LocationLoves Park, IL (North Rockford area, about 1 hour NW of Chicago)
Trail Map
Trail Review Rock Cut State Park is a nice alternative to the Kettles or Palos. open from April to December, The 10+ miles of singletrack trails are rolling and fast, yet not heavily technical. You get stretches of dirt widetrack, tight and root-hopping singletrack, log piles, and a few hilly meadows constantly mixing it up. Elevation change is typically modest for this region, but Rock Cut uses what it has to keep you on your toes. The trails are a spiderweb of interconnecting loops, so it's worth stopping by the Park headquarters near the entrance to pick up a trail map. You can ride any trail with a flexible blue marker, so be alert to what you're riding. An extra perk is that the park allows night-riding.
The Espenscheid Forest Preserve, about 15 minutes to the south, throws three miles of tight, tree-hugging, technical singletrack into the mix.
Getting ThereTake I-90 west to Rockford, exiting at East Riverside Blvd. Go left on East Riverside a few miles to Perryville Road, right on Perryville to Hwy. 173, right on Hwy. 173 about 1-1/2 miles to park entrance.
More InfoRock Cut State Park has a campground if you want to bring the family, or make a layover during a trip further north or west. The park has several local bike shops that help maintain the trails here. If you are interested in working on these trails, or want to know who to thank for their trail-building efforts, then pay a visit to the
Rock Cut Trail Crew.
