Trail Conditions

Hickory Creek Preserve

Mokena, IL

7 Miles

Beginner-Friendly

Family Trail

Trail Overview

Trail Length

7 miles of singletrack - seven total trails, including three designated loops

Difficulty Range

Beginner and Intermediate: Prairie and wooded sections with mild elevation gain

Hours

Sunrise to Sunset

Land Manager

Will County Forest Preserve District.

View on Trailbot

About the Trail System

Hickory Creek Preserve in Mokena, IL offers an accessible, beginner-friendly environment for cyclists looking for smooth, low-stress riding. The preserve’s paved and natural-surface paths provide gentle grades, predictable terrain, and easy navigation—ideal for new riders, families, and anyone who wants a relaxing ride rather than technical mountain biking.

Trails & Riding Experience

  • Paved Bikeway – ~6 miles total:
    Two main paved segments (east and west) form the Hickory Creek Bikeway, offering wide, well-maintained paths with mild elevation changes. These routes are perfect for casual cyclists, kids, hybrid riders, and anyone wanting a comfortable entry into off-road recreation.
  • Soft-surface loops near the LaPorte Road and Junction access points offer a more natural riding feel without steep climbs or technical obstacles. These are good transitional trails for riders who want to progress beyond pavement but aren’t ready for true mountain-bike singletrack
  • Connections to Regional Trail Systems:
    The paved bikeway links to the Old Plank Road Trail (22 miles) and the Route 30 Bikeway, giving riders the option to extend their ride into longer regional routes while keeping terrain easy and accessible.

Trail Zones

Main Loop

Smooth, flowing singletrack perfect for learning

• Gentle terrain with no technical challenges
• Wide enough for comfortable riding
• Can be ridden multiple times for practice

Optional Features

Small challenges riders can choose to attempt

• Small bridge for practicing balance
• Easily bypassed beginner jump
• All features have ride-arounds

CAMBr's Role at Hickory Creek Preserve

CAMBr maintains the Hickory Creek Preserve trail system in partnership with the Forest Preserve District of Will County

This collaboration ensures the trail remains in excellent condition and serves as a welcoming introduction to mountain biking for newcomers to the sport.

The trail demonstrates CAMBr’s commitment to making mountain biking accessible to all skill levels and ages. By maintaining beginner-friendly facilities like Hickory Creek Preserve alongside more advanced trail systems, CAMBr helps grow the sport and builds a diverse, inclusive riding community. Regular maintenance workdays keep the trail in top condition and allow the community to contribute to this valuable resource.

Why Volunteer?

Meet Fellow Riders

Connect with the local mountain biking community and make lasting friendships

Give Back

Make a lasting impact on the trails you love to ride

