Poplar Creek Forest Preserve

The good:
–Easily accessible. Simply park your car by the equestrian parking and the trail starts right there. I’m sure there are other easy entries as well
–Nice long trails for the good workout/​run
–Decent for biking
–Good markers guiding you along the trail
The bad:
–Most of it is out in the open. Doesn’t have that enclosed forest boulevard feel
–Again, since it’s open, it gets unbearable to walk after 11 due to the sun and heat
–Wild grass growth all over the main trail path
–Markers have no distance mentioned on them. That’s just sad now.
–Lot of fake white stone gravel everywhere. Just why. I’ve been to some good unpaved hikes in NC and none of them have this
Decent trail overall but you’re better off trying to find some other place. I need that nice cool natural forest feel, like the NC trails. If you know of any such place, let me know!

My favorite place to go for a hike!

BEWARE OF TICKS! I mean lots and lots of ticks! I know that all wooded areas have ticks, but between two of us, we had to remove 10 ticks after our hour walk.
There are a few different trails that you can take here, and some are better well kept than others. Today we parked at the Equestrian Parking lot on Schaumburg Rd, and took the yellow trail, which is not very well maintained at several spots throughout the almost 4 mile course. There were many areas where the grass was much too tall and I’m certain that had a lot to do with the amount of ticks that hitched a ride on us.
Loving the outdoors, I do what I can to repel bugs, but I will add finding better maintained trails to that list. I’ve spent 30 minutes searching for any more, but I still have that creepy crawly feeling all over.

This is one of those places where you just kind of have to say, «it’s all relative.»
This isn’t California. There’s no ocean and we have sh*tty weather most of the year. In fact, last week this place was pretty much all swampland and flood/​sewage overflow. There’s no mountains to be seen and the closest you’d get to any elevation would be an old, covered landfill hill with methane pipes every few yards. Because of the season, the trees and foliage are pretty barren and ugly. I actually saw exponentially more cigarette butts littering the small area of land where we played frisbee than trees when we drove the entire perimeter of the park. Truly sad.
There are trails for hiking and biking, which is great since I just invested in a bike and am currently re-​learning how to ride it, but you have to cross some pretty major and high-​traffic streets to get from one part of the preserve to the other, so you have to be extra mindful of safety and the notoriously crazy Schaumburg-​area drivers.
On our last visit we just wanted to get outside and throw a frisbee for a while. They had enough wide open spaces to do that and there were several areas where you could park (unlike Paul Douglas Preserve) so that was nice, but lush and green it certainly was not. It was bumpy and rather littered with many reminders that you’re only a few yards from strip malls and traffic and «civilization».
We didn’t see many people here, just a single biking family, a couple who nearly got creamed by traffic trying to cross the street to the other half of the preserve on their bikes, a woman with a lawn chair in front of her parked truck with the hood popped and several cars that pulled into the lot to throw away old Corona and Coors Light boxes in the forest preserve’s garbage cans. Definitely not the nature-​immersion we’d been looking for, but I guess it’s better than winter when it’s hard to get out and do much of anything comfortably here, and it’s definitely better than nothing.
Hoping this place is a bit more scenic come the official warmer temps and summertime.

The bad thing about this trail is the number of times it crosses main roads so you end up stopping quite a few times and I’m not a big fan of these interruptions.
But other than that this trail is actually very beautiful with a few gentle inclines that could challenge you and some ponds and picnic areas. Most of the trail is out in the open without any tree cover so be prepared to feel the burn if its a really hot sunny day. This one is definitely not as crowded as busse woods. So thats another positive if you’re looking for some solitude.
When you start breathing heavily dont breathe through your mouth or you’ll find you have insects in your throat. :)
Here is a video that I made of my ride…

I would have given this a 4 star because of the highways interrupting it however the unbelievable amount of wildlife you see here made it a seven star trip. Most of the reviews discuss the paved trail. I did just under 8 miles on the unpaved trails and was very pleasantly surprised. There were turtles and snakes sunbathing in the path, an eagle over head along with other assorted birds. Dragonflies and butterflies danced all around pop-​up wildflower patches and deer wandered about. There were more bodies of water than listed on the map and it was unforgettable. About 2 – 3 miles of it are gravel so wear sturdy supportive shoes and enjoy!

Huge thanks to Teddy Roosevelt for understanding the importance of setting aside land for nature preserves. I mean, have you seen the strip malls nearby on Barrington road? The Poplar Creek forest preserve is a sweet haven from the surrounding suburban sprawl.
The paved trail is actually a 9 mile loop, complete with a pretty intense hill in the middle. I’ve seen deer, snakes, coyotes, hawks, red winged black birds, finches, praying mantises and butterflies galore. You will also come across other human beings, but it’s not like Busse woods where there are traffic jams on the path.
If it weren’t for the handful of mildly dangerous street crossings, I’d give it 5 stars.

This is my second favorite place to ride my bike in the Northwest Suburbs, falling only behind Busse Woods in Schaumburg. Both are very picturesque, with plenty of foliage and fauna. The lanes aren’t the widest, so make sure to call out «on your left» if you are passing some slower riders or pedestrians.
As noted by Jack P., the path intersects with some busy streets, unfortunately pulling you out of the tranquil nature setting and pulling you by your bootstraps to full awareness, lest you be run over by a less-​than-​attentive soccer mom in her SUV.
With that one drawback aside, the path itself is well laid out with plenty of signage to point you where you’re headed. The other bikers on the road have been considerate and shown courtesy while sharing the road. Overall, although Busse will continue to be my go-​to park, Poplar Creek isn’t a bad second to log a few miles and escape the hectic grind.

About 45 mins. from downtown Chicago — an easy drive to a great hilly trail for biking or hiking. Next to Waterfall Glen — this is my favorite trail.

Well, this is a suburban vs. urban nature retreat, but still part of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. I joined an organized hiking group here one Sunday for a hike. Except for being criss-​crossed by big suburban roads with considerable traffic, this is a great place to hike, with a varied landscape, a pond in one area, picnic spots and some beautiful vistas. Once inside, you forget the surrounding busy-​ness.
The hike we took was around 2 hours and we must have covered a good 7 – 8 miles in the Preserve. And there are various starting points and signs to guide you. If you do get lost, you’r only going to end up in a well-​populated suburban neighborhood.
So after a day of mad shopping at Woodfield Mall or that great Indie Swedish Temple of IKEA, and someone tells you to «take a hike», you can just head west on Golf Road and do that here.