North Shore Channel Trail

Great spot for a bike outting. Will have to stop to cross a few major intersections, but other than that, not crowded at all. Room to ride fast and hard.

paved the whole way, and interacts with major roads in several places. granted, that’s about as woodsy as it gets this deep into the suburbs. can be somewhat busy but never too crowded. excellent for biking. can also be supplemented by the very pretty trail around the lagoon, which also passes by the botanic gardens if you want to make a day trip out of it

Amazing trail and Sculptures. It’s quiet and a little busy during Summer afternoons. This is perfect way to discover half of Chicago and the Suburbs.

This is wonderful kayaking loop. We put in at the North Shore Channel boat launch in Skokie at Oakton. We paddled North to the Wilmette Locks, right before the Lake Michigan harbor. There's very little current. The Chicago river is dammed on all sides so the water is still -- and sometimes stagnent. We had really good water quality because we've had lots of rain in the last two weeks. There's lots of wildlife on this trail. For us, we saw many Great Blue Heron, Black-Crown Night Heron (including several juveniles), turtles, ducks, Kingfisher, woodpecker, and featuring a rare sighting of deer and mink. Really cool. The waterway is undeveloped on both sides. Very over run with thick trees and ground cover. It is like a mini nature reserve in the middle of a dense urban area.

The 2 mile portion we walked was just that "a walk" - not a hike. The description says it follows the river but it doesn't mention it also follows the constant traffic in McCormick Rd. We were looking for a hike in a more woodsy area. The path does share a nice bike trail.

Nice paved trail along the river.

Very nice path. It can get crowded later in the day, but first thing in the morning, it's great.