Channahon State Park: I & M Canal Trail, Channahon, Illinois
This historic towpath follows a sliver of land that runs between the mighty Des Plaines River and the much narrower Illinois and Michigan Canal. The surrounding landscape is wooded and hilly, with bluffs and patches of farmla... trails.com
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Hike, Channahon, Illinois
Formerly the largest ammunition-production plant in the world, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is now the biggest?and perhaps the most tranquil?piece of protected land in northeastern Illinois. While much of this hike bord... trails.com
Pilcher Park Loop, New Lenox, Illinois
Pilcher Park offers an appealing mix of graceful ravines, lush bottomland forest, and small winding streams. Toward the end of the hike, you?ll see a couple of area landmarks from the 1920s: a still used public water well and... trails.com
Illinois & Michigan Canal Trail; Brandon Road Access -...
Although the entire I & M Canal "trail" is much longer, this is a continuous dedicated trail segment. The Brandon Road Access directs cyclists along streets routes to points north and eastward through Joliet to get to the... waymarking.com
Joliet Iron Works Hike, Joliet, Illinois
The Joliet Iron Works Historic Site provides a snapshot of how a large-scale iron-making operation worked in the late nineteenth century. Through reading the interpretive signs and wandering among the crumbling remains of bui... trails.com
Chicago, Il: Pilcher Park
Pilcher Park packs a lot into just 640 acres on Joliet's eastern outskirts: upland forest, bottomland woods, wetlands, streams, and some interesting history. This hike begins on the park's west side and climbs 80 fee... trimbleoutdoors.com
I & M Canal Trail, Rockdale, Illinois
In 1848 the Illinois and Michigan Canal provided the final shipping link between the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. From Chicago the canal angled southwest, running beside the Des Plaines and Illinois... trails.com
Wauponsee Glacial Trail, Chicago, Illinois
Traveling along the Wauponsee Glacial Trail, you?ll be surprised just how quickly you can move from an urban environment into the rolling fields of the Midwest. Starting in Joliet, within shouting distance of Interstate 80 ov... trails.com
Waterfall Glen, Darien, Illinois
At the glen, trails are 8 feet wide, white-tailed deer are plentiful, and a scattering of pine groves planted long ago by the federal government offers constant changes in color and composition. Though some bikers pedal along... trails.com
Braidwood Dunes And Savanna Loop, Braidwood, Illinois
While black-oak savanna dominates much of the setting for this short-but-sweet ramble, you?ll also encounter wet swales, gentle ridges, and a rare sand prairie. This unusual landscape is home to an impressive array of wildflo... trails.com
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area: Prairie View Trail,...
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area provides visitors with a rare glimpse of what the Prairie State was like before farming became king. Be sure to climb the hill that rises up at the hike?s halfway point for a panoramic vi... trails.com
Lake Katherine Trail, Palos Heights, Illinois
As an urban nature walk, this is one of the best in the area. Nestled alongside the Calumet-Sag Channel, 136-acre Lake Katherine Preserve features an attractive lake, an arboretum, a waterfall garden, an herb and a conifer ga... trails.com
Palos/sag Valley Forest Preserve: Little Red Schoolhouse Hike...
With 2.5 miles of laid-back hiking and plenty of engaging exhibits, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center is particularly appealing for kids and beginning hikers. The trails run next to Long John Slough, through oak forests an... trails.com
Greene Valley Forest Preserve Loop, Naperville, Illinois
At Greene Valley Forest Preserve, you?ll find groves of stately oaks, quiet twisting streams, and wide-open swaths of grassland?very likely with a redtailed hawk or two nearby, waiting for their prey. In 1835, two years befor... trails.com
Chicago, Il: Monee Reservoir
Thirty miles south of Chicago, Monee Reservoir is a year-round destination for picnicking families or fishermen sacrificing minnows to the largemouth bass beneath its murky surface. At 2.5 miles, the Reservoir's natu... trimbleoutdoors.com
Mckinley Woods Loop, Channahon, Illinois
Half of this hike runs next to expansive ravines and along bluffs overlooking the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal and the Des Plaines River; the other half brings you down beside a scenic stretch of the long-abandoned cana... trails.com
Chicago, Il: Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area bears a close resemblance to Illinois"s landscape 150 years ago, when a sea of prairie grass covered the Prairie State. While exploring the state"s largest stand of tallgrass pra... trimbleoutdoors.com
Virgil Gilman Trail
The smooth, asphalt Virgil Gilman Trail travels through forest and prairie land from a quiet, rural community college campus all the way into suburban Chicago. The trail's namesake, Virgil Gilman, served as director of the... traillink.com