Gravel Riding Near Chicago: Trails, Surfaces and Rules

Chicago’s gravel is crushed limestone, and it lives in the forest preserves, on old rail beds and along a canal towpath. Start with the Des Plaines River, the Prairie Path and Waterfall Glen. This page belongs to Routes & Trails and sits next to mountain biking near Chicago.

The short list

Trail	Surface	Length
Des Plaines River Trail	Paved and unpaved	28.4 miles, Cook County2
Illinois Prairie Path	Mostly crushed limestone	About 61 miles7
I&M Canal State Trail	Old towpath	61.5 miles, Rockdale to LaSalle5
Waterfall Glen main trail	Crushed limestone	9.5 miles6
Palos Trail System	Unpaved	42.1 miles3

The Forest Preserves of Cook County offer more than 200 miles of paved trails and nearly 200 miles of unpaved ones¹.

Des Plaines River Trail

The unpaved Des Plaines River Trail follows the river through more than a dozen forest preserves². The Forest Preserves list its surface as paved and unpaved, at an estimated 28.4 miles². It is open year-round, sunrise to sunset². Dogs must be on a leash².

Access points run from south to north. The southernmost is Sunset Bridge Meadow in River Grove². Catherine Chevalier Woods sits on East River Road north of Foster Avenue, inside the Chicago city limits². For the full trail, see the Des Plaines River Trail guide.

Illinois Prairie Path

The Path runs about 61 miles through Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties⁷. It follows the right-of-way of the old Chicago, Aurora & Elgin electric railroad and was the first rail-to-trail conversion in the nation, in the 1960s⁷. The route starts at First Avenue in Maywood, runs to Wheaton, then branches to Elgin and Aurora⁷. The surface is primarily crushed limestone, which sheds water quickly after rain⁷. The Illinois Prairie Path guide covers the branches.

I&M Canal State Trail

The I&M Canal was completed in 1848 at a cost of $6.5 million⁵. It runs 96 miles from the south branch of the Chicago River at Bridgeport to the Illinois River at LaSalle⁵. The state trail follows the old towpath from Rockdale to LaSalle, 61.5 miles⁵. It is part of the Grand Illinois Trail⁵. The towpath was renovated for hiking and bicycling after the canal closed to navigation in 1933⁵. Read the I&M Canal Trail guide.

Waterfall Glen

Waterfall Glen covers 2,492 acres in DuPage County, between Darien and Lemont⁶. It completely surrounds Argonne National Laboratory⁶. The main trail is 9.5 miles long, 10 feet wide and crushed limestone⁶. Four mapped trails add almost 11 miles of limestone and turf routes⁶. Rocky Glen Falls is the largest waterfall in the preserve⁶.

Palos

The Palos Trail System winds through rolling hills and deep ravines³. It is unpaved, an estimated 42.1 miles in all³. The Forest Preserves call it one of the premier places for mountain biking in Illinois³. Palos and the Paul Douglas Trail are the only designated single track trails in the Forest Preserves¹. E-bikes are not allowed on them¹. For a gravel ride, start at Country Lane Woods, where an old gravel country lane gives a wide path³. The Cal-Sag Trail, by contrast, is paved, at 26.8 miles⁴.

Long gravel routes

Trek’s Chicago page lists the Limestone Loop at 87.9 miles with 1,577 feet of climbing⁸. It also lists the River Trail Gravel Ride at 107.7 miles from River Grove⁸. Gravel races often run 100 to 200 miles, mostly on gravel roads⁹. Two USA Cycling races in Illinois are the early-season RoughRoad100 and the Little Apple Gravel race⁹.

Rules on Forest Preserve trails

• Ride under 15 miles per hour, and slower in busy areas¹.
• Stay on official, marked trails. Riding off-trail is prohibited¹.
• Bicycle riders yield to other trail users¹.
• Ring a bell or say “on your left” before you pass¹.
• Skip wet trails: prints mean damage¹.
• Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed where bicycles are, except on single track. Class 3 e-bikes are not allowed¹.
• Helmets are recommended, especially for riders 14 and under¹.