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Big Marsh

4.9 (8 reviews)
Closed • 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Updated 1 month ago

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Brent W.

I gotta hand it to the folks at CPD (the *other* CPD, this one being Chicago Park District) bc they've done a fantastic job of transforming an otherwise wasteland of a former landfill into one of the City's only completely man-made Bike Recreation Park's. Full disclosure....I never did BMX as a kid but biked a lot. And now I primarily Mountain Bike but do a lot of road biking around the City too. So coming to this I was both excited and had a lot of trepidation as well. I know me. And I am compelled to conquer what lies in front of me. But these jumps are no joke. One mistake and you're crashing into the hard dirt beneath with zero cushion....I bit it once with the wounds to match. Take it easy peasy here and you'll be fine. There is something for everyone, Beginner, Inter and Advanced. They are already starting further development to this massive area and can't wait to come back again and again to see what becomes of this beautiful space.

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Asper K.

This isn't a BIG marsh, seemed to me. As far as I can tell it's a smallish bike park. I was expecting something "bigger" somehow. There are plans for expansion, some dude said. Nevertheless it was very cool and worth it. There are three distinct sections. 1) A bike loop with a bunch of obstacles and small jumps. Keeping up speed will leave you out of breath. Probably takes 10 minutes. There are different choices, some harder. 2) A bern track. Scary at first but very doable. 3) Jump track. Easy/meduim/hard tracks. The easy track is doable. The other two are intimidating. Good luck. 4) Also, there's a 1 or 2K loop around the whole thing I heard. the bike park offers a very different experience versus what we're forced to endure in Chicago normally, which is next to zero hills. It's a great workout and also adrenaline rush. Fun to get out of comfort zone. I did okay on hybrid bike but felt I should have something better. You can take the red line or metra to get within 5 miles or so.

"Eagles can't ride bikes..." Good point.
Rob R.

Ever dreamed of hiking, biking, and birdwatching in a post-industrial restored toxic landscape? Me neither, but I blame that on my failure of imagination. The Chicago Park District now owns about 1,000 acres of wetlands in the former backyards of steel mills on the southeast side of Chicago, and this 45-acre bike park is the first step towards restoring the environment. Critics may point out that the city has basically turned wild land into a commercial recreation area (i.e. a BMX race track with the first race scheduled for November 25) and they're right to an extent even though the space is open to the public. But there's reason to be hopeful that this can be, if we work for it, an "activation point" towards a larger reinvestment in restoration of native wetland habitat in the area and something that can be enjoyed by the local community.

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Palos Forest Preserves - Crane

Palos Forest Preserves

4.2(13 reviews)
16.7 mi

Palos Preserves has a lot going on. You can fish; in fact, I saw a few people doing that. There…read morewere several people biking through the preserves (some casual, some much more hard core). Walking trails, which is what I was using with the group I was in. Of course, Camp Bullfrog is a major attraction at this site, situated on Bullfrog Lake; you can rent paces for camping anywhere from 2 or 3 days up to 10 days per month. And there's also picnic groves around the place too. There are a few port-a-potties, and there may be an actual restroom with flush toilets a bit southwest of Bullfrog Lake; I forgot to check. Nearby are Sagawau Nature Center and the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, amongst other places. Palos is an International Dark Sky location, so the Forest Preserve District of Cook County sometimes has programs here. There's some hilliness here, and some of the areas I was in were not accessible--though it's possible the campsite is. You should contact them if you are in need of an accessible place to recreate.

Never in a million years would I have believed you if you told me that one of the best running…read moretrails in the USA was in IL. But that's exactly what I found at Palos Forest Preserves. I ignored the Yelp map directions, which drops you in the middle of the street, and instead followed that street until it became a dead end. I parked in the parking lot by the dead end and began my trail there. This ended up being about a 2-2 1/2 hour adventure, at about 16K steps (running half way). The trail has some nice markers to help keep you on the right track, but more would be even better because I ended up doing "eenie meenie minie moe" at several junction points and just hoped for the best. My favorite part about these trails were the inclines and natural obstacle courses. Watch out for the trees though. A couple of the roots reached out and grabbed my foot on more than one occasion, causing me to kiss the ground. I'm certain I heard some giggles coming from the treetops. Cheeky lil bastards. The views were breathtaking during my autumn visits. Very peaceful in many areas and not too crowded, unless you came on the weekend when the bikers take over. They treat it like it's their world, which is very annoying. If I lived in the area, I would definitely frequent these woods with my mountain bike. If running/hiking was fun, biking would be a blast! However, I would remember to share the trails with pedestrians.

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Palos Forest Preserves - Maple lake

