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Maps & Trails

N.W. Illinois State Park Index!

• Arie Crown Forest Trails Map, [Cook Co. Preserve], (28K)
• Calumet Forest Preserve Regional Map, Cook Co., (24K)
• Calumet Forest Preserve, Eastern Trails Map, (102K)
• Calumet Forest Preserve, Western Trails Map, (103K)
• Deer Grove Forest Preserve Trail Map, Cook Co. (101K)
• Des Plaines Division Regional Trail Map, Cook Co.(25K)
• Des Plaines River Trail Map, [North, Des Plaines Division] (76K)
• Des Plaines River Trail Map, [South, Des Plaines Division] (85K)
• Illinois Lodges and Marinas Overview Map, High Resolution] '98 (220K)
• Illinois Major Cities Overview Map, '98 (220K)
• Illinois Rivers and Lakes Overview Map, '98 (220K)
• Illinois Welcome Centers Map, [High Resolution] '98 (220K)
• Indian Boundary Division, Regional Trail Map, Cook Co.(25K)
• Des Plaines River Trail Map, [North,Indian Boundary Div.](99K)
• Des Plaines River Trail Map, [South, Indian Boundary Div.](76K)
• Galena, Chestnut Mountain Resort, Trails Access Map, '97 (65K)
• Galena, Chestnut Mountain Trails Map, '97 (150K)
• I & M Canal Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (120K)
• Ned Brown Preserve & Busse Lake Trails Map, [Cook Co.], (176)
• North Branch Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (97K)
• North Branch Division, Regional Trail Map; Cook Co. (23K)
• North Branch Trail Map, [Division], (116K)
• North Eastern Illinois Regional Trails Map, (176K)
• North Western Illinois State Parks and Wildlife Areas Map, '98 (46K)
• Palos & Sag Valley Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (37K)
• Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [Northern Area], (172K)
• Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [Southern Area], (141K)
• Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [West Area+Blk.Partridge Woods](172K)
• Salt Creek Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (23K)
• Salt Creek Division, [Eastern Trails Map], (123K)
• Salt Creek Division, [Western Trails Map], (119K)
• Salt Creek Division, [Chicago Portage Trails Map], (28K)
• Shawnee National Forest-Location Map, Low resolution '98 (20K)
• Shawnee National Forest, Camping and Trails Map-Eastern Areas '98 (152K)
• Shawnee National Forest, Camping and Trails Map-Central Areas '98 (156K)
• Shawnee National Forest, Camping and Trails Map-Western Areas '98 (150K)
• North Eastern Illinois Regional Trails Map, (176K)
• Skokie Division Forest Preserve, [Regional Map], (21K)
• Skokie Division Forest Preserve, [Northern Trails Map], (140K)
• Skokie Division Forest Preserve, [Southern Trails Map], (120K)
• Thorn Creek Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (63K)
• Tinley Creek Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (28K)
• Tinley Creek Division, [Northern Trails Map], (115K)
• Tinley Creek Division, [Southern Trails Map], (119K)
• Tinley Creek Trails Map [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.], (112K)

North Branch Bicycle Trail

The North Branch Bicycle Trail is a Class I bicycle trail located in northeastern Cook County, Ill. The trail starts at Caldwell and Devon Avenues in Chicago, and continues north approximately twenty (20) miles to Lake County, Illinois.

The trail winds along the North Branch of the Chicago River and the Skokie Lagoons, providing access to various picnic groves, golf courses and also the Chicago Botanic Garden. This trail will eventually connect the Green Bay Bicycle Trail as shown on the map.

The North Branch Trail offers bicycle riders many opportunities for fun, exercise and relaxation. You may want to pack a lunch and ride to the Chicago Botanic Garden or to one of the picnic groves along the trail. If you're trying to get back into shape, determine a specific course from this map, and ride it

regularly. There are plenty of places to stop and rest along the way, where you can get a drink of cold water from one of the convenient wells. Whether it's the whole day or just an hour, plan a time right now to get out and enjoy the beauty nature offers right in your own back yard.

