The Best Mountain Bike Trails of Chicagoland

In order of proximity to the city center, here are the top MTB trails in Chicagoland. 

Shout out to CAMBR, the main organizing body of the Chicago area trails. Check out trail conditions and news here:  https://cambr.org/

1. The Garden

Just off the grounds of Lane Tech High sits a long-time jump joint where BMXers and dirt jumpers can get raw. Though not a MTB trail proper, people on mountain bikes often go here just to get a little wild. There's a pump track for noobs but most of the jumps are pretty gnarly and not for weekend warriors. 

Pros: The jumps are high-quality, flowy, religiously maintained, and sanctioned by the City Parks Dept. If you're coming from anywhere on the north side the Garden is easy to get to, as it was built along the Chicago River North Branch bike path and there're bike lanes o'plenty to take you there. Amenities abound in the area, including Metropolitan Brewing, about 700 feet down river. 

Cons: The Garden is a jump park, and that's it. Also, the locals spend a lot of time and money on the ramps and will fuck you up if you try to ride them when they're too dry or too wet. Otherwise the locals are friendly though. 

Other Info: Here's their website: http://www.thegardenjumps.com/ but most news comes from their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thegardenjumps/

2. Big Marsh

Again, not really a mountain bike trail in the traditional sense, but close. The main appeal of Big Marsh are the jumps, which were professionally installed through funding by SRAM and other donors. While still in its infancy, Big Marsh boasts a few miles of mild single track and a street park for BMX, as well as a nice pump track. But with 280 acres to play with it's reasonable to believe Big Marsh may grow into a true MTB mecca. 

Pros: As the only bike park maintained by the Parks Dept, Big Marsh enjoys excellent amenities and regular professional maintenance. The paved pump tracks are open rain or shine so going there is never a wasted trip. There's a comprehensive "basic skills" track that's great for beginners and kids, and the location is pretty cool and fun just to hang out in. 

Cons: It's not a destination for cross-country mountain bikers or anybody looking to push their technical skills. Like The Garden, dirt jumpers and BMXers will find the most utility out of the grounds. But as more trail gets cut that might change. Check back in a couple years. 

Fun Fact: The whole area used to be one of the most polluted square miles in the nation, but is actually quite pleasant now. 

3. Palos Trail System

Due to its size and proximity to the city, Palos is the primary destination for most off-road bicyclers in   Chicagoland. To get there from the city, just steal a car charge down I-55 until you hit the County Line Road South exit. Pull off and get your tires checked at Bici Bike Shop, then wander around for a while until you find an entrance or a good place to park. The trail is shared with horses, so watch out for poop. 

Pros: Palos is huge - the second largest trail network in the area - and well-maintained, thanks to various big-money grants and dedicated volunteers. The trails flow well and include berms, jumps, and drop-offs. There are lots of places to rest and get water as well as bathrooms with flushing toilets within walking distance of any point in the trail. 

Cons: TWO-WAY HELL! Being the nearest of the high-quality bike trails to Chicago, these trails get busy. And the fact that they're two-way single-track means there will be lots of interactions with other cyclists, some of whom will not respect the international rule of "downhill riders yield to uphill riders." The EMTs get called every weekend and I've personally seen some very nasty head-to-head collisions. It doesn't help that many of the corners are blind and a lot of riders have earphones in. It's best to ride early in the morning or mid-day during week days. 

Other Cons: Mud-prone soil and poor drainage mean you can't ride for at least a day after rainfall, usually. There's also a problem with local yahoos destroying the trails with dirtbikes or riding through muddy conditions. Also, and this might be a pro or a con, the trails aren't all that challenging. A rider with a 120mm+ full suspension bike can easily do all the trails without getting out of the saddle. The plus side of this is that a rider on a $250 used MTB from the '90s can enjoy all the trails and will probably feel a good bit of leg burn without much fear of getting broke-off. 

Fun Fact: The world's first nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1) is buried right off the trail in the south-west side of the park. There are other reactors and Manhattan Project cast-offs buried throughout the park, some of which have been made into features you can ride on and jump off! 

Check out the Map of the Palos Trails here: https://www.cambr.org/palos_forest_preserve.php

4. Raceway Woods

Built on the grounds of a defunct automobile racing track, Raceway Woods is jam-packed with interesting terrain. Located in the distant weirdo suburb of Carpentersville, the immediate area provides ample parking on the grass or wherever the hell you want, and should you bring your AR-15 rifle, there's a shooting range right across the street. Like Palos, Raceway Woods does not require much by way of bicycle equipment or skill; the most difficult trail equals a bunny-hill in Colorado or Marin County. 

Pros: The singletrack is very well designed for good flow and generally high speeds. A lot of the turns are bermed and there are fun jumps and smooth switch-backs to keep your attention. Great place for kids and beginners, but there are features, like a 30-foot near-vertical drop down, that experienced riders will enjoy. Also, you don't have to ride for twenty minutes to get to the best trail sections, as there are shortcuts to take you straight to the fun stuff, and a lot of it is near the park entrance anyway. The soil is sandy and the drainage is excellent, so trails are ride-ready even just a few hours after a rainfall. 

Cons: MORE TWO WAY HELL! The corners aren't as blind as Palos, but it's still a pain in the ass. And the sandy soil and excellent drainage also mean erosion is pretty bad in the areas where people go off-trail. 

Fun Fact: Sections of the original race track still exist and you can ride on it. There's a paved running trail that loosely follows the original track and makes for a good warm-up ride. 

5. Imagination Glen

What a name, right? I guess it comes from the fact that you really have to use your imagination to see this place as a glen, but whatever - with a real BMX racing track, miles of one-way MTB trail, batting cages, soccer fields, and all sorts of other amenities, Imagination Glen is one of the best off-road cycling and whole-family-fun destinations in all of Chicagoland. Well, maybe not Chicagoland exactly, since it's just across the border in Indiana. 

Pros: This place is great. The easy trails are challenging but still kid-friendly and the hard trails are actually a little scary. While not as big as Palos, Imagination Glen manages a lot of fun in a small space. The wooden trails, berms, and bumps are a nice touch, especially in the soggy areas. 

Cons: The whole park is actually a drainage culvert for the Portage Industrial Corridor. So, yeah, it's a little yucky. Also, erosion has taken a toll on the trails, so there are a lot of steep drops and tree roots to trip over. I got a minor shoulder injury a couple years ago when a tree root grabbed my tire on a descent, so be careful. Like Palos, they have a problem with Dipshits ripping through on dirt bikes and ruining the trails. 

The Biggest Con: TRAFFIC! To get to Portage Indiana from Chicago you have to drive through one of the busiest shipping corridors in the nation. It's scary, and drivers around those parts are trained to kill.

6. Kettle Moraine (John Muir and Emma Carlin Trails)

Kettle Moraine South is a huge, humongous, enormous, mostly one-way loop system in south-central Wisconsin, about three hours away from Chicago, depending on how fast you drive. Without a doubt, the Kettle Moraine South trails are the best mountain bike trails within a day's drive of the city. The John Muir Trailhead is considered the main trail, and it receives a little more maintenance attention, but the Emma Carlin is fun and a bit more technically challenging. The two-way path that connects them is a fun ribbon in it's own right. 

Pros: Miles and miles of unique and varied terrain provide space for cyclist to really spread out. You might go hours without seeing another rider. For city-slickers, it's a great place to get away from other humans for a bit. The trails are challenging and include the longest descents in the region. The area is scenic as a BBC nature documentary and much-loved by all-year hikers and cross-country skiers in the winter. I really can't say enough good things about these trails, especially the "blue loop," which is among my favorite trails in the world because of its remoteness and non-stop obstacles that are challenging but not quite scary. 

Cons: Aside from being an all-day adventure, the Kettle Moraine trails are about as close to outback bushwacking as you can get while still technically being on marked trails. That means riders spend considerable time alone, and if an injury occurs it won't be easy getting out of there. Beware of insects too; the mosquitoes follow riders like a dark cloud. Also, the amenities aren't great: chemical toilets, well water, vending machines that don't always work. And the fees get pretty annoying. There is both a trail riders' fee and a parking fee. Annual passes are available too, but out-of-staters pay a premium. 

Oh, and you might get shot: hunters are allowed to do their thing on the side of the trail, even when cyclists are out and about. I've been accidentally shot at before, it's not fun. The park officials don't really care either, so just accept the risk as a part of the adventure. 

Fun Fact:  Much of the Kettle Moraine South park was owned by private individuals and farmers at the turn of the century, but the state took it from them in a period of encroachment between the 1930's and 1950's. Locals still hold a lot of resentment against the state for what they see as institutional theft.