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Print Friendly MapThe Perryville Path runs nearly 15 miles, connecting the communities of Loves Park and Rockford, not far from the northern border of Illinois. A pleasant place to begin your journey is Rock Cut State Park, a beautiful forested area abounding in recreational opportunities such as swimming, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking and camping.
Follow the trail north through the park to connect with the Puri Path at the corner of North Perryville Road and West Lane. Puri Path meanders east and south through the park before turning north.
Alternatively, head south on the trail to connect with the Willow Creek Path, which crosses the trail and continues east through the park and west into Machesney Park. Continue south on the trail alongside Perryville Road through residential, commercial and business areas. The trail connects to the Midway Village Museum Loop as it runs parallel to N Perryville Road. Conveniently, the trail also passes the Rockford Bicycle Company, one of the largest bike shops in city. Passing near a shopping and dining complex situated between Argus Drive and East State Street, the trail continues southward to the CherryVale Mall and connects residents to more shopping and dining amenities.
A block south of the trail's southern terminus, you can continue your adventure in Swanson Park via the Swanson Park Recreation Path, also known as the Cherry Valley Path. Find the entrance on Vandiver Road, just south of Frontage Road.
A trail extension in the Rock Cut State Park links Perryville to the Rock Cut Path. The Perryville Path connects to the Rock Valley College Path via the Spring Brook Road bike lanes that head west towards the Rockford campus of Rock Valley College.
At the northern end of the trail, there are multiple places to park inside Rock Cut State Park (7318 Harlem Road). There is a parking lot by the park's entrance on Hart Road, which sees little vehicle traffic. Continuing along Hart Road, the park's horse camp parking lot is about 200 yards east of the Perryville Path.
The park's dam parking lot is about 1.5 miles east of the Perryville Path. It's located at the Lake View Trailhead and picnic area on the west side of Pierce Lake; from there, you can take the Willow Creek Path to the trail.
Note that the park closes at 10 p.m. during the spring and summer and 5 p.m. during the winter. Visit the park's website for details.
Mid-trail, there is parking available at the Peace Plaza (at E. Riverside Boulevard & McFarland Road).
I started near N Bell School Rd and Argus for inline (speed) skating, which really likes smooth asphalt. I headed to Perryville Rd, and then all the way north to Rock Cut State Park, and picked up that path, going all the way to I90.
The path was surprisingly smooth the entire way, except for approximately 1km rough patch near Spring Creek Rd. But still doable on skates
There is a BRAND NEW path extension in the state park that connects Perryville to Rock Cut path. See pictures.
This path is in decent shape North of Harlem Road, but is in horrible shape South of it. The path is cracked throughout and has grass growing in it which lends to a very bumpy ride, especially on bikes that don't handle bumps very well. There are several busy intersections that need to be crossed. This path would be great for walking, and mountain biking or climbing training, but just isn't terribly fun due to the state of the path.
This path isn't as well kept as the other local paths. The cross signals at the streets rarely seem to work. I usually ride with my flashing light on front so that cars will see me at the cross streets, particularly at Riverside. Connecting to Midway Village is a nice ride, though the bugs are pretty bad in the wooded section near the Village. There are some hills near Rock Cut, both north and south of Harlem Rd. that provide a bit more workout. Definitely not a crowded path, to the point that cars don't look for path users when they pull up to Perryville Rd.
No issues with the path itself. Not a lot of fun though with the noise, breathing exhaust fumes, and several busy intersections. You obviously know all that going in. Again, the path is fine it's just that with the MANY other choices in and around Rockford I'm not sure why you would choose to regularly use this particular one.
The section of this trail I have hiked a couple times is along the west edge of Rock Cut State Park. It is a nice paved trail with good views of the park and mostly screened from Perryville Road, even though it is adjacent to this busy road. I like walking on this section of the trail. Saw a deer along the trail one time.
South of the park it is just a paved trail that runs along the road, without any screening at all. Not my cup of tea.
It is well maintained, and was recently resealed.
Parking is available inside the park about 200 yards east of the Hart Road entrance. You could probably park at Home Depot at the south end.
It gets a fair amount of jogger, walking, and biking use. I drive by it everyday on my way to and from work. There is almost always someone there if it is light enough to see, until the snow comes.
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