When my partner Alison and I found out about this year’s National Trails Day – June 6th – a strong sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) kicked in. We didn’t want to miss out on any of the sweet trail happenings in Chicago: from the opening of the 606 to the first half of the Cal-Sag Trail – both trails of regional importance. We were pumped. We hatched a plan to bike them both by connecting them via a couple of classic Chicago trails: The Major Taylor Trail and the Lakefront Trail.
Step 1: See the grandparents. From our home in Pilsen we hopped on the Western Stop-BNSF Metra to LaGrange where we had breakfast and stories with Alison’s grandparents. Alison’s grandfather, Dr. Harold Paul, inspired us with a couple of stories of his great bicycle adventure across the United States in 1983. His ride made ours look like small peanuts: he embarked on a tour across the country that started in Seattle and ended in New Hampshire. With his journey in our minds we set out to for the Cal-Sag Trail and thought we got this!
Let me digress here. If you haven’t heard, both trail projects were the result of years of hard work, planning, and private-public partnerships that focused on connecting communities and open space. The 606 is a high profile 2.7 mile trail that was converted from an old rail line and connects Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, and Bucktown. The 26-mile Cal-Sag Trail, when finished, will run along the Cal-Sag channel and connect to the Burnham Trail near the Indiana border. This path will connect suburban communities like Palos Park, Alsip, Blue Island, and Riverdale to Chicago communities in a way that is softer, slower, and quieter than 294 and the Bishop Ford. Currently, the western segment is complete from Route 83 in Lemont to Cicero Ave in Alsip. The Cal-Sag trail is exciting for us because it connects some of the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s largest and most important land holdings to residents from across the region. For city folk like me, the Cal-Sag provides an opportunity to escape into more than 15,000 acres of preserves within the rugged Palos region or check out the remnant prairies at Kickapoo Woods without getting in our car.
Step 2: Ride to the Cal-Sag. Ride the Cal-Sag. From Lemont heading east, the Cal-Sag was a beautiful fast ride on sweet smooth rolling pavement. We loved how the trail dipped down for open views of the channel and then climbed again to propel us through beautiful forest preserves. There were many people enjoying the trail on opening day but it never felt crowded. After the 13 miles of the finished Cal-Sag trail, we had to hit the streets a bit to get to Blue Island’s Public House for lunch with friends.
Step 3: Ride the Major Taylor Trail. After lunch and a couple cold brews from local micros, we got back on our bikes and hit the Major Taylor Trail at its southern entrance at Whistler Woods in Riverdale. We peddled through the preserve with a couple of kids from the community while cottonwood seeds rained down on us everywhere. Beautiful!
Step 4: Ride the Lakefront Trail and the 606. We made it up to Dan Ryan Woods and started our journey north to the 606 via the Lakefront Trail. Each of these trails connects diverse communities in their own unique and wonderful way. On our journey, the 606 featured artsy puppet shows, the Major Taylor had its monk parakeets nestled into electrical transformers, the Cal-Sag Trail held its own with rolling meadows along the flowing river through south suburban land. And, of course our trusty Lakefront Trail provided beautiful downtown views and splashing waves. At the end of the day we had banked about 70 miles and were wiped, but I think we made grandpa proud, even if we didn’t beat his 143 mile/day record.
To learn more about the Cal-Sag trail, visit their website: www.calsagtrail.org
To learn more about the 606 trail, visit their website: www.the606.org
By Zach Taylor, Conservation Director