Forest Preserves Partner To Connect Trails Between DuPage, Will Counties

DUPAGE COUNTY, IL — The forest preserve districts of DuPage and Will County are partnering to connect Greene Valley Forest Preserve in DuPage County to Whalon Lake in Will County to create a critical connection to the planned 40-mile DuPage River Regional Trail system, according to a release from the forest preserve. The trail extension is slated to open in 2018.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Board of Commissioners approved an intergovernmental agreement between the two agencies to provide for construction of a portion of the DuPage River Regional Trail within Greene Valley Forest Preserve, according to a release. The district operates a trail system at Greene Valley, and the Will County Forest Preserve District operates a trail system at Whalon Lake, which is about one mile south of Greene Valley.

According to the release, the Will County Forest Preserve District contacted the district with a plan to build the 1.25-mile trail link with Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Company, which owns a quarry adjacent to Whalon Lake. The bi-county trail segment will extend from Whalon Lake to Greene Valley along Royce and Greene roads at no cost to the district. The district will maintain the 10-foot-wide crushed limestone trail within Greene Valley once it’s completed, according to the release.

According to the release, the district has been working with various DuPage County agencies to develop the East Branch DuPage River Greenway Trail, a 31-mile bikeway that follows the East Branch DuPage River from Bloomingdale to Woodridge. Once the trail passes into Will County, it becomes the DuPage River Trail and follows the DuPage River through Naperville. The trail will eventually connect to Channahon and the I&M Canal State Trail, the forest preserve said.

“Residents of DuPage and Will County will greatly benefit from this trail link that will connect hikers and bikers to thousands of acres of open space and the extensive trail systems in both counties along the East Branch DuPage River and the DuPage River,” Forest Preserve District of DuPage County President Joe Cantore said in a release.

“It’s wonderful to see the collaborative efforts of two agencies produce benefits for the entire region,” Forest Preserve District Commissioner Linda Painter, District 3, said in a release.

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