DuPage River Trail Linking Will, DuPage County Opens

(The following press release and photos were submitted by Cindy Cain, public information officer at the Forest Preserve District of Will County.)

BOLINGBROOK, IL - A newly constructed 1.25-mile section of the DuPage River Trail that connects Whalon Lake preserve in Will County to Greene Valley Forest Preserve in DuPage County is now open. Officials from the Will County and DuPage county forest preserve districts gathered Friday, June 1, for a ribbon cutting at the spot in Bolingbrook where the new trail segment joins the Whalon Lake loop trail.

But even as the officials were gathering, bikers, walkers and runners were already utilizing the new trail segment, which begins in the northeastern corner of the preserve and travels east along Royce Road and north on Greene Road to Greene Valley in Naperville. Andrew Andjelic of Naperville said he rides between the two preserves often, and the new trail connection provides a much safer route.

“It used to be a huge pain to get from my house to Greene Valley and beyond,” he said. ‘I’d have to ride on the road. It was very difficult, especially with the trucks on Royce.”

The new link allows trail users to go north 2.3 miles through Greene Valley to the Southern DuPage Regional Trail along Hobson Road, according to Kevin Horsfall, manager of planning for the DuPage Forest Preserve. From there, path users can head west about 3 miles to Washington Street and catch the West Branch DuPage River Trail, which runs 11 miles north through downtown Naperville to Blackwell Forest Preserve, he added.

The project was a collaboration between the two forest preserve districts and Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Company, which operates a quarry adjacent to Whalon Lake.

Ralph Schultz, chief operating officer for the Will County Forest Preserve, said the project grew out of a 25-year partnership with Elmhurst-Chicago Stone, which constructed and paid for most of the new trail segment in exchange for getting permission to build a floodwater diversion channel in Whalon Lake preserve.

“It’s not only a small link here for the Will County Forest Preserve, it’s a big link to the rest of the trails that are available in Illinois,” said Mary Lou Wehrli, a DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioner.

Ed Stevenson, executive director of the DuPage Forest Preserve, said the project is an example of what can happen when governmental entities and private businesses work together.

In addition to connecting north to Greene Valley, a trail segment that opened in 2015 also links Whalon Lake to the Bolingbrook Park District’s Hidden Lakes Historic Trout Farm.For more information on Will County forest preserves and trails, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.

Ribbon Cutting: Officials gather Friday, June 1, for a new DuPage River Trail segment ribbon cutting at Whalon Lake in Bolingbrook. Pictured from left to right are Forest Preserve District of Will County Commissioners Jackie Traynere and Chuck Maher; Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Commissioner Linda Painter and Executive Director Ed Stevenson; Will County Forest Preserve Board President Suzanne Hart and Chief Operating Officer Ralph Schultz; DuPage County Forest Preserve Commissioner Mary Lou Wehrli; V3 project manager Keith Butkus; and Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Company President Jeff Brown.