Open in App
Get this trail on your phone instantly.
more stats
1.6 miles
Distance
31 ft
Climb
-28 ft
Descent
00:19:58
Avg time
5 ft
Altitude change
595 ft
Altitude min
617 ft
Altitude max
595 ft
Altitude start
600 ft
Altitude end
0.1%
Grade
-3.3%
Grade max
4.3%
Grade min
3,461 ft
Distance climb
2,379 ft
Distance down
2,267 ft
Distance flat
00:19:58
Avg time
Surreal Details
-
Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Winter Fat Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
- Snowshoe
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
-
Riding AreaPalos Forest Preserve
Willow Springs, Illinois -
Difficulty Rating
-
Local Popularity70 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 80 in Trail Running
- 90 in Hiking
- 5 in Snowshoeing
- 5 in Backcountry Skiing
- 5 in Nordic Skiing
- 5 in Winter Fat Biking
-
Global Ranking#16321 in Mountain Biking [+]
- #124495 in Trail Running
- #107041 in Hiking
- #20482 in Snowshoeing
- #10463 in Backcountry Skiing
- #26074 in Nordic Skiing
- #10744 in Winter Fat Biking
-
State Ranking#66 in Mountain Biking · Illinois [+]
- #789 in Trail Running
- #892 in Hiking
- #423 in Snowshoeing
- #6 in Backcountry Skiing
- #1,228 in Nordic Skiing
- #33 in Winter Fat Biking
-
Trail TypeSingletrack
-
Bike TypeAM, XC, Fat
-
Climb DifficultyBlack Diamond
-
Physical RatingHard
-
Trail VisibilityAlways easy to follow
-
Dogs AllowedYes
-
eBike Allowed
-
TTFs on TrailRock Garden
-
Land OwnerForest Preserve District of Cook County
This rugged trail goes up and down the rocky hills along the shores of Saganashkee Slough and the Cal-Sag Channel. Not for the faint of heart or novice rider.
This trail is unsanctioned.
Disclaimer
Please be respectful of the nesting area near the east end of the trail.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 2 rides
- 10 miles average
6 Months
- 49 rides
- 11 miles avg distance
All
- 216 rides
- Last: Sep 28, 2026
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
Surreal Trail Reports
more »
close
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
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.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
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.
Save
Directions to surreal trailhead
(41.693040, -87.906100)
Photos
1 more »
Videos
2 more »
mtb
8:18 |
35 |
May 25, 2026 , Willow Springs
mtb
6:52 |
236 |
May 31, 2024 , Willow Springs
MinnesotaTopps
READ THIS BEFORE YOU RIDE SURREAL OR XX:
A madman clearly built this trail, and I for one am glad he could see the potential for this route! But it's a tough ride, especially for this flat Midwest area. Reminds me of some great rocky trails up north and out west. I've ridden these two trails several times now, and here are my ideal tips for success. 1) Ride this with flat pedals, do not go clipless or you could end up with that slow-mo sideways fallover. You'll be on and off the pedals quite a bit. 2) If you have a 29er this is the route for it. 3) Tighten up the travel on your front fork. Seems counter-intuitive maybe, but less travel up front will give you more stability on rolling over some of these crazy rock gardens, and you're less likely to flip or stall. 4) The Canal trail is about 20 yards to the south right along the canal and is easy to find if these trails get the best of you.
A madman clearly built this trail, and I for one am glad he could see the potential for this route! But it's a tough ride, especially for this flat Midwest area. Reminds me of some great rocky trails up north and out west. I've ridden these two trails several times now, and here are my ideal tips for success. 1) Ride this with flat pedals, do not go clipless or you could end up with that slow-mo sideways fallover. You'll be on and off the pedals quite a bit. 2) If you have a 29er this is the route for it. 3) Tighten up the travel on your front fork. Seems counter-intuitive maybe, but less travel up front will give you more stability on rolling over some of these crazy rock gardens, and you're less likely to flip or stall. 4) The Canal trail is about 20 yards to the south right along the canal and is easy to find if these trails get the best of you.
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view all trail reviews and much more.
Nearby Trails
- Stone Temple (fisherman's Trail) 1,148 ft
- Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch Parking 2 1,220 ft
- Boat Launch Access Road 1,312 ft
- Saganashkee Slough Boat Launch Parking 1,417 ft
- Boat Launch 1,421 ft
Palos Forest Preserve
- #604616 - 1,151 views
- Follow/Subscribe
- login to download gpx or kml files.
Hit the Trail
Download Trail
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.
Find Related Routes
Find routes and users activities that include this trail.
You must enter a description before submitting.