One of the best kept secrets in Wisconsin Bike Trails is actually in Illinois. The Des Plaines River trail begins at the Illinois/Wisconsin border and runs through prairie and woods for just over 30 miles.

A good PDF map and brochure is available which shows the route, and, perhaps more importantly, the locations of access points where you can park. The tail is non-paved, but the packed clay and crushed limestone surface is well maintained. The trail is generous in width and presents no difficult with oncoming bikers. You do have to share the trail with horse riders however, so keep your eyes peeled for occasional horse apples on the road.

Summary:

Access - Excellent
Services - Restrooms avail , see map
Trail quality - Unpaved but well maitained
Difficulty Level - Low, appropriate for beginners.
Length - Total lenght of Des Plains North is 31 miles. Russel Road is north tail head and the area of the Lincolnshire Marriot is the south tail head.

The northern most trail head is accessed along Russel Road. If coming from I94, take the Russel Road exit and go east for about a mile and look for the sign that says - Van Patten Woods. Horse Trailer Parking. There is a small parking lot right at the entrance with some overflow parking a little further down and the horse before the area for horse trailer parking.

There are additional access points for the trail marked on the PDF map. Most of them are accessed off of Hwy 41 until you get about 15 miles or so in. But if your coming from Wisconsin, the Russel Road tailhead is the best starting point if you have not ridden this trail before. What we like to do is make note of additional tail heads so that we can drive down and start our ride at a more advance point from time to time. Typically, do about a 20 mile ride for our weekend ride, ten miles out and ten back in.

There are rest rooms avail in some areas, again, look at the map. They are simple, but seem well maintained. In addition, you can refill your water bottles at this locations. Suggest you bring bug repellent with you if you plan to stop for a snack or extended rest as this is a wetlands area and the mosquitoes can be pretty heavy in some areas.

The trail is generally in excellent condition. Hard packed clay with crushed limestone which is fairly typical to unpaved trails. They must groom the trail on occasion as there are very few ruts, even though horses share the trail. The first two or three miles of the trail wind around an area called Van Patten Woods. You can take side trails around the lake or off into the woods. The riding is gentle rolling terrain through the prairie wetlands broken up by areas of shade as the trail dips into and out of wooded area

And its also not unusual to see deer along the trail.

If you don't have a bike odometer, not to worry, the tail is well marked with mileposts in addition to clearly marked signposts at ever fork in the road From a safety standpoint, I give the trail high marks. You do have to cross two highways in the first three or four miles, but after that, all the crossings are either via over or underpasses. The trail is busy enough to keep anyone from feeling like they are isolated, but not so busy that you cannot let your mind wander and just watch the landscape around you while you ride. The trail follows HWY 41 in a general way for at least the first ten miles or so, so you would have easy access in case of need of emergency services. I can recommend the trail for family riding, but would suggest taking the scenic routes around the lake so that you keep out of the way of most of the traffic. The loop to and around the lake would be about two miles which is an appropriate ride for small children.