Fun place to hike with little hills and can go on or off the paved trail to keep it interesting…read more Would walk here regularly with my dog if it were closer to me!

I took some time off the beaten path - and that's to say, the paved path - on my most recent visit,…read moreand goodness is this place expansive. If I were more of a mountain bike enthusiast, this would be an oasis. Even just walking and hiking around, the many twisting, undulating trails proved interesting and exciting (though I was constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting to get run down; people on bikes get entitled, y'know...). Knowing the history of the racecourse, it is astonishing - and maybe a testament to the work of the forest preserve - how little this place resembles what it once was. Aside from pavement, which you might as well just assume was a paved path, and the big fuel silo, this place once again belongs to nature.

I returned here after visiting about 30 years ago, and was very impressed with the trails. You can…read morespend many days here and still not see all the areas the park offers. We parked at the Oak Opening area and hiked down to Lake Defiance, taking the Lake Defiance Trail. We stopped at the Nature Center to see some displays and chat with the ranger, and then continued our hike. Seeing the moraines, the leftover hills and ridges from the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, 10's of thousands of years ago, was a geologic trip through time. This is a great local state park that does not have an entrance fee! (None of our state parks have entrance fees to the best of my knowledge!) This is a place I can't wait to get back to explore, right in the backyard of the Chicago 'burbs!

Very pleasant to go to. Very close to home if I just want to go somewhere with no noise. Lots of…read moretrails and just driving through it is very nice. Sometimes you can't just drive somewhere super far to sight see but thankfully this State park is here. Also it is free which is very nice.

I came here to do a small hike on a cold Saturday. I hiked the 1.5 mile trail loop around the…read moreriver and lake. I admit, At first I tried to do the 5 mile trail by Crystal Ridge, but struggled to find it, possibly I parked in the wrong area? I'm not sure, so I looked up a different trail using my AllTrails app and it took me over to this one. It was a very nice little trail with some beautiful scenery. Although, there was some construction happening, it was very nice. We started on a trail through some large trees. I could imagine it will be gorgeous in the fall. This trail took us along a river, which led to a large waterfall with rushing water. I love the sound of rushing water! We then went around a large lake to make the loop complete. Overall, I thought it was a very nice hike and I would do it again!

Great trail!! In…read moreconjunction with the Crystal Ride Mountain Bike trail, this is a great way to spend a couple of hours. The websites say it is a "easy to moderate" level single track trail. That may be so for an experienced riders, but I would recommend riders to have a solid technical base before riding these trails. I used to do a lot of Mt. bike riding back in college, but have been away from it for a long time focusing on road riding. This was a great trail for getting back in the swing of mountain biking. The trails really kept our interest and provided a good number of challenges. There is plenty of parking at Crystal Ridge. Trail is fairly new and not too well known yet, so it was not crowded. Condition obviously varies with the weather. If there is one thing that needs improvement, I would say that the trails could be marked better. There are markings at most intersections, but often times you can go for quite a while without seeing one. Hats off to the Metro Mountain Bikers for all of their hard work on the trail! Go to this link for a map and trail condition details: http://trailville.com/wiki/WI_Milwaukee_Whitnall_Park_Alpha_Trail Additional link to Milwaukee County's website with trial info: http://county.milwaukee.gov/MountainBikeTrail8288.htm

The Garden Chicago Dirt Jumps is a place for teens & some families to come and practice their bike…read moretricks. Depending when you go, you could encounter varying types of folks. It's a cool little hidden spot, that's for sure. Now the cool stuff. The Garden is where part of the famous Chicago Riverview Amusement Park was. My Grandparents had their first date at this historic spot so I'm all about it. It operated from 1904 to 1967 and was home of the 1st parachute ride and 1st suspended roller-coaster. Really it was an ahead of its time place for Chicagoans back in the day. Well legend had it that some of the original bits & pieces from the amusement park have been incorporated into the park. I took some pix and can't help but believe these whispers. If you're into dirt biking, this will totally be your jam. For a really well written article, check out this piece from WTTW on The Garden: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/08/14/exploring-chicago-s-dirt-jumps

Ridiculous Jumps (bumps, loops, and whoops) in the City of Chi...right across the street from…read moreDeVry. When you just want to work on bike elevation and landing, this is your place.

The trail offers three different loops so you can pick what works for you that day depending on the…read moretime you have available. I checked out the orange loop and it was around 6 miles. Overall pretty easy terrain in my opinion and mostly flat with some small ups and downs. The trails dual as mountain bike trails so be on the lookout as you may need to step aside. I had to do this a free times but if it was busier it may be a bit of a distraction and impact your hike some.

Trails are clean. Forest is thick so lots of covering and shade. Views are awesome! Plenty parking.read more

When I visit the Elkhorn Wisconsin area I always make time for a hike on the beautiful Nordic…read moretrails. They offer seven trails brteeen .6 and 9.2 miles, which are designated as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. The 2 mile red intermediate trail is perfect as it's about 45 minutes and gets your heart pumping with some steeper elevations.

Quiet, serene and peaceful are words that come to mind when hiking through the Nordic Trail Head. A…read morebreathe of fresh air and a totally enjoyable experience. We haven't even touched a fraction of the trails available to hike down here. This particular location is in the Southern Kettle Moraine forest and takes about an hour or so to get to out of Milwaukee. It is across the street from the famed mountain bike course, John Muir trail system. We were so kindly given some advice and it was wisely heeded. The trails we went on were excellent. Rolling hills and bluffs, some in the woods and some not. Either way we took a 4.5 mile-ish jaunt through the area and were just in awe! It was simply spectacular! Wisconsin in general has some of the best well marked trails one could ask for. We spent most of the time with our dog off leash walking the trail as the place was literally dead! I think that this trail goes slightly unnoticed because of the mountain biking trail next door. This equaled a win win for us! We will be back soon as I want to do the entire 9 mile stretch. Love some Wisconsin hiking! It is the best!

This is a 2200 acre park in the Chicago area. It is massive. Great trails to hike or bike on with…read morebridges over the busy Higgins Road going through the middle of the park. They have an elk pasture on one side which was neat to see and great for kids. I was in town for work for 2 weeks. My wife and I stopped by here after I got off of work but in November it gets dark way too soon. We could only visit for a short time before it got dark. I would love to come back here and hike or bike for miles and miles through this lovely park.

I've fished Ned Brown Busse Woods Forest Preserve more times than I can count now. It's not the…read moregreatest place to catch a fish consistently, but the scenery is stunningly beautiful. I've rented a boat with a trolling motor here, and the help is friendly and helpful. They sell live bait, as well. I'm more familiar with the Forest Preserve now, but in general would love to see more signage/maps and a "You Are Here" on a map or two. I recall first trying to find the fishing wall and walking forever with tackle, not knowing if we were on the right track. This place is great for biking, but I wouldn't mind seeing some shorter official paths built, for walking and hiking. My son and I improvised a path here once, to make our hike shorter. Check out the Elk, hike, bike, fish, have a stone soul picnic- it's a great oasis!

Beautiful walking trail. The trail is clean, well-paved and safe. Lots of people on it but not too…read morecrowded. Only one downfall for someone recouping from surgery, no places to seat for a break.

Easily my favorite trail. Growing up this used to be train tracks but since 2008 it's a trail…read more Convient to use however a woman was sexual assaulted recently so be careful. Awesome place for the neighborhood