North Branch, Chicago River-Trail
History

This area contains much of interest for persons of an historic mind. Carpenter Road and Gross Point Road mark the northerly sections of two alternative Indian trails which led, from the Chicago Portage and the Great Trail to the Mississippi, to the Green Bay Trail at Gross Point now known as Wilmette. Elston Road was an early Indian trail from the Lake shore at the downtown forks of the Chicago River, leading to Wisconsin. Milwaukee Avenue is of relatively recent origin, more direct than Elston Road, and constructed as the Northern Plank Road during the middle l8Ws.

The north Indian Boundary line crosses this Division near its southern borders. That is the northern limit of a twenty mile strip, ceded to the whites in 1816 and extending from the lake shore southwesterly to the head of navigation on the Illinois River. At the Treaty of Prairie du Chien, in 1829, Billy Caldwell was made a Chief of the Ottawa, Chippewa and Potowatomi Nations of Indians, along with several other half-breeds.

It was through the efforts of the-se men and other friendly intermediaries that, by this treaty and the later Treaties of 1832 and 1833, the Indians were induced to leave this region for lands across the Mississippi. As a reward for years of friendly service, and for their influence with the Indians, the United States Government made many land grants to those individuals. Three of these grants lay in this Forest Preserve Division: the Billy Caldwell Reserve of 1600 acres on either side of the North Branch of the Chicago River and north of and adjoining the Indian Boundary line; and grants of 320 acres and 160 acres, respectively, to two sisters-Mrs. Victoria Porthier and Jane Mirandeau. These women for many years were servants of the Kinzie family prior to the Fort Dearborn Massacre.

The Fort Dearborn trading post was a magnet for the several Indian tribes. Historians have indicated the site of many Indian villages and camps in this North Branch area and many local and minor trails. Their use, however, was largely seasonal and consequently were of minor importance.

Points Of Interest On The Map:

North Branch Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (97K)
North Branch Division, Regional Trail Map; Cook Co.(23K)
North Branch Trail Map, [Division], (116K)

This is the most intensively used Division of the Forest Preserve District, due to its several picnic areas, two golf courses and Whealan Swimming Pool within or adjacent to the City of Chicago, and their accessibility by public transportation.

1. North Branch Prairie Restoration Project (4 Areas)
2. Jane (or Genevieve) Mirandeau Reserve
3. Victoria Porthier Reserve
4. Billy Caldwell (the Sauganash) Reserve
5. Edgebrook Golf Course-18 hole
6. Area notable for fine Hackberry trees
7. Billy Caldwell Golf Course-9 hole
8. Indian Boundary Line

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Check Out... Critical Mass Chicago-style

I & M Canal Bicycle Trail

The I & M Canal Bicycle Trail is a Class I bicycle trail located in southwestern Cook County, Illinois. The paved bicycle trail is within the I & M Canal National Heritage Corridor, the first national park of its kind. The 8.9 mile trail consists of three sections; two (2) 3.3 mile loops and a 2.3 mile section that connects the two.

For those driving to the area, parking is available in the Forest Preserve District parking lot below Willow Springs Road. This parking area as well as the bicycle trail are shown on the accompanying map.

I & M Canal Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (120K)

The I & M Canal Bicycle Trail 'is one of eight (8) designated bicycle trails in the Forest Preserve District. For an additional information on these and other trails and facilities in the Forest Preserve District contact:

FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT OF COOK COUNTY

312/261-8400 (city)
708/366-9420 (suburban)
1-800-870-3666
TDD# (708) 771-1190 (for hearing impaired)

In Case of an Emergency:
Contact the Forest Preserve
Police at (708) 366-9420 or
366-8211

RULES OF THE TRAIL BICYCLE USERS:
1) Ride single file-keeping to the right side of the trail.
2) Stay in your own lane.
3) Give warning before passing other trail users.
4) Obey all stop signs.
5) The trail is designed for a moderate recreational speed of 8 m.p.h.

NO SPEED TRAINING OR RACING PERMITTED (Speed radar monitored) Violators will be ticketed
WALKERS AND JOGGERS: Use the left side of the trail-facing oncoming bicycle traffic.

FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT OF COOK COUNTY

536 N. Harlem Avenue

River Forest, IL. 60305

(708) 366-9420

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Palos & Sag Valley Division
Cook County Forest Preserve Trails Guide:

Palos & Sag Valley Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (37K)

The Palos preserves comprise our largest and most diversified holding. Mostly hilly and forested, they are notable for scenic beauty and rich in history back to glacial and geologic times. Masses of hawthorns and crabapples bloom in spring; the woodlands provide colorful autumn foliage- There are fine upland meadows; many lakes, ponds and sloughs; a great variety and abundance of wildlife; and the best fishing waters in Cook County.

Trails range from easy to expert, (physically & technically), depending on how far you decide to explore off the main multi-use trail,(gravel covered trails, fire roads). It is a gloriously diverse area, offering new challenges with each new spur or drop off! Beginner riders should stay on the main trails, as spurs may prove frustrating, (steep climbs & descents, fallen trees, lg. rocks, and tight winding singletrack), or even dangerous. Please exercise some common sense, and trail consideration! Ride On...

Points of Interest on the Map:

Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [Northern Area], (172K)
Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [Southern Area], (141K)
Palos & Sag Valley Trails Map, [West Area+Blk.Partridge Woods](172K)

1. Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center and Trails
2. Old Country Lane
3. Maple and Tampier Lakes boat docks-rowboats for hire
4. Site of original Argonne Laboratory for atomic research
5. Cross Country Ski Trail Area.
6. Dynamite Road nature trails
7. St. James Church and Cemetery, founded 1837. Site of Indian village, chipping station and signal station.
8. I & M Canal Bicycle Trail Parking lot
9. Landing Along Chicago Portage Canoe Trail-Stony Ford to Lemont Landing-14.4 Miles
10. Toboggan slides and shelter
11. Trail located on glacial ridge, called an esker
12. Trail thru wild isolated area with fine scenery
13. Model Airplane Flying Field

INTERESTING ACTIVITIES IN THE PALOS & SAG VALLEY:

• Large concentrations of waterfowl and shorebirds, including ducks, geese and egrets, resting and feeding on Longjohn, Saganashkee and McGinnis sloughs during the spring and fall migration periods.
• Blackberry, dewberry and raspberry patches plentiful in meadows and woodland openings at many locations and ripe for picking in July.
• Mushrooms plentiful in many woodlands during autumn.
• Wild prairie roses, some climbing to the tops of hawthorn and crabapple trees, along trail from St. James Church to site of original Argonne Laboratory.
• Spring wildflowers bloom first in Black Partridge Woods which, with its creek and big springs that flow the year around, was a winter retreat and chipping station for Indians.
• Pawpaw trees and shingle oaks in Pawpaw Woods-the northern limit of where those trees occur in Illinois. Spice bush also plentiful.
• Sycamores and an unusually large ironwood (hop hornbeam) tree at McClaughry Springs. Also a sheer cliff of sandy "groundhog" clay deposited by the last glacier.
• Bank swallows and kingfishers formerly nested in the sandy clay face of Swallow Cliff, just west of U.S. 45.
• At Swallow Cliff Woods picnic area, a grove of white pines planted in the 1920's.
• Kentucky Coffeetree and a very large elm at site of pioneer home south of 87th St. on east side of U.S. 45.
• Buffalo Woods, so named because it formerly was fenced to enclose a herd of buffalo.
• Hidden Pond Woods contains an example of a farm pond constructed by the original owner to water his livestock.
• These Palos Hills are the result of the last glacier that pushed its way this far south. The ponds and sloughs lie within potholes resulting from the melting of huge blocks of ice left by that glacier. The city of Chicago is founded on the flat bed of old Lake Chicago, ancestor of Lake Michigan.

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THE CHICAGO PORTAGE

A NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

The Chicago Portage was one of the most important locations in early North America. Here was the passage to the west where the most important Indian trails merged, and through here was the best route between the St. Lawrence and Mississippi Waterways. Those trails followed the beach ridges, of glacial "Lake Chicago", which radiated from this outlet.