Maple lake

Palos Forest Preserves
Palos Forest Preserves - Mushroom

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Mushroom

Salt Creek Greenway Trail

Salt Creek Greenway Trail

4.4(20 reviews)
19.8 mi

It was a breath of fresh air the afternoon I decided to conduct a hike on the Salt Creek Trail…read moreSystem, starting at Brookfield Woods trailhead. What interested me about Brookfield Woods compared to the other trailheads nearby is that it is the mile marker starting point for the Salt Creek Trail System. As an outdoor fitness enthusiast who has been running for years, I would categorize the difficulty level as easy because the terrain is flat! I encountered mostly walkers, a few joggers, and many recreational bike riders along this path. While on it I felt that peaceful sense of being in nature as I heard birds chirping, the wind blowing, and the sound of the flowing salt creek which was off to my left while going out. I even got glimpses of chipmunk and squirrel running across my path; some even startling me at times when close by which also kept me in the moment during my hike. On my turnaround, I encountered a Canadian goose which I am absolutely terrified of! I am even known to alter my run routes just to avoid them out of fear of being attacked! It hissed at me as I went around it; it is like it instantly got its little goose panties in a bunch. I swear my heart rate increased as I eased by it because the last thing I wanted to experience was getting my ass kicked by a Canadian goose. That is a losing situation that I am unsure how I will bounce back from, but bye bye goose! I spent a little over forty-minutes during my hike on the path but could have easily gone longer if I were running instead. There are a variety of activities you can conduct on the Salt Creek Trail System path which extends 7.1 miles out; some of those activities I can certainly see are hiking, running, walking, biking, or even in-line skating. Other than my encounter with the Canadian goose, I had a pleasant experience on the Salt Creek Trail System as indicated in this review and would return. As a runner, I can see myself returning just to explore more of the Salt Creek Trail System. ~An adventure a day keeps the doctor away. ~ Thomas G

We entered at Brezina Woods, in LaGrange. If you are looking for a COVID-era place for a quiet…read morefamily walk, this is NOT the place. We only saw a few other people wearing masks. And it was so crowded, we left after only a mile. It was hard to maintain social distance on the paved path while avoiding the many bikers, roller bladers, and walkers. We found a few quiet side trials that each led 200-300 feet into the woods, but due to recent rains, those paths were very muddy, then flooded. We did find some moss. And some pretty trees and plants. So we hung out in the woods, then got out and went home. Pros: Free. Free parking. Clean trials. Plenty of parking. Paved trials. Not too many mosquitoes. Con: this trail goes through residential areas. We were literally passing inches from backyards of homes, yards filled with people. Fair enough. It is their home!! But it felt weird to just walk past their backyard while everyone is outside doing family stuff.

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Salt Creek Greenway Trail
Salt Creek Greenway Trail
Salt Creek Greenway Trail

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Saw Wee Kee Trail

Saw Wee Kee Trail

3.3(3 reviews)
42.3 mi

Saw Wee Kee is a really nice location to hike that's not very far from civilization. More hills…read moreand terrain than you'll see anywhere locally with decently marked trails (once you are on them) and all kinds of nature. Check the website for a trail map, but most of them intersect (even though it is not always clearly marked). Sitting by the river and looking at the blind on the island we saw a bald eagle fly right overhead. So cool! I didn't believe my friend when he said they were here around the fox. There are 2 lots at each end of the park, the Northeastern one featuring a boat launch that is kayak & raft capable (though I'm not sure where you'd get off. Maybe Silver Springs state park? The way the high trail is set up it definitely looks like it could be a mosquito breeding ground next to it during the appropriate months. Bring DEET if you think it'll be an issue, but in early October it was mostly a non-issue. There is a tick warning as well, but we didn't find any. The only thing you need to watch out for is mountain bikers (and I guess the occasional horse / horse apple). They will be coming, and some of them can move pretty fast. You'll hear them on a hike, but be courteous and step to the side of the trail and everyone can enjoy this location.

Too many mosquitoes and not enough view of the water. Rather boring trail, at least on foot…read more Disappointing.

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Saw Wee Kee Trail
Saw Wee Kee Trail - Kayaking

Kayaking

Saw Wee Kee Trail - The main trail map.

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The main trail map.

Fullerton Woods

Fullerton Woods

5.0(2 reviews)
21.3 mi

I actually found out about Fullerton Woods - Des Plaines River Trail off of AllTrails application…read morevia Google Play. It was one of the few trails that would allow me to cover at least 10 miles. Plus, it consisted of some of the perks that I love about trails, such as it being shaded, having soft terrain, and that therapeutic feeling of nature, so why not?. I drove about 8 miles to Fullerton Woods from the west side of Chicago and it was totally worth it! The Des Plaines River Trail was not congested at all in comparison to the Lakefront path in Chicago which I wasn't in the mood to run today. Oh, the thought of being on the Lakefront path with the sun melting me away was not in my interest, so I sought out something different. Shame on me! I packed my trail running shoes, but did not utilized them because the paved portion at the beginning of this trail threw me off. So, with that I encourage you to bring out those trail shoes if you plan to run this trail as I did, but its ok if you do not have any trail shoes. On this trail you will encounter hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and trail runners which all are friendly from what I have noticed. The encounters with the mountain bikers can throw your pacing off depending on how many there are in a pack. With that, I recommend taking it as the time for a short rest break to hydrate or gather yourself until they pass by on whatever portion of the trail you may be at if there isn't enough room. My end milage ended up being 8.44 miles, but it easily could have been more if I would have taken a turn, heading under W Lawrence Ave bridge towards Catherine Chevalier Woods. I kept this run simple, looping around at Robinson Woods South because it was my first time out, but next time I plan to not be so attentive to my route and ready to explore the trail more. And on a side note, another entrance that will put you at a more reasonable area to get good trail mileage at is Jerome Huppert Woods which is on the other side of Fullerton Woods. A tip on how to not get off track on this trail is to stay along Des Plaines River, which you can see on your left hand side while going further out on this trail. If you cannot see it, then you may have went in the wrong direction, but I assure you it is not hard to miss. I really loved this trail! And will most definitely be returning because its distance satisfied my preference of the mileage I wanted to accomplish without doing it in the blistering heat and on a hard surfaced pavement. Thomas G

The first little hike is nothing much, but coming back I turned onto a trail, went under a bridge…read moreand found the real trail. At sunset, in the middle of the city I was pleasantly surprised to greet this deer! This is a great getaway when you're just on your way home from the store!

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Fullerton Woods
Fullerton Woods
Fullerton Woods

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Big Marsh - parks - Updated May 2026

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