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Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
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Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users activity logs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Used
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
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Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
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Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where users jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
SaveChicago trails and routes are listed on Trailforks with interactive trail maps, difficulty ratings, photos, and user-reported trail conditions. The Trailforks community has mapped hundreds of trails in this region. Supported activity types include Hiking, Trail Running, Mountain Biking, E-Biking, Adaptive Biking, Nordic Skiing and Horseback. Popular destinations include Burnham Park, Chicago Lakefront Trails and Schiller Woods.
This is an auto-generated description of Chicago.
Login or register to submit a custom description.
Trail info last updated
Activities Click to view
- Mountain Bike
198 trails
- E-Bike
192 trails
- Adaptive Bike
99 trails
- Horse
35 trails
- Hike
213 trails
- Trail Running
206 trails
- Nordic Ski
61 trails
Region Details
- 168
- 20
- 5
- 3
- 1
- 1
Region Status
Open as of Sep 20, 2026
Stats
- Avg Trail Rating
- Trails (view details)
- 236
- Trails Mountain Bike
- 198
- Trails E-Bike
- 192
- Trails Gravel Bike
- 208
- Trails Adaptive Bike
- 99
- Trails Winter Fat Bike
- 1
- Trails Horse
- 35
- Trails Hike
- 213
- Trails Trail Running
- 206
- Trails Nordic Ski
- 61
- Total Distance
- 86 miles
- Total Descent
- 776 ft
- Total Vertical
- 91 ft
- Highest Trailhead
- 666 ft
- Reports
- 40
- Photos
- 19
- Completed Counter
- 15,024
Sub Regions
-
Big Marsh Bike Park
- 4
- 3
- 1
-
Burnham Park
-
Catherine Chevalier Woods
-
Chicago Lakefront Trails
- 20
-
Dan Ryan Woods
-
Eggers Grove - Wolf Lake Overlook
-
Fullerton - River Grove Preserves
-
Northerly Island Park
-
Robinson Woods
-
Schiller Woods
-
The Garden Dirt Jumps & Bike Park
- 1
- 1
Popular Chicago Mountain Biking Trails
• 100 ★ 4.0 • 1,414 ft • 3 ft • 466 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 3 ft green climb. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 1 minutes to complete this trail.
• 100 ★ 5.0 • 2 miles • 28 ft • 417 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 28 ft green climb. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 6 minutes to complete this trail.
• 100 ★ 0.0 • 2 miles • 39 ft • 329 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 8 minutes to complete this trail.
• 100 ★ 0.0 • 482 ft • 0 ft • 237 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 0 ft green climb. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 1 minutes to complete this trail.
• 95 ★ 0.0 • 2 miles • 32 ft • 237 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 32 ft green climb. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 7 minutes to complete this trail.
• 95 ★ 4.0 • 1,460 ft • 14 ft • 191 •
Popular white difficulty paved path. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 14 ft green climb. Trail visibility is always easy to follow. On average it takes 6 minutes to complete this trail.
