About Bicycles Online > Bicycle Touring and Trails > Prospect Heights Trail

The Prospect Heights Trail

Article and Photos by Howard Lange

The Prospect Heights trail is a short pleasant trail of about 5 miles that begins across the street from the Prospect Heights Metra station at Wolf and Camp McDonald road and pretty much follows the Com Ed power line easement to Schoenbeck Road about 1/4 mile north of Palatine Road. Busy Palatine Road is crossed on an overpass alongside the CN RR tracks. Route 83 can be a difficult crossing depending on the time of day.

If you cross Schoenbeck road and continue west along the asphalt path/sidewalk for 1/4 mile you can turn north (1/8 mile) to Lake Arlington which has a bike/walk path of about 1.5 miles around the lake. On a nice weekend there is a lot of foot traffic, There is a side path along the northern path which takes you over small bridges and through a shaded area. I often continue from the west end of the lake at Windsor Drive along sidewalks and short paths to Arlington Heights road, crossing at the pedestrian light by the church 1/4 mile south of Hintz road and continue on to the intersection of Hintz and Rand road and then wind through local streets under route 53 and on to the start of the Palatine trail.

From the start of the Prospect Heights Metra station you can go south on a short park trail, cross McDonald Creek and then to Euclid and Sycamore by the swimming pool. In the summer time the pool is open as well as the refreshment stand.

The trail begs being extended south from the Metra station along the ComEd easement to Rand and Golf roads. The same holds for the power line easement from Windsor Drive to the Rand and Hintz road intersection.


Howard Lange