Hiking trails near McHenry, Illinois

104 official trails lie within 25 miles of McHenry — 295 miles in total, 98 rated easy and 0 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.

The biggest climb nearby gains 212 ft; the median trail gains 41 ft.

Open the map on McHenry

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Millennium Trail	11.4	107 ft	Moderate	28 min · 14 mi
McHenry County Prairie Trail	10.9	180 ft	Moderate	12 min · 5 mi
Gander Mountain Forest Preserve Trail	3.0	212 ft	Moderate	28 min · 16 mi
Poplar Creek Red Paved Trail	8.7	95 ft	Moderate	45 min · 25 mi
Des Plaines River Trail	17.5	58 ft	Moderate	48 min · 29 mi
Chain O' Lakes State Park Trail	3.2	107 ft	Easy	27 min · 15 mi
CAMBr Yellow Trail	5.2	54 ft	Easy	47 min · 27 mi
Paul Douglas Red Paved Trail	6.8	100 ft	Easy	43 min · 24 mi
Yellow Trail (Deer Grove Forest Preserve)	4.7	111 ft	Easy	42 min · 23 mi
Raceway Trail	3.2	133 ft	Easy	32 min · 18 mi
Fox River Trail	9.7	46 ft	Easy	43 min · 23 mi
Randall Road Trail	4.8	104 ft	Easy	46 min · 26 mi
CAMBR Brown Trail	4.6	60 ft	Easy	46 min · 26 mi
Palatine Bike Trail	4.7	78 ft	Easy	43 min · 26 mi
Ridgefield Trace	6.6	39 ft	Easy	21 min · 11 mi
Prairie Crossing Bike Path	5.8	63 ft	Easy	27 min · 15 mi
Chain O'Lakes Bike Path	3.2	67 ft	Easy	23 min · 13 mi
Brunner Trail	2.9	104 ft	Easy	33 min · 17 mi
Moraine View Trail	1.6	54 ft	Easy	15 min · 7 mi
Casey Trail	2.2	130 ft	Easy	30 min · 17 mi
Washington Street Bike Path	2.5	102 ft	Easy	37 min · 22 mi
Brown Trail (Rotary Park)	2.5	71 ft	Easy	22 min · 12 mi
Poplar Creek Yellow Unpaved Trail	3.7	58 ft	Easy	45 min · 25 mi
Tamarack View Trail (2.8 mi)	2.7	39 ft	Easy	19 min · 7 mi

Quick picks near McHenry

Easy and short: Chain O' Lakes State Park Trail — 3.2 mi, rated easy, 10 mi from town
Longest: Des Plaines River Trail — 17.5 mi, 20 mi from town

What the trails reach

Summits: Gander Mountain Forest Preserve Trail to Gander Mountain

Lakes: Poplar Creek Red Paved Trail to Barrington Road Pond; Fox River Trail to Lake Marian; Palatine Bike Trail to Virginia Lake; Lake Defiance Trail to Defiance Lake

Viewpoints: Fox River Trail (2.0 mi) to Black Tern Marsh Viewing Platform Form

Trail guides near McHenry

Busse Forest Trails Red Paved — 7.3 mi, 44 ft climb · 26 mi away
West Branch DuPage River Trail — 4.1 mi, 51 ft climb · 33 mi away
Salt Creek Greenway — 2.2 mi, 15 ft climb · 34 mi away
Riverwalk — 1.7 mi, 14 ft climb · 39 mi away

Nearby towns: Lake Bluff (23 mi) · Burlington (23 mi) · Schaumburg (24 mi) · Kenosha (27 mi)

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