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Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Inadequate
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs 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 riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs 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 ridelogs 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 rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
Radar Time
x
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
- mountain biking recent
- mountain biking (>6 month)
- hiking (1 year)
- moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
- Downhill Ski
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with NO bikes.
At 15,000 acres, the Palos Preserves in southwest Cook County are the largest concentration of preserved land in the Forest Preserves. Thanks to more than three decades of habitat restoration, they also hold some of the highest-quality natural areas in the county.
These trails join many popular sites, such as the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Pulaski Woods, Saganashkee Slough and Maple Lake which is home to a mountain bike staging area that provides access to almost 40 miles of unpaved trails.
These trails join many popular sites, such as the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Pulaski Woods, Saganashkee Slough and Maple Lake which is home to a mountain bike staging area that provides access to almost 40 miles of unpaved trails.
AKA: Palos
Land Status: Municipal Park

Links
Activities Click to view
- Mountain Bike
74 trails
- Hike
88 trails
- Trail Running
88 trails
Region Details
- 8
- 17
- 25
- 18
- 6
Region Status
Caution as of Dec 27, 2021Stats
- Avg Trail Rating
- Trails (view details)
- 88
- Trails Mountain Bike
- 74
- Trails E-Bike
- 2
- Trails Hike
- 88
- Trails Trail Running
- 88
- Trails Horse
- 36
- Trails Snowshoe
- 39
- Trails Nordic Ski
- 38
- Total Distance
- 89 miles
- Total Descent
- 5,999 ft
- Total Vertical
- 166 ft
- Highest Trailhead
- 746 ft
- Reports
- 3,122
- Photos
- 199
- Ridden Counter
- 12,609
Popular Palos Forest Preserve Mountain Biking Trails
Palos Forest Preserve Mountain Bike Routes
title | rating | distance |
---|---|---|
Palos with Canal Loop | 15 miles | |
If You Were East Coast: Shook One Part 1 | 8 miles | |
8 Mile Fast Ride | 8 miles | |
When the East is in the House: Shook Ones Part: Two | 12 miles | |
Palos Outer Loop | 14 miles | |
Palos-WSW 20M | 19 miles | |
Fast Gravel Grinder | 29 miles | |
Weekend Ride | 16 miles | |
Unofficial Palos Meltdown 2020 (Social Distance Edition) race | 12 miles |
Photos of Palos Forest Preserve Mountain Bike
trail: Lorado Taft
6 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:39am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Lorado Taft
6 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:39am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Lorado Taft
6 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:39am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Cyclocorus
5 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:37am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Cyclocorus
7 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:37am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Cyclocorus
6 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:37am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Cyclocorus
7 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:37am
Mar 3, 2022
trail: Cyclocorus
11 |
Mar 3, 2022 @ 7:37am
Mar 3, 2022Videos of Palos Forest Preserve Mountain Bike

trail: Cal-Sag (Palos)
|
Dec 7, 2020

trail: Maple Lake East
3:12 |
28 |
Aug 19, 2020

trail: Cal-Sag (Palos)
0:20 |
|
Jul 18, 2020

trail: Maple Lake East
1:00 |
265 |
Jul 3, 2017

trail: Maple Lake East
3:34 |
205 |
Mar 15, 2017

trail: Burrito Hill
0:39 |
69 |
Dec 13, 2016

trail: Psycho Path
3:14 |
252 |
Oct 15, 2016

trail: Bloodshed
2:45 |
350 |
Oct 15, 2016
Recent Trail Reports
status | trail | date | condition | info | user |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yellow Multitrack | May 20, 2022 @ 4:49pm 2 days | Variable | Lukeisthebest | ||
Ho Chi Minh | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Maple Lake East | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Maple Lake East Connector | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Old Golf Course Entrance | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
One Day | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Orange Single Track | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Outback Connector | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Pipeline Alternate | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB | ||
Pipeline Cutoff | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days | Variable | Jcoyoung CAMB |
Activity Feed
username | action | type | title | date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | accarpen | wishlist | route | Unofficial Palos Meltdown 2020 (Social Distance Edition) | May 22, 2022 @ 6:44am 4 hours |
![]() | Lukeisthebest | add | report | Yellow Multitrack | May 20, 2022 @ 4:49pm 2 days |
![]() | Jcoyoung | update | trail | Roadkill - Stonehenge Connector and 1 more | May 19, 2022 @ 2:06pm 3 days |
![]() | Jcoyoung | add | report | 3 Ravines and 53 more | May 19, 2022 @ 1:52pm 3 days |
![]() | Jcoyoung | add | report | 3 Ravines and 53 more | May 18, 2022 @ 8:22pm May 18, 2022 |
Recent Comments
username | type | title | comment | date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | report | How wet was it? | May 10, 2022 @ 3:24pm May 10, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | A shorter, more fun (imo) and challenging... | Mar 11, 2022 @ 4:50am Mar 11, 2022 | ||
![]() | trail | Without a doubt should be black compared to... | Nov 21, 2021 @ 8:00am Nov 21, 2021 | ||
![]() | trail | A person prank us and made this Multi track... | Oct 16, 2021 @ 5:15pm Oct 16, 2021 | ||
![]() | trail | If you want a fun downhillish ride, take this... | Oct 14, 2021 @ 3:26pm Oct 14, 2021 |
Nearby Areas
name | distance | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sag Valley | 1 | 2.8 km | |||
Swallow Cliff | 3.4 km | ||||
Thatcher Woods | 1 | 12.7 km | |||
Pilcher Park | 2 | 14 km | |||
Wegmat Maintained Trails | 14.7 km |
Local Badges
-
Completionist2 awarded
Activity Type Stats
activitytype | trails | distance | descent | descent distance | total vertical | rating | global rank | state rank | photos | reports | routes | ridelogs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mountain Bike | 74 | 79 miles | 5,390 ft | 34 miles | 167 ft | #377 | #187 | 193 | 3,122 | 9 | 10,340 | |
E-Bike | 2 | 5 miles | 121 ft | 2 miles | 157 ft | 348 | 20 | |||||
Hike | 88 | 89 miles | 6,001 ft | 37 miles | 167 ft | #255 | #146 | 7 | 3,122 | 1 | 165 | |
Trail Running | 88 | 89 miles | 6,001 ft | 37 miles | 167 ft | #255 | #144 | 3,121 | 1 | 52 | ||
Horse | 36 | 33 miles | 3,091 ft | 15 miles | 164 ft | 149 | 9 | |||||
Snowshoe | 39 | 35 miles | 3,222 ft | 15 miles | 164 ft | 88 | 1 | |||||
Nordic Ski | 38 | 34 miles | 3,186 ft | 15 miles | 164 ft | 88 | 14 |
- By chuktA
TRAILFORKS NFTA Map Team & contributors
- Admins: CAMB
- #16803 - 13,849 views
- palos forest preserve activity log | embed map of Palos Forest Preserve mountain bike trails | palos forest preserve mountain biking points of interest
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