Photos of Chicago Mountain Bike
Videos of Chicago Mountain Bike
mtb
2:51 |
19490 |
Nov 5, 2014
mtb
4:22 |
345 |
Jul 28, 2022
Recent Trail Reports
| status | trail | date | condition | info | user |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakefront Trail Bike | Aug 2, 2026 @ 6:58am (America/Chicago) Aug 2, 2026 | Ideal | timwhip | ||
| Lakefront Trail Bike | Jul 30, 2026 @ 6:24am (America/Chicago) Jul 30, 2026 | Ideal | timwhip | ||
| Lakefront Trail Shared Use | Jul 12, 2025 @ 12:52pm Jul 12, 2025 | Ideal | bneffer | ||
| Lakefront Trail Connector | Jul 13, 2025 @ 9:33am Jul 13, 2025 | Ideal | bneffer | ||
| Lakefront Trail Connector | Jul 12, 2025 @ 7:37pm Jul 12, 2025 | Ideal | bneffer | ||
| Lakefront Trail Shared Use | Jul 12, 2025 @ 7:37pm Jul 12, 2025 | Ideal | bneffer | ||
| Lakefront Trail Connector | Jul 12, 2025 @ 7:37pm Jul 12, 2025 | Ideal | bneffer | ||
| Lakefront Trail Beach Connector | Jan 23, 2025 @ 4:59pm Jan 23, 2025 | Variable | turtle5 | ||
| Des Plaines River Trail | Sep 14, 2024 @ 11:20am Sep 14, 2024 | Dry | evan-b | ||
| Des Plaines River Trail | Apr 14, 2024 @ 5:00am Apr 14, 2024 | Ideal | kapitantropikal |
Activity Feed
| username | action | type | title | date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gnarls-Z | wishlist | region | activity #104154319 | Sep 19, 2026 @ 1:00pm Sep 19, 2026 |
| timwhip | add | report | activity #100619219 and 3 more | Aug 2, 2026 @ 4:32pm Aug 2, 2026 |
| timwhip | add | report | activity #100473229 and 1 more | Aug 1, 2026 @ 4:18am Aug 1, 2026 |
| Gnarkiller26 | wishlist | region | activity #98750959 | Jul 8, 2026 @ 5:30pm Jul 8, 2026 |
| MinnesotaTopps | wishlist | trail | activity #96471639 | Jun 7, 2026 @ 9:42am Jun 7, 2026 |
Recent Comments
| username | type | title | comment | date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trail | Why is this a Proline | Jul 18, 2023 @ 4:09pm Jul 18, 2023 |
Local Badges
-
Epic Mountain Bike Climb 2k0 awarded -
Climbing 10k Badge7 awarded -
Mountain Biking 100k Badge0 awarded -
Epic Ride Descent 2k0 awarded -
Descent 10k Badge7 awarded -
Descent 100k Badge0 awarded
Bike & Skill Parks
| name | type | city | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Garden Dirt Jumps | skill park | Chicago | |
| Big Marsh Pump Track | skill park | Chicago |
Activity Type Stats
| activitytype | trails | distance | descent | descent distance | total vertical | rating | global rank | state rank | photos | reports | routes | activity logs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Bike | 198 | 62 miles | 541 ft | 9 miles | 92 ft | #1,612 | #608 | 14 | 40 | 25,819 | ||
| E-Bike | 192 | 76 miles | 722 ft | 12 miles | 92 ft | #1,518 | #878 | 39 | 724 | |||
| Gravel Bike | 208 | 81 miles | 761 ft | 12 miles | 92 ft | #7,136 | #2,228 | 5 | 128 | |||
| Adaptive Bike | 99 | 40 miles | 394 ft | 6 miles | 92 ft | #1,402 | #233 | 24 | ||||
| Winter Fat Bike | 1 | 2,431 ft | #7,136 | #2,228 | ||||||||
| Horse | 35 | 11 miles | 95 ft | 2 miles | 36 ft | #1,721 | #914 | 1 | ||||
| Hike | 213 | 67 miles | 574 ft | 10 miles | 92 ft | #2,152 | #886 | 39 | 544 | |||
| Trail Running | 206 | 65 miles | 574 ft | 10 miles | 92 ft | #1,464 | #517 | 39 | 3,629 | |||
| Nordic Ski | 61 | 16 miles | 118 ft | 3 miles | 59 ft | #687 | #244 | 16 |
Frequently Asked Questions
▼
What are the best places to ride in Chicago?
Chicago has 12 areas to explore for mountain biking. The top rated areas are:
▼
What are the highest rated mountain biking trails in Chicago?
The highest rated mountain biking trails in Chicago are:
- Big Marsh Pump Track West (4.2/5)
- Big Marsh Pump Track East (4.2/5)
- Medium Jump Line (4.1/5)
- Lakefront Trail Bike (4.1/5)
- Lakefront Trail Shared Use (4/5)
▼
What is the best time of the year to ride in Chicago?
Based on activity log data, the most popular months to ride in Chicago are:
- August (441 activities)
- September (389 activities)
- July (385 activities)
▼
Where can I park to ride in Chicago?
There are 45 parking locations listed in Chicago. The most popular parking spots are: View all parking and trailhead locations on the map to plan your visit.
