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Along the path, trail users will find themselves passing through city streets and into quiet forests where the sounds of the city quickly fade away. Because the area is located within a forest preserve, many generations of wildlife have lived and died with limited but safe contact with humans. As a
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On
December 21, 2015, the Forest Preserve of Cook County broke ground on Stage 1 of the North Branch Trail Southern Extension, extending the trail 1.8 miles south to Forest Glen Woods. On September 20, 2016, at 3pm the first stage of the southern extension opened. The second stage of the extension
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Much work was done on the equestrian trails as well. Although some equestrian trails were overlaid by the bicycle trail, many still exist, paralleling the paved route. A complete gravel trail runs from the equestrian facility at Golf road to the Willow Rd dam site, with a separate underpass at the
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was eliminated in the early 1980s when major resurfacing of the expressway presented an opportunity to install a short tunnel under the expressway, eliminating the need for a proposed million dollar bridge. The fork in the trail just west of Happ Rd was the route to
Winnetka Rd for the bridge
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via the south service entrance. Traversing the Garden and exiting the north entrance allows a brief portage west on Lake-Cook Rd to the southern end of the Skokie Valley Bike Path. In August 2014 the trail was extended along Lake-Cook road from the
Botanic Garden eastward to connect to the
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The present paved trail was largely completed in the 1980s with a continuous paved surface, and overpasses at Oakton Street and Lake Ave. The entire length of the paved trail was torn up and repaved in 2007, correcting many poor sections and offering a smooth and groomed pathway.
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Starting in the 1970s, the Cook County Forest
Preserve District began converting this to a dedicated paved trail. A major construction push in 1976 resulted in a complete trail from Devon Ave to Winnetka Ave, and the completion of the Lake St overpass for $ 505,000.
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The trail started after World War II as several disconnected and unpaved equestrian trails, most of which still exist. The area was also traversed by old roadways, and footpaths laid down by hikers over the years.
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The trail splits at Tower Road, looping around the Skokie
Lagoons. This offers an excellent tour of this locally famous conservation effort performed during the depths of the
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has added another 1.2 miles further south to
Gompers Park. Other improvements in 2016 included adding park benches and other conveniences along the route.
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who have no fear of humans and may even stop and examine trail users as much as the humans themselves. The trail adjoins an
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496:"FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY BREAKS GROUND ON SOUTHERN EXTENSION OF NORTH BRANCH TRAIL"
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Parking and access to the trail is available in many locations, including Harms Woods in
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208:. The trail starts at the western part of Gompers Park in Chicago (
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A fawn investigates some leaves a few feet away from the path.
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Ending at Dundee Road, riders can proceed northward to the
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https://fpdcc.com/places/trails/north-branch-trail-system/
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and the Tower Road boat launch. The trail is also nearby
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336:. A commemorative plaque can be found honoring the
290:result, it is not uncommon to find animals such as
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
480:"North Branch Trail Addition Opens This August".
995:Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
461:. Forest Preserve District of Cook County. 2004
436:. Forest Preserve District of Cook County. 2004
391:A portage along Winnetka Rd to cross over the
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456:"North Branch Trail System (south) Map (pdf)"
431:"North Branch Trail System (north) Map (pdf)"
8:
484:. Vol. 5, no. 2. 2014. p. 35.
396:crossing; today it is just an access point.
1157:Bike paths in the Chicago metropolitan area
1000:Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
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717:Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
1162:Protected areas of Cook County, Illinois
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162:Forest Preserve District of Cook County
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767:Southern DuPage County Regional Trail
408:North Branch Trail Southern Extension
7:
44:adding citations to reliable sources
1059:Private: Baker Demonstration School
1043:Wilmette Public Schools District 39
298:facility at Golf and Harms Roads.
14:
20:
742:North Ave Commuter Bicycle Path
727:Joliet Ironworks Heritage Trail
31:needs additional citations for
1126:Chicago and Northwestern Depot
1005:Northwestern Elevated Railroad
882:Formerly unincorporated places
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990:Chicago and Milwaukee Railway
327:Milwaukee District North Line
1068:Regina Dominican High School
905:Oak Circle Historic District
305:, where users can link with
338:Civilian Conservation Corps
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974:Union Pacific / North Line
329:towards the southern end.
