Biking The 

Lake County (IL)

Millennium Trail

Lake County's Millennium Trail will be a 35 mile horseshoe shaped loop trail starting at the Des Plaines River Trail at Route 176 in Libertyville and eventually ending at the Des Plaines River Trail at Wadsworth Prairie Forest Preserve, and passing through six or more forest preserves along the way. It currently starts at Mundelein High School at Hawley and Midlothian Roads, heads west along Hawley for several miles as a wide asphalt trail before turning into a crushed limestone trail in Lakewood Forest Preserve. A large parking area is available at Lakewood (the winter sports area) just south of Route 176 on Fairfield Road. The newest segment turns north, crosses 176, Bonner, Gossell, and Gilmer Roads, ending at a large parking area at Gilmer and Fish Lake Roads, for a total of about 10 miles. Another finished segment runs from Fourth Lake Preserve to Bonner Heritage Farm and then on to McDonald Woods.  

The section within Lakewood Forest Preserve is a magnificent forested, hilly area and includes a one mile loop. It passes several lakes as well as the sledding hill before emerging at the 176/Hawley intersection and then following Hawley to Mundelein High School wher the trail ends. You can continue biking a mile or so east on Hawley and connect with the North Shore Trail at Carmel High School, which in turn will take you to intersections with both the Des Plaines River Trail and farther east, the Lake Bluff/Robert McClory Trails.

The Lakewood to Singing Hills Forest Preserve segment passes through an old orchard, around several home and townhome communities, behind a stable, and north of Gilmer Road progresses up a succession of hills (shown here) to the parking area/trailhead at Fish Lake Road. 

In 2008, the trail was extended beyond Fish Lake Road to Route 120, and a 2 mile spur trail was built from the Fairfield Road/Route 176 intersection east to and through the former Four Winds Golf Course.