Name: New hike on New trails in the NW Suburbs, 6.5 to 7 miles! Optional lunch.
Start: 2024-12-01T10:00:00-06:00
End: 2024-12-01T13:00:00-06:00

Lets hike the new Mountain Bike Trails on the East side of Paul Douglas Preserve! I've never led a hike in this section and finally got around to exploring it today.

This hike is NOT on that 7 mile asphalt loop that is synonymous with Paul Douglas!

Its in Hoffman Estates near Schaumburg and part of the vast 70,000+ acres of Cook County Forest preserves. The trail system is new and opened in early 2023.

Its an easy hike with not much elevation change and nearly all single track packed dirt.
No bushwhacking on this trail; its well defined and wasn't muddy this time of year.
If you liked the Paul Douglas West Trails I think you'll like this more. I found the landscape prettier and more interesting even within the same time of year. A bonus is this one doesn't have all those annoying little 2 inch high stumps that I kept almost tripping on. Its nice and flat with occasional roots popping up.
On this hike we'll do the orange and yellow trails which are all mountain bike. There's only one porta potty on this hike and its where we start out.
The trails are surrounded by short, dense woodland in sections, tall forest in other parts. Sometimes it goes thru a meadow with tall grasslands surrounding the trail. A few evergreens are scattered in some areas adding interest. There were lots of deer here, saw over 8.

Trail goes over Poplar creek and a few ponds are visible here and there. Some areas remind me of Palos trails with their narrow twists and turns.

I'll update mileage this week and estimate is 6.5 to 7 as of today. Next year in Spring I'll schedule a longer 10 mile one after I work out where intermediate bathroom stop is.

This hike is cross posted with the Trailblazers group https://4142298.xyz/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/304468532
and my rsvp will include members of that group. Photos from other members will appear in that group. I only upload my own photos to this group.

Optional lunch at a place TBD

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New hike on New trails in the NW Suburbs, 6.5 to 7 miles!  Optional lunch.

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New hike on New trails in the NW Suburbs, 6.5 to 7 miles! Optional lunch.

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