629:North Shore Channel Trail
182:
1110:Wilmette (Metra station)
1048:Avoca School District 37
564:Boulevard Lakefront Tour
358:Union Pacific North Line
344:and north of Willow Rd.
204:located in northeastern
953:Bahá'í House of Worship
937:Wilmette Public Library
787:Wauponsee Glacial Trail
702:Fullersburg Woods Trail
672:Des Plaines River Trail
340:work, just east of the
262:42.137750°N 87.781556°W
227:41.997611°N 87.767472°W
129:20 mi (32 km)
1131:Isabella (CTA station)
1053:New Trier Twp. HSD 203
380:The abandoning of the
349:Chicago Botanic Garden
193:
152:Chicago Botanic Garden
1152:Bike paths in Chicago
732:Joliet Junction Trail
722:Illinois Prairie Path
712:I & M Canal Trail
707:Hickory Creek Bikeway
677:Erie Lackawanna Trail
569:Chicago Critical Mass
267:42.137750; -87.781556
232:41.997611; -87.767472
206:Cook County, Illinois
191:
138:Cook County, Illinois
1105:Linden (CTA station)
782:Waterfall Glen Trail
747:Old Plank Road Trail
687:Grand Illinois Trail
55:"North Branch Trail"
40:improve this article
868:North Shore Channel
697:Great Western Trail
634:Skokie Valley Trail
307:Skokie Valley Trail
258: /
223: /
1014:Roads and highways
898:Historic districts
852:North Branch Trail
833:Wilmette, Illinois
777:Tinley Creek Trail
657:Block Run Greenway
624:North Branch Trail
619:Major Taylor Trail
604:Bloomingdale Trail
545:Cycling in Chicago
404:Edens Expressway.
198:North Branch Trail
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121:North Branch Trail
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983:Defunct railroads
969:Purple Line (CTA)
946:Places of worship
861:Canals and rivers
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772:Thorn Creek Trail
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1119:Defunct stations
1077:Shopping centers
1021:Edens Expressway
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762:Salt Creek Trail
667:Centennial Trail
639:Weber Spur Trail
609:Burnham Greenway
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334:Great Depression
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847:Green Bay Trail
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682:Fox River Trail
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354:Green Bay Trail
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574:Perimeter Ride
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559:Bike the Drive
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284:Skokie Lagoons
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96:September 2014
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757:Prairie Trail
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662:Calumet Trail
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276:Chicago River
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202:bicycle trail
200:is a Class I
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158:Maintained by
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51:Find sources:
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29:This article
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873:Skokie River
851:
623:
599:312 RiverRun
500:. Retrieved
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482:Keep Growing
481:
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465:20 September
463:. Retrieved
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440:20 September
438:. Retrieved
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346:
331:
321:stations on
311:Morton Grove
300:
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280:Skokie River
253:87°46′53.6″W
215:41°59′51.4″N
197:
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149:LaBagh Woods
102:
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38:Please help
33:verification
30:
1084:Edens Plaza
840:Bike trails
737:Monon Trail
319:Forest Glen
265: /
250:42°8′15.9″N
230: /
218:87°46′2.9″W
1146:Categories
649:Metro area
417:References
296:equestrian
145:Trailheads
66:newspapers
962:Railroads
930:Libraries
384:Lagoons (
364:station.
315:Edgebrook
178:Trail map
1098:Stations
1041:Public:
362:Braeside
356:and the
282:and the
134:Location
1035:Schools
591:Chicago
368:History
241:Glencoe
168:Website
80:scholar
552:Events
502:18 May
498:. FPCC
382:Skokie
317:, and
303:Skokie
278:, the
126:Length
82:
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61:
53:
914:Lakes
459:(PDF)
434:(PDF)
323:Metra
87:JSTOR
73:books
504:2016
467:2013
442:2013
386:Nike
292:deer
196:The
59:news
360:at
325:'s
42:by
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313:,
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94:(
84:·
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36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
