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Running trails in North Chicago, IL
North Chicago has 2 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt. 1 of them posts opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 772 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Greenbelt Forest Preserve
4.6 ★★★★★ 680 reviews
Urban oasis featuring fishing, a summer farmers' market & miles of hiking & biking trails.
Lake County Forest Preserve
4.5 ★★★★★ 92 reviews
Relaxing park with walking paths, plus fishing in the lake and ponds.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in North Chicago
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is crushed gravel (1 of 2). Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More crushed gravel trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? A loop finishes back at the car with no backtracking; on an out-and-back you simply turn round at half your distance.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 1 of the 2 listing carries posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking and 1 has restrooms in North Chicago. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet and 1 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse North Chicago trails by type
Running trails near North Chicago
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.