Best Bike Rides Chicago: The Greatest Recreational Rides In The Metro Area

As amply demonstrated by this guide, Chicago’s heritage as a transportation hub has reaped huge rewards for local cyclists. Twenty miles of lakeshore parkland and an elaborate system of leafy boulevards connect a series of mega-parks throughout the city. Coupled with this is an ever-expanding cycling infrastructure featuring more than 100 miles of bikes lanes. The Illinois Prairie Path, which runs between the Des Plaines River and Wheaton, was one of the first linear trails in the nation converted from a railroad line—and today it is part of the most extensive collection of rail trails in the Midwest, perhaps the nation.