed gravel does get soft in spots, but I do believe it from when it floods on certain occasions. The trail does provide a few restrooms along the way. i do recommend this trail to anyone. Thanks.
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