This is coming up to the rusty old bridge that crosses Willow (or Palatine) Road.
The bridge is old, rusty and not much to look at but I am very glad that there is a bridge here or we may have another difficult road crossing. Now if we could just get a bridge, tunnel or even a crossing light where the trail crosses some of the other busy roads then we would have a much easier trip on this part of the DPRT.
Looking through the chain link fence at Willow/Palatine Road.
The Des Plains River Trail as it winds through the woods and over the small stone bridges just north of Willow Road.
This part of the trail can be a little rugged as you can see by the fallen tree here. In this case you can at least ride around it rather than having to stop and carry your bike over it.
When you look straight up from the heavily wooded parts of the Des Plaines River Trail you will sometimes get a view of the sunlight shining through the leaves as in the photo above.
Parts of the Des Plaines River can be very scenic when you know where to look and take a little time to notice what you are seeing.
The DPR trail itself gets pretty narrow and rugged in this section.
Still there are some nice scenes of the Des Plaines River on this ride.
This is a view of the pavilion at Dam #1 in Wheeling as seen from the Des Plaines River Trail.
The trail branches away from the river here, is still pretty rugged and winds through the woods.
Once you cross the forest preserve road there is a small section of the DPRT before you get to Dundee Road. It can be very hard to cross the road here but as you see there is a path that goes to the traffic signal if traffic is heavy and you need to cross. This is where we ended this DPRT trip.
There is additional trail information and more photos of the Des Plains River Trail north of here (almost to Wisconsin) on the pages listed below.
Here's the Photo Tour of the Half Day to Old School Forest Preserve ride from August 16th, 2014. These pages include photos of the DPR Trail in this section along with some nice scenery photos (including a few HDR photos) taken from various locations on the trail.
Old School Trail and MacArthur Woods - Photos 20
Route 60, Wright Woods and Half Day FP - Photos 21
Here's the GPS Map of the ride above.
Here are some Fall Photos of the DPRT from Euclid (or Lake Street) a little east of Prospect Heights south to Golf Road then back north to Milwaukee Ave (from October 9, 2012):
DPRT Fall Photos 17 - Just South of Lake Street
DPRT Fall Photos 18 - Branch to Beck Lake
DPRT Fall Photos 19 - North of Lake Street
Here's the GPS Map of the ride above.
Here's the photo tour of the Des Plaines River Trail from Higgins Road in Park Ridge north to Dundee Road in Wheeling (July, 2012).
The Des Plaines River Trail Photos 12 - Park Ridge Leg
The Des Plaines River Trail Photos 13 - Des Plaines Riverwalk Area
The Des Plaines River Trail Photos 14 - Big Bend Lake to Euclid
The Des Plaines River Trail Photos 15 - To Allgauers Restaurant
The DPRT Photos 16 - To Dam No 1, Wheeling < You are here
Here's the GPS Map of the ride above.
Here's the photo tour of the Des Plaines River Trail from Lincolnshire (Routes 21 and 22 going south) to Dundee Road in Wheeling, Il. (June, 2012).
The DPRT Photos 8 - Lincolnshire Marriott Area
The DPRT Photos 9 - Path along Milwaukee Road
The DPRT Photos 10 - Deerfield Road to Lake Cook Road
The DPRT Photos 11 - County Line Road to Wheeling
Here's the GPS Map of the ride above.
Here's the photo tour of the Des Plaines River Trail, from Route 22 in Half Day (going north) to Libertyville (July, 2005).
Des
Plaines River Trail Photos 4 - Lincolnshire to Wright Woods
Des
Plaines River Trail Photos 5 - Bridge Underpasses and Equestrian
Des Plaines River Trail Photos 6 - North to North Shore Path
DPRT Photos 7 - North Shore Path to Independence Grove
Here's the photo tour of the Des Plaines River Trail, from Wisconsin (going south) to Libertyville (September, 2004).
Des
Plaines River Trail Photos 1 - Van Patton Woods
Des
Plaines River Trail Photos 2 - Mile 5 South to Great America
Des
Plaines River Trail Photos 3 - Mile 11 to Adler Park in Libertyville
Note: Des Plains is a common mi s-spelling for Des Plaines (with the e near the end) so will see some references to Des Plains River Trail on these pages to help with the searches for the trail pages.
Photos © Copyright Rob Chapman, about-bicycles.com. Photos with * Copyright Dale Kiffel.
Half Day to Old School, August 2014
Fall Photos, October,2012
DPRT Photos 17
DPRT Photos 18
DPRT Photos 19
Park Ridge to Wheeling, July 2012.
DPRT Photos 12
DPRT Photos 13
DPRT Photos 14
DPRT Photos 15
DPRT Photos 16
Lincolnshire to Wheeling , June 2012
DPRT Photos 8
DPRT Photos 9
DPRT Photos 10
DPRT Photos 11
Half Day to Libertyville, July
DPRT Photos 4
DPRT Photos 5
DPRT Photos 6
DPRT Photos 7
Wisconsin to Libertyville, September, 2004
DPRT Photos 1
DPRT Photos 2
DPRT Photos 3