Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Illinois, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
This is a beautiful trail! It meanders nearly 6 miles with many gentle curves and hills and very few straightaways. It is almost entirely wooded and runs along the lovely creek most of the way. There are a number of bridges to go over and under. The track itself is clean and in great condition. There are 3-4 manhole covers go watch out for. Thoroughly enjoyed!
I have rode this trail over the last 30 plus years and many parts need grading and gravel. I wish part that runs through Joliet could be paved and become part of Joliet Junction Trail
Well maintained, nearly all paved trail. We started at trailhead at Metro east parks and rec center. You can find benches bathroom tools and even air for tires. Thanks!! Only warning is that trail has great signage until we were at Chained Rock and Sand Lane… guessed that we had to travel on crushed rock road over expressway to find rest of trail. Correct turn.
Beautiful but beware of pollen.
We started at the Ohio Visitors Center and traveled to Glen O Jones Lake. The signage to turn off the main road to the bike trail is missing and we passed it and had to cut across using another road. This wasn’t a big deal but signage would be nice. The trail was moderately easy following tree lines most of the way. Glen O Jones Lake is beautiful. The trail along the Saline River is beautiful as well. The trail would be best ridden in the Spring and Fall for foliage. After our ride we stopped at a food truck in Jac’s parking lot for a delicious lunch. The drive down through the Shawnee Forest and by Garden of God’s is beautiful. We will take this trail again sometime.
We rode this trail along with the Stone Bridge Trail. The asphalt needs some repair but still a nice trail.
Rode this trail this past week. Nice and wide and flat. I’m sure it will be even more beautiful this summer.
I walked the whole trail this past Saturday, starting in Toulon and heading south(ish) to Peoria. From a pedestrian perspective, this is two distinct trails.
From Toulon to Alta is a crushed limestone rail trail which runs mostly through farmland. Large portions of it pass through a beautiful tunnel of trees. Each town involves a short road walk, which offer good options for snacks etc. I'd certainly walk this 25 miles again.
From Alta to the waterfront in Peoria is a paved interurban trail that spends lots of time in suburban back yards. If you like miles of fences, apartments, etc, this section is for you. The trail is signed in this section, but I still found myself referring to a GPS map to make sure I was on track. The last several miles (heading south) are relatively steeply downhill to the waterfront. I would not walk this section again.
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.
This trail is well maintained. Lots of birds and wildlife. I rode the trail on a Friday afternoon in late March (62 degrees) and there were 5 other folks riding and walking. It is a flat trail that runs through mostly farm land. ¿
We rode this trail yesterday. We started at the Galena Recreation Park and rode the trail and then continued on the road to the foot of Chestnut Ski Hill. (Round trip 20 miles) It’s a very scenic ride along the river with the bluffs. I’m sure it will be even more beautiful in the summer when everything is green. Can’t wait to go back!
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