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The Skokie Valley Bike Path

The Skokie Valley Bike Trail (10 miles) is a straight, flat, paved bike path, with a nice view of the power lines (if you like that kind of scenery) that runs between Lake Bluff on the northern end and the southern part of Highland Park, Il. on the southern end. Despite this Bike Path's name, it does not go to or through the city of Skokie (at least at this time).

I must admit, this is one of the least scenic bike trails that I have ridden in the Chicagoland area. The bike path runs under power lines for the entire length of the trail with occasional commercial and industrial scenery along the way.

OK, now that made you aware that this is not a very scenic trail, there are still some good things that this trail offers too. First off, the Skokie Valley Bike Path provides a good connection between Lake Bluff, the North Shore Bike Path and the Robert McClory Bike Path in the north to the southern end of Highland Park and the Botanic Gardens as well as to the Green Bay Trail in the south.

In addition to the benefit of the connecting bike trails, the SVBP is also paved, mostly flat, fairly straight and does not have a lot of busy cross roads which makes it a nice trail for speed and a good workout (at off times or when there are few people out on the trail).

I would still not call this trail scenic but the southern part of the trail is lined with bushes and trees on either side and is fairly nice. If you are willing to ride on the sidewalks and cross a few busy roads when you get the the southern end of the trail you can make your way to the Botanic Gardens and to the North Branch Trails which can also take you into Glencoe, Winnetka and beyond.

I have read an article in the Chicago Tribune (from 2/7/2012) where a number of political leaders and advocacy groups ~ including the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Chicago-based Active Transportation Alliance (supported by famous Chicago Bike the Drive event) ~ have been working since 2006 to extend the southern leg of the trail through Wilmette, Northfield, Northbrook and Glenview and into the northern border Chicago.

At this time funding is a problem but the effort is not over yet. With the connecting bike trails, this would provide a bike route from Chicago north into Wisconsin!

I rode the Skokie Valley Bike path with my camera and Gamin Edge 800 GPS bike computer on 6/3/2012 in order to post the photos, map and ride data for this bike path.

Below is the Map and Ride data along with the Photo Tour of the Skokie Valley Bike Path.

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Here's a map of the Skokie Valley Bike Path with a link to the GarminConnect site so you can review the route, map, connecting trails and surrounding area.

I parked in Lake Bluff and took the North Shore Bike Path over to the SVBP which is the small east/west leg in the north.

The Skokie Valley Bike Path Map

© Copyright Garmin and Microsoft.
(click on map to see full map/ride details)

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Here's the photo tour of the Skokie Valley Bike Path from June, 2012.

Skokie Valley Bike Path Photos 1 - Northern Section From Lake Bluff
Skokie Valley Bike Path Photos 2 - Southern Section to Highland Park

Enjoy your ride...