Salt Creek Division, [Chicago Portage Trails Map], (28K)

High among the factors that contributed to Chicago's growth from a trading post to a great city, was the existence of this portage. Here was the Gateway to the fur trade, coveted alike by the Indians, the French and British traders, and the American pioneers.

This place, except during floods, was the eastern end of the water route from the Mississippi. During dry weather periods the Des Plaines River became unnavigable and the traders were obliged to make the "Long Portage" of some eighty miles from the headwaters of the Illinois River below Ottawa. Laughton's Ford on the "Ottawa Trail" and the site of Laughton's Trading Post lie within the northern limits of this Historic Site. Other river crossings in this vicinity, Stony Ford and Riverside Ford, carried Indian trails northerly to connections with the Green Bay Trail at Gross Point. The usefulness of this Portage ended with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 and the construction of the Southwestern Plank Road (Ogden Avenue) in 1850.

Salt Creek Division Activities:

• Dedicated Nature Preserve
• Shoreline fishing.
• Old quarry in Cermak Woods is suitable for paraplegics
• Slopes for winter coasting
• Area notable for wildflowers and other interesting vegetation
• Wildlife refuge
• Salt Creek Division Headquarters

Salt Creek Division Points of Interest (On the Map)

Salt Creek Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (23K)
Salt Creek Division, [Eastern Trails Map] (123K)
Salt Creek Division, [Western Trails Map] (119K)

1. Forest Preserve District Nursery
2. Chicago Zoological Park (Brookfield Zoo)
3. Site of Checkerboard Flying Field-terminal for first commercial airmail service
4. Forest Preserve District central warehouse, shops and garage
5. Flying field for model airplanes
6. Hoffman Dam and Tower
7. Cermak Swimming Pool
8. Stonv Ford Canoe Launch-Chicago Portage Canoe Trail maps available
9. Laughton's Ford
10. Site of Laughton Trading Post
11. Catherine Mitchell Lagoon
12. The Chicago Portage-National Historic Site
13. Boat Launching Site
14. Toboggan Slides and Warming Shelter

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Chicago-land Bikeshop Database

Thorn Creek Bicycle Trail

Thorn Creek Trail Map, [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.] (63K)

The Thorn Creek Bicycle Trail is a Class I bicycle trail located in southern Cook County, Illinois. One section of the trail consists of 4.7 miles in the Sauk Trail lake area and another winds through Lansing Woods and North Creek Meadow for 4.6 miles. A future extension of the trail will link these two sections bringing the overall trail length to 17.5 miles.

For those driving to the area, ample parking is available near the trail in both Lansing Woods and Sauk Trail Woods. These parking areas as well as bicycle trail are shown on the accompanying map.

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Tinley Creek Bicycle Trail

Tinley Creek Division, [Regional Map, Cook Co.] (28K)

The Tinley Creek Bicycle Trail is a Class I Bicycle Trail located in southwestern Cook County, Illinois. It is currently 18.27 miles long. For those driving to the northern portions of the trail, Yankee Woods and Midlothian Reservoir provide parking and access to 14.67 miles of trail, including a 3.17 mile loop around The George W. Dunne National Golf Course. For those driving to the southern portion of the trail, parking and access to a 3.6 mile loop is available off both Vollmer and Flossmoor Roads.

This 18.27 mile trail is part of a proposed bicycle trail system which will ultimately extend over 33 miles, linking northern and southern trail sections as shown on the accompanying map.

The Tinley Creek Bicycle Trail offers bicyclists a relaxing ride through gently rolling country. A leisurely ride through the area will take you through forests, prairies and alongside wetlands. With picnic groves, wells and toilet facilities available along the trail route, you can plan an outing, be it only an hour long or all day.

At present, the paved trail exists in two sections. However, in the future these portions will be joined together, as well as having the entire trail linked to other trails in the area.

