Agencies
| Advocacy | Bicycling
| Communities
| Equestrian
| Greenways |
Hiking | Long
Distance |
Mountain Biking | OHVs
| Rail &
CanalTrails |
Snow Trails |
Resources | State
Trails | Water
Trails
Join
hundreds of trails and greenways experts
and activists at the next National
Trails Symposium in Little Rock,
Arkansas, November 15-18, 2008, sponsored
by American Trails.
Agencies For information on Illinois State Parks: www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/index.htm The Mississippi River Project, US Army Corps of Engineers, includes trails, camping and recreational opportunities along the River: www.missriver.org National Park Service units in Illlinois The Great Outdoors Resources Page (GORP) has information on the Shawnee National Forest: www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/US_National_Forest/il_shawn.HTM - also see Shawnee Trail Conservancy: www.shawneetrailconservancy.com/ Illinois mountain bike trails with detailed maps and descriptions from mountain biking books at Trails.com: Bike rides on Illinois roads and paved pathways from road biking books at Trails.com: The Aurora Bicycle Club www.geocities.com/Colosseum/3073/ has a map of the 36-mile Fox River Trail west of Chicago: www.geocities.com/Colosseum/3073/frtrail.html Chicago Area Mountain Bikers works to build and maintain local singletrack, work with local land managers, and promote mountain biking in Chicagoland: www.cambr.org The Chicago Lakefront Bike Path has as map and points of interest: http://w4.ci.chi.il.us/trans/BikeInfo/parkmap.htm The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation works to improve the bicycling environment by promoting bicycle safety, education and facilities: www.biketraffic.org The Trailmonkey site has Illinois Mountain Biking Maps & Trails: www.trailmonkey.com/USpages/ilbike1.htm The League of Illinois Bicyclists has a newsletter, events, and club information: www.bikelib.org The Mississippi River Trail is a 10-state cycling route in process of development from the headwaters of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico: www.mississippirivertrail.org/ The Peoria Area Mountain Bike Association has trail maps, events, and information: www.pambamtb.org/ Another Peoria area bike group is the Illinois Valley Wheelm'n with rides, events, and news: www.geocities.com/ivw.geo/ RIDE is a Chicago-based mountain bicycle advocacy group with news, trail maps, and events: www.mcs.com/~teflon1/ The University of Chicago Velo Club has recreational rides and info sources: http://ucvc.uchicago.edu/ Fox Valley Saddle Association in Hampshire, IL: www11.brinkster.com/fvsa/default.asp Illinois Trail Riders is an advocacy organization dedicated to helping horse people keep existing equestrian trails and camping facilities in Illinois: www.illinoistrailriders.com/ Trail Riders of DuPage County sponsors events and weekly rides as well as "campaigning positively for continuing equestrian trail access in our communities": www.trailridersofdupage.org Greenways and Community Trails Calumet Citizens for Connecting Communities promotes health, economics, and quality of life through the development of greenway and trail corridors: www.geocities.com/calumetcitizens/about.html The Cook County Forest Preserve in Chicago includes information on recreation, including trails (click on the Recreation link): www.fpdcc.com/ The Fox River Trail is used for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and jogging and stretches from Algonquin to Aurora: www.co.kane.il.us/Forest/frtrail.htm Gateway Trailnet, Inc. plans, promotes, and implements multi-use, greenways and bicycle transportation in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The organization also owns two rail-to-trail conversions: www.trailnet.org/trails.html Skate Chicago has events and places to in-line skate: www.skaters.com/index.html Quincy, Illinois, Dogwood Trail: www.friendsofthetrails.org Hiking trail maps, hike descriptions, and Illinois topographic maps at Trails.com: Illinois walking trail maps, descriptions, and topographic maps at Trails.com: Illinois Conquest Trails tracks the travels of Hernando de Soto: www.conquestchannel.com/illinois.html American Volkssport Association year-round walking and Volkssport Event Calendar For information on the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail in Illinois: www.discoverytrail.org/states/illinois/index.html The Grand Illinois Trail loops 475 miles between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, linking existing and proposed trails, historic canals, and paralleling the Rock and Fox Rivers: http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/planning/git.htm The Mississippi River Trail is a 10-state cycling route in the process of development; see maps and information for Illinois: http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/mrt-explore-il.php The River to River Trail through Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois will cover 176 miles: www.rivertorivertrail.com The Trail of Tears is a national historic trail with several routes from the Southeast states to Oklahoma: http://rosecity.net/tears/
For the 61-mile Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail see http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/main.htm or www.iit.edu/~travel/ghw.html Heartland Pathways is a 33-mile ribbon of rail trails and wildlife habitat in the making in East Central Illinois: www.prairienet.org/rec/prairie/heartlnd.htm Illinois Prairie Path a 55-mile-long biking, hiking, equestrian, and nature trail in Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties west of Chicago, was one of the very first major rail-trails: www.ipp.org/index.htm The Jane Addams Trail is part of the Grand Illinois Trail used for biking, hiking, snowmobiling and cross country skiing: www.janeaddamstrail.com/ Madison County Transit has converted over 75 miles of rail corridors into bikeways and walking trails in the St. Louis Metro area: www.mcttrails.org/ Illinois Association of Snowmobile Clubs, Inc. has trail maps, news, and links to local clubs: www.ilsnowmobile.com/ Prairie Riders provide Safety Education Classes, and maintain 50 miles of trails in Boone County: www.prairieriders.com/
Illinois Paddling Council promotes safe enjoyment of canoeing and kayaking in Illinois and assuring access to the state's waters: www.illinoispaddling.org/ Northeastern Illinois Water Trails: a partnership so canoeists and kayakers can take advantage of 500 miles of paddling opportunities: www.openlands.org/watertrails.asp Statewide Advocacy and Resources Illinois Trails Conservancy provides news, events, and photos: www.illtrails.com | ![]() |
Join us
in Chattanooga, Tennessee in November 2010 for the 20th National Trails Symposium! |
Need trail skills and education? Do you provide training? Register with the National Trails Training Partnership!
Promote your trail through the National Recreation Trails Program
Find out which National Trails Day events are taking place in your area
Recreational Trails Program funding: The Federal Highway Administration has been providing $50 million annually in funding for trails, greenways, and motorized trails to the States. See how much your state received. Contact your state trails coordinator.
Updated March 6, 2009
Contact us | Mission statement | Board of directors | Member organizations | Site map | Copyright | NRT | NTTP