BIKING THE DES PLAINES RIVER TRAIL
(Lake County section)
The 33 mile long Des Plaines River Trail
through Lake County from the Wisconsin border (near Russell Road in the
Wadsworth area) to Lake Cook Road began in 1981 and is nearly complete as
of 2003 with the final segment between Lake Cook Road and Lincolnshire being
constructed (except for two parcels where land acquisition is behind schedule).
This trail/greenway was begun in the 1970s and includes over 7729 acres
of woodland. The Lake County Forest Preserve District controls manages over
85% of the land abutting the Des Plaines River and the trail traverses 10
forest preserves.
Underpasses allow easy passage of many of
the busy roads, except when river levels rise too high as seen here at the
Route 60 bridge. A bypass trail up the embankment and careful crossing of
a 4 lane highway can get you farther on the trail, or turn around and go
the other way. On this day, all the other underpasses up to Gurnee were
open, though the water level was close to the trail level.
Side loops which begin at this trail and
add variety to the trip can be found at Independence Grove (3.7 miles, seen
above), Dan Wright Woods (5.4 miles), and Van Patten Woods (around Sterling
Lake). You have a choice at Independence Grove of the paved Overlook Trail
loop (3.7 miles) around the perimeter, or the crushed limestone Lakeshore
Trail loop (3.2 miles) near water level.