Moving to Chicago area - advice requested

New member here. My wife, two sons, and I are moving back to the Midwest next year after 17+ years away, and I was happy to come across this site to help answer some questions that I have about cycling options in the Chicago area.

We've been in California most of our time away (mostly SF/Oakland..Sacramento the last 18 months) and have been spoiled for cycling options (Oakland especially). While I realize hills are going to be hard to come by near Chicago, I'd like to have a decent two to three hour ride without a lot of congestion/stoplights close to our new home if possible. We're looking at Oak Park/Forest Park/River Forest along with Andersonville/Edgewater but leaning towards Oak Park.

Are the Prairie and Des Plaines River trails the main/only good options near Oak Park? And are they generally not so congested that you can ride at a healthy clip (20+ mph)? 

If we do end up in Andersonville/Edgewater, is the lakefront path north of there generally not too congested as well -- even on weekends? 

Thank you, 

Patrick

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Permalink Reply by Patrick M on October 23, 2017 at 11:06am

Thanks, George. Appreciate the tips. 

Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on October 23, 2017 at 4:07pm

The Prairie Path near Oak Park, in Maywood/Bellwood, is paved but has numerous street crossings. Farther west, in DuPage County, it's limestone and has more infrequent street crossings.

The DesPlaines River Trail is a dirt path. The only time I tried it, it was terrible. The Salt Creek Trail is much better.

The Lakefront Path is very congested.

The kind of trails you're looking for would be the Centennial Trail in the southwest suburbs (parallels 171/Archer) and the Cal-Sag Trail through the south suburbs. Plus, they're not congested.

Permalink Reply by Patrick M on October 23, 2017 at 6:18pm

Thanks for the suggestions, Shawn.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 24, 2017 at 2:57am

Early weekend mornings you should be able to get going at a good clip on the Lakepath.

Weekday mornings and evening rush hours it is more congested--though they are separating the bike and walking paths, as you can read about elsewhere on this site.

South of downtown the path is much less congested even during rush periods.

Permalink Reply by David P. on October 24, 2017 at 3:18am

The crushed limestone surface of much of the IPP is, I think, perfectly fine - not much different than dirt roads I have ridden in the hills in California.

There is very little of the LFP that is north of Andersonville - it ends at Ardmore. For the kind of ride you seem to be after, from there your best option is probably Sheridan Rd. on the north shore. It is very popular with the weekend peloton. If you go far enough north (I am forgetting which suburb it is) you can get good hill repeats in going up and down the ravine that goes down to the lake from the bluff. As mentioned, the south LFP (let's say from 18th St. to Marquette) is very uncongested and it is relatively easy to maintain a good clip there.

I absolutely love riding in California and you won't find anything as nice here unless you go to Wisconsin, and even that isn't California :)

Permalink Reply by Patrick M on October 24, 2017 at 10:37am

Thanks for the advice, David. Outside of the friends we're leaving here in CA, I'm going to miss the riding most! 

Permalink Reply by curt(is) locke on October 24, 2017 at 3:34am

Once the temps drop below 50 degrees, the LFT really opens up.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 24, 2017 at 6:04am

Good point!

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 24, 2017 at 6:04am

Great suggestion.

Permalink Reply by Brian S on October 24, 2017 at 8:12am

Seconded.  I live in Albany Park, and can easily take the North Branch Bike Path for ~20 miles one way (with easy extensions to keep going much further in Skokie Valley Trail).  The North Shore Channel Trail starts here, and goes quite a bit north til it meets with the Green Bay Trail, which also continues for quite awhile. So without two much effort there's a few routes to do 20+ miles on trails.

I bike to work downtown on the lakefront trail most days.

I know picking a place to live is complicated, and involves tons of trade-offs.  But if the only way you're picking where to live, the areas adjacent/between the two northern branches of the river (Skokie, Chicago, Lincolnwood, Glenview, etc.) have lots and lots of places to bike.

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Patrick M on October 24, 2017 at 10:39am

Thanks, clp, Alex and Brian. The North Branch path looks just like what I was hoping for. (Our kids are two and five, by the way.) Might need to start looking more closely at some of the neighborhoods/suburbs on the north side of the city. 

Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on October 24, 2017 at 8:00pm

The North Branch Trail has several crossings of car-choked streets.

As always, try before you buy. Caveat Emptor and all that.

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