▼
What is the longest trail in Chicago?
The longest trail in Chicago is Lakefront Trail Bike at 5.9 miles. View all trails sorted by distance.
▼
What are the best & highest rated hiking trails in Chicago?
▼
What are the best & highest rated trail running trails in Chicago?
The best trail running trails in Chicago are:
- Burnham Nature Center Connector
- McCormick Bird Sanctuary Path
- McCormick Bird Sanctuary Path
- Burnham Nature Center Connector
- Lakefront Trail Beach Connector
▼
How many trails are in Chicago?
Chicago has a total of 236 trails. Of those, 198 are designated for mountain biking. Browse top mountain biking trails in Chicago to find detailed information including difficulty ratings, distances, and trail conditions.
▼
Which trail has the most elevation gain in Chicago?
The trail with the most elevation gain in Chicago is Lakefront Trail Bike with 59 ft of elevation gain. View all trails sorted by elevation gain.
▼
Which trail has the most elevation descent in Chicago?
The trail with the most elevation descent in Chicago is Lakefront Trail Bike with 70 ft of elevation descent. View all trails sorted by elevation descent.
▼
What activities are most popular in Chicago?
Chicago supports the following activities: Mountain Biking, E-Biking, Adaptive Biking, Horseback, Hiking, Trail Running, Nordic Skiing.
▼
What bike services are there in Chicago?
The following bike services are available in Chicago:
- Bike Shop (18)
- Trail Association (3)
- Coaching & Camps (1)
- Club (1)
- Trail Builders (1)
▼
What are the steepest mountain biking trails in Chicago?
The steepest mountain biking trail in Chicago is Lakefront Trail Shared Use with an average grade of 1.2%. View all trails sorted by grade.
▼
Are there any trails with scenic viewpoints in Chicago?
Yes, there are 3 scenic viewpoints marked along trails in Chicago. Some popular viewpoints include: Explore more points of interest to find trails with the best views.
▼
Are the trails open in Chicago?
The overall region status for Chicago is Clear / Green. Out of 21 trails:
- Clear / Green: 19
- Minor Issue / Yellow: 1
- Significant Issue / Amber: 1
▼
Can I ride an ebike in Chicago?
Yes, Chicago supports e-bike riding. There are 40 trails in Chicago that allow e-bikes. Check the e-bike trails listing for specific trail access details and any local regulations.
▼
What type of bike is most common in Chicago?
Based on activity log data, the most common bike types used in Chicago are:
- AM (18 activities)
- XC (5 activities)
▼
What are the most popular Strava Segments in Chicago?
The most popular Strava segments in Chicago are:
- North Ave Beach Washboard Abs (72,870 athletes)
- Jackson to Shed (45,035 athletes)
- Gold Coast S (41,630 athletes)
▼
Are there accessible or adaptive trails in Chicago?
Yes, there are 99 accessible/adaptive trails in Chicago. View all adaptive trails in Chicago for specific accessibility information.
▼
Are there local clubs or events in Chicago?
There are 6 local clubs or associations listed in the Chicago directory. Browse the local directory for details.
▼
What are the best beginner ride trails in Chicago?
The best beginner mountain biking trails in Chicago are:
- Lakefront Trail Bike (0/5)
- Lakefront Trail Bike (0/5)
- Lakefront Trail Bike (0/5)
Activities
Trails
Points of Interest
- Schiller Woods Grove 10 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Catherine Chevalier Woods Grove 1 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Catherine Chevalier Woods Grove 2 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Catherine Chevalier Woods Grove 3 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Robinson Woods Grove 1 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Robinson Woods Grove 2 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- [Canoe/Kayak Launch] Other
- Schiller Woods Grove 2 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Schiller Woods Grove 4 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- Schiller Woods Grove 9 Picnic Shelter Cabin
- By andrewsigala
& contributors - Admins: CAMBR, FPDCC
- #6729 - 12,617 views
- chicago activity log | embed map of Chicago mountain bike trails | chicago mountain biking points of interest
Downloading of trail gps tracks in kml & gpx formats is enabled for Chicago.
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