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Algonquin Road Bike Trail |
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Algonquin Road Bike Trail |
| Algonquin Road Bike Trail , Palatine to Hoffman Estates and South barrington, Illinois |
Illinois and Wisconsin Bike Trails |
About Bicycles Online > Bicycle Touring and Trails > Algonquin Road Trail The Algonquin Road TrailThe Algonquin Road Trail (9.5 miles) has some very nice sections, provides a good connection between some of the northwest suburbs and has some great possibilities (since it borders the Paul Douglas forest Preserve).
According to my latest map, they actually call it the "Algonquin Road Trail" west of Paul Douglas forest preserve and the Paul Douglas / Crabtree Bike Trail as it passes the forest preserve (on the north side) and to the east... My map (from idot (see the Free Bike Trail Maps link below)) shows this path going all the way around Paul Douglas Forest Preserve (on the East, South (by the tollway) and west sides) but I have never found where this connects... One of the biggest personal advantages to me (I did say personal advantage...) is that this trail starts in my own neighbor hood (Hunting Ridge in Palatine) and basically goes right through my backyard!!! I have started this bike trail photo tour at Peregrine Park (by Peregrine Lake) in Palatine. I'm not sure if this section is officially the same trail, but it connects to the Algonquin Road trail at Euclid where it goes around Harper college. After going by Harper, the Paul Douglas Forest Preserve and Willow Creek Church, the trail finally ends, just past Barrington Road, at Penny Road. You can extend your ride into South Barrington along Penny Road if you don't mind riding on narrow 2 lane roads. The roads do not get heavy traffic, and the houses in this area are an attraction in themselves... but the roads are narrow... One of the nicest things about the trail is that it goes along the outside of Paul Douglas Forest Preserve... Which is actually a VERY large forest preserve, but there is not a lot of access into it... I am hoping that the Forest Preserve district will eventually develop the trail into the forest preserve... I think this has great possibilities! Now that I've given you a lot of the positive points to this trail, I must point out the bad side too... Not only is the trail named the Algonquin Road trail it also runs right alongside very busy Algonquin Road and is not more than a few feet from the road in many places, with no guard rails, fences or much of anything between you and the fast moving traffic. There are also a lot of business entrances on the section just past Harper College. What is frustrating about this, to me, is that there is so much beautiful land and potential bike trail space within the Paul Douglas Forest Preserve and the trail runs 3 feet from Algonquin road instead!!! I would not recommend many parts of this trail for those of you that might be riding with younger kids... There are some parts that are OK, but if you want to do a long ride with the kids, there are safer trails... If you are just going for distance (and maybe some speed in some areas) then this trail can be a very nice ride...
I have not found a map specifically of this bike trail, but you can find a very comprehensive FREE map of Chicago and Northeastern Illinois at FREE Bike Trail Maps Resource - See the IDOT link.
Here's a photo tour of the Algonquin Road Trail from Peregrine Park (Palatine), around Harper College, northwest along Algonquin Road to Penny Road (South Barrington).
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