About Bicycles > Bicycle Touring and Trails

Bike Trail Descriptions and Photo Tours. Chicago Area, Illinois, Wisconsin and more...

The bike trail descriptions and bike trail photos presented here are primarily of bike trails that are accessible from the Chicagoland area, since this is where my friends (who have written many of the articles) and myself live.

Most (but not all) of the trail descriptions are Illinois and Wisconsin bike trails. This is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all major trails in these states, but has plenty of first hand descriptions and lots of great bike trail photos  from those of us who have ridden these trails.

Chicago Area and Illinois Bike Trails

Here are the detailed descriptions and photos of our Illinois Bike Trails (now in alphabetical order by trail name).

Algonquin Road Trail (14.5 miles) - The descriptions and photo tour of the Algonquin Road bike Trail (connecting to and aka: Paul Douglas / Crabtree Bike Trail ) from Peregrine Park (Palatine), around Harper College, northwest along Algonquin Road and Paul Douglas Forest Preserve and finally to Penny Road (South Barrington).

Busse Woods Bike Trail - The Busse Woods Bike Trail in Busse Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County Illinois, from October, 2005. I started this ride at the Elk Herd (just off of Arlington Heights Road, north of the Higgins road intersection) and took the main (red) loop, the northern (black) leg, the leg that goes along Beisner road (purple) and the Elk Grove community bridge leg that crosses Route 290.

Deer Grove Bike Path (Illinois). (7.5m) - This is a nice bike path that also connects to the Palatine Trail (4.8m) at Dundee and Quentin roads via the Dear Grove Forest Preserve.

Des Plaines River Trail (Illinois). (39m) A nice crushed stone trail with some wooded and shaded areas mixed with sunny prairie sections. Traffic on the trail is a little lighter than some of the others in this area (probably due to the crushed stone surface). Most of the highway intersections are bridge underpasses so you can do quite a distance, non stop without having to deal with highway crossings.

Fox River Bike Trail North ^[1] The trail descriptions and bike trail photos included here are the northern part of the Fox River Trail only from East Dundee Illinois north to Algonquin Illinois.

Fox River Bike Trail South ^[1] The trail descriptions and bike trail photos included here are the southern part of the Fox River Trail from Geneva Illinois north to Dundee Illinois.

Great Western Bike Trail (Illinois 18m) - A nice article on the Great Western Bike Trail from Dale Kiffel. First hand descriptions and some nice photos on a warm summers ride from St. Charles to Sycamore Illinois.

Green Bay Bike Trail - The Green Bay Bike Trail, Robert McClory and North Shore Trails, descriptions and photos from Great Lakes, Il. to Glencoe Illinois. Photos of the Green Bay Trail and Robert McClory Bike path.

I&M Canal Bike Trail (Illinois) is about 58 miles one way from Chanahon to LaSalle/Peru Illinois and is built from the original canal tow path. The path is not crowed and passes through a number of small towns along the way.

Illinois Prairie Path - (Illinois - 61m)  the first U.S. rails to trails bike trail, the longest in northeast Illinois (when you include all of the branches) and possibly the most confusing because of it's name (Prairie) and various branches or sections. This tour starts at the Fox River Trail, Elgin Branch intersection.

Illinois State Beach Bike Path The Illinois State Beach Bike Paths run along the Lake Michigan beaches and are an absolutely beautiful and scenic place to ride. Take your bike and your swimming suit, for a great day at the beach and a nice bike ride by Lake Michigan...

Inverness Bike Trail (Illinois). (11.2 m) - There are some great biking roads in Inverness if you know where to go and how to get there. This article includes a detailed map of this particular Inverness road trip, which is East of Ela Road, West of Roselle road, North of Algonquin and South of Dundee (68) and Northwest Highway (14). This is the eastern part of Inverness.

Long Prairie Bike Trail (Northern Illinois 14.2m). An uncrowded paved trail that is fairly flat and goes through open prairie as well as shady tree tunnels. Descriptions and photos. (some info and pictures of the connecting Stone Bridge Trail)

North Shore Bike Path (16.1 miles) is great east-west bike trail that connects to some of the nicest North-South bike trails in the North and Northwest suburban area of Chicago. (connect the Des Plaines River Trail (above) with the Green Bay Trail (below)).

The Palatine Bike Trail - I have done the Palatine Trial numerous times and have recently checked the distance on my bike odometer and it is 4.8 miles (one way). The eastern side of the trail is in more of a residential area where as the western side gets a little more wooded and eventually connects to the Deer Grove bike Path.

Prairie Trail ^[1]The Prairie Trail (Illinois - 25.9m) from Algonquin(south) to Genoa City Wisconsin (north) was once Chicago and Northwestern rail line that ran from Kane county into Wisconsin... This section has first hand detailed descriptions and photos.

The Prospect Heights Trail (5 miles) 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 - Article and photos by Howard Lange

Robert McClory Bike Path The Robert McClory Bike Path (25 miles) connects to the Green Bay Bike Trail on it's southern end and the Kenosha Trail (Wisconsin) on it's northern end. The trail has some very nice areas and some not so nice areas... Check out the article for more...

The Top 5 Bike Trails north and northwest of Chicago - The Chicagoland area is known for great bike trails but which bike trails are really the best? ...and why? Find the about-bicycles selection for the best paved and unpaved trails for a casual bike ride or find trails that will allow you to ride over 100 miles in one day.

Wisconsin Bike Trails

Here are the detailed descriptions and photos of our Wisconsin Bike Trails (now in alphabetical order by trail name).

Ahnapee Bike Trail - Detailed descriptions and photos of the Ahnapee Bike Trail from Sturgeon Bay to Casco. Article and photos by Dale Kiffel

BATS Crystal Lake Trail near Boulder Junction, Wisconsin.  BATS is an acronym for "Boulder Junction Area Trail System."  Right now its northern edge is the quaint town of Boulder Junction. Article by Bob Cummings

Elroy Sparta Bike Trail (Wisconsin) - 32 miles of scenic bike trail from Sparta to Elroy Wisconsin built from the old Chicago and Northwestern railroad bed. First hand descriptions and plenty of photos of the Elroy-Sparta bike trail (and the 3 awesome tunnels) from Sparta Wisconsin south and east to Elroy Wisconsin. Part of the Bike 4 Trail System

Great-River-Trail - The Great River State Trail is a 24 mi bike trail that follows the abandoned Chicago and Northwestern railroad bed. The trail traverses a mixture of prairie and marshy bottomlands. It passes through the communities of Onalaska, Midway, Trempealeau, and two wildlife refuges. - Part of the Bike 4 Trail System. Article and photos by Dale Kiffel.

LaCrosse-River-Trail - The La Crosse River State Trail is a 22 mile rails to trail that also follows the abandoned Chicago and Northwestern railroad bed and connects to the Great River Trail on the west end and the Elroy-Sparta trail on the east. Article and photos by Dale Kiffel.

Peninsula State Park Trail - Peninsula state park bike trail at Fish Creek in Wisconsin's Door County peninsula on the shores of Lake Michigan. Article and photos by Dale Kiffel.

Red Cedar Trail - (Wisconsin) - Detailed description and photo tour of the Red Cedar State trail located near Menomonie, Wisconsin - Article and photos by Bob Cummings.

Here is a nice reference for Bicycle Trails in Wisconsin. (Mike Bentleys site.)

Minnesota Bike Trails

www.SakatahTrail.org  is a very nice site dedicated to the Sakatah Trail in southern Minnesota.

Misc. Bike Trail and Bike Articles

About-Bicycles Bike Blog - Misc. bike articles, bike trail info and stories. This page is dedicated to misc. bike trail descriptions and casual bike stories, comments and articles...

Fox River Trail Adventure - Here's a 1'st hand detailed description of some of the highlights from some of our trips from East Dundee Ill to Genoa City Wisconsin.

International Trails, Tours and Resources

www.Switch-Backs.com - Southern Spain is an undiscovered mountain biker´s paradise. Covered in 1000kms of unmarked singletrack; if you want to experience true mountain biking then Switch-backs is for you.

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Do you have a Bike Trail Description or Story?

If you have a bike trail description or even a casual bike trail or cycling article or story that you would like posted on this site, please feel free to Submit a Bike Trail Description / Story.

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FREE Bike Trails Maps

FREE Bike Trail Maps Resource - Most of the free online bike maps are available through various government, county and municipal sites. Here's a non commercial, true resource for FREE Bike trail maps (printed and online).

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Foot notes:

^[1] The Fox River and Prairie Trails (Illinois). The Fox River Trail (35m) and the Prairie trail (26m) intersect in Algonquin so although the name changes, realistically they are pretty much the same trail. The Fox River Trail goes from Aurora (south) to Algonquin(north) and the Prairie Trail goes from Algonquin(south) to Genoa City Wisconsin (north).