Illinois trails · Clear Lake Trail
Clear Lake Trail
A 2.9-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 77 ft of climbing. Reaches Clear Pond and other lake destinations.
Length
2.9 mi
Elevation gain
77 ft
Difficulty
Easy
Max grade
16%
Steepest mile
+75 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.1 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Surface
Ground
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 2.9 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Clear Pond (lake)
- Emerald Pond (lake)
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:49 a.m., the sun rises at 6:17 a.m. and sets at 7:24 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:52 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 07 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 5.7-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 12 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:29 a.m. — 10 h 55 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Clear Lake Trail — 4.2 mi loop, 252 ft gain