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Tinley Creek Trail Guide:

Tinley Creek Trails Map [Forest Preserve-Cook Co.], (112K)

History

These preserves are situated on a ridge of glacial drift known to geologists as the Tinley moraine. It was deposited by the last glacier, as it retreated from this area, on the easterly edge of the Valparaiso moraine deposited by that glacier after a previous and more southerly invasion.
Northerly and easterly lies the flat Chicago Plain, much lower, which was the bed of ancient Lake Chicago and largely swampland until recent times. Southwesterly, and also covered by the ancestor of Lake Michigan at its highest stage, are low areas known as the "Deep Prairie". Formerly large swamps, they are now drained by Tinley Creek, originally called Bachelor's Grove Creek, and Midlothian Creek. These streams, after the glacier disappeared, eroded deep channels thru the Tinley moraine and meandered across the Chicago Plain until, near what is now Blue Island, they emptied into Stony Creek. Stony Creek has been superseded by the Calumet-Sag Channel.
The human history of the Tinley Creek Division is typical of many Chicagoland areas. "Yankees" from New England states came first. Bachelor's Grove, a large wooded area including the forest preserve north of 151st St., was occupied about 1833 by a group of single men while perfecting their titles to tracts of land purchased at $1.25 per acre. Among them was Stephen Rexford, one of the founders of Blue Island. Each man had a five-acre woodlot in the grove.
The St. Mihiel and Oak Forest area was then called Cooper's Grove, but the reason for that name is unknown. In 1848 the name of its post office was changed to New Bremen and the one at Bachelor's Grove became Bremen.
This locality was settled largely by German people. After the Rock Island Railroad was completed to Chicago in 1852, a town called Bremen was platted at what is now Tinley Park It had street names such as Kirchen Strasse and Market Platz but the principal north and south street, Oak Park Ave, was called Bachelor Grove Avenue. Tinley Park, named for three Rock Island RR men, was incorporated as such in 1892.

Tinley Creek Activities List:

• Various species of waterfowl and shorebirds, some rare, may be observed feeding and resting in the marsh areas north of Vollmer Road during the spring and fall migration periods.
• A high point along 159th Street, just east of Oak Park Avenue, provides an unusual view of the Chicago skyline, approximately 20 miles to the northeast.
• The Yankee Woods and St. Mihiel areas are abundant with spring and fall wildflowers, as well as spectacular autumn color. Small fragments of native prairie containing rare species of plant and insect life also occur in these areas.
• Blackberry, dewberry and raspberry patches plentiful in meadows- and woodland openings at many locations and ripe for picking in July.
• Mushrooms plentiful in many woodlands during autumn.
• The southern and central portions of Tinley Creek Division boast of numerous reforestations planted in the late 1960's as a part of the Forest Preserve District's ongoing program to preserve and re-establish examples of the native woodlands which existed here two hundred years ago.

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Tinley Creek Points of Interest (On the Map)

Tinley Creek Division, [Northern Trails Map] (115K)
Tinley Creek Division, [Southern Trails Map] (119K)

1. Turtlehead Lake, one of several Forest Preserve lakes dug to provide earth fill for the Tri-State Tollway.
2. Deep ravines and gullies along Tinley Creek.
3. Tinley Creek Forestry Headquarters
4. Tinley Creek Woods, notable for a few huge oaks. surviving from the primeval forest in this region.
5. Camp Falcon, a camping center for youth groups by permit only.
6. Camp Sullivan, a camping center for youth groups by permit only.
7. Site of Goeselville, once a crossroads trading place and post office on the Midlothian Turnpike.
8. Carlson Springs, one of the few large springs now flowing in Cook County.
9. Midlothian Turnpike, originally an Indian trail and later a country road from Harlem Ave. and 151st St., thru Goeselville to Blue Island.
10. Oak Forest Hospital, Cook County institution for the indigent, aged and infirm.
11. Franciscan Monastery serving Oak Forest Hospital.
12. Indian Boundary Line, beginning at a point on the shore of Lake Michigan, 10 miles f mouth of the Chicago River. South boundary of a strip, 20 miles wide from Chicago to Ottawa, ceded by the Potawatomi and allied tribes in 1816.
13. Forest Preserve Tree Nursery
14. Model Airplane Flying Field
15. The George W. Dunne National Golf Course (18 Hole)

 

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