A guide to Chainlinkers' favorite stealth bike routes

Last month I posted on The Chainlink asking members to share their favorite little known cycling routes and ways to escape the hustle-bustle of the city’s most commonly traveled bikeways. I’ve compiled some of your responses into a guide with links to route maps for your reading and riding pleasure:

http://gridchicago.com/2012/chainlinkers-share-their-favorite-stealth-bike-routes/

Keep moving forward,

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by wigwam on May 18, 2014 at 3:49pm

I came across Stewart Ave. while out on a ride today. It follows some railroads from 33rd until Archer. Odd street with a wall on one side for a bit, then it becomes a tunnel.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 19, 2014 at 3:37am

That can be useful.

wigwam said:

I came across Stewart Ave. while out on a ride today. It follows some railroads from 33rd until Archer. Odd street with a wall on one side for a bit, then it becomes a tunnel.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on May 19, 2014 at 10:39am

Great stuff! But FYI right now that link's content's kinda broken. I tried Chrome and IE:

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on July 22, 2014 at 7:02pm

How about secret routes that don't show up on any map?

For example, ped/bike tunnels (tunnels for pedestrians or bikes ONLY. No cars. And not on the Lakefront, either).

There's a tunnel under the railroad tracks on the west side of Sayre Park that connects Newland to Belden (about 6930 W, 2250 N). Nice to know if you're in a hurry, and need to get past a train. Like I said, it's not on any map, and there aren't over- or underpasses nearby.

There's also a ped/bike tunnel under the freight railroad tracks in Berwyn, at 28th street and Home Ave (7000 W).

The interesting thing about these tunnels is that they're not next to a Metra station, and not marked on any maps. The only way you find these is if you run into them. Not Lakefront-wide, either. I think I lowered my head thru the Sayre Park tunnel. Wheee! Not for the claustrophobic.

Plus, there's a tunnel under the Metra tracks at Lehigh & Hiawatha (6650 N).

I know many Metra stations have tunnels (Naperville, Rt 59, Winfield, Berkeley, Belmont) but I don't know of a complete list.

Additionally, there are ped/bike overpasses over some expressways, but those are usually noted on maps.

So, anyone know of any more secret routes/tunnels for bikes?

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Permalink Reply by Dev on March 17, 2016 at 10:20am

I love that you know about this. I grew up playing in that park!

I am now on the hunt for the best way to get from Armitage and California (where I live now) to Sayre Park.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Z on March 18, 2016 at 8:52am

Everyone,

Remember you can add paths, roads, tunnels, etc. to Google Maps.

Use:

http://www.google.com/mapmaker

I've added some missing bike lanes and corrected other features.

These should only be legal public ways. They will not, for good reason, get approved or will be deleted if it is found to be an illegal or private property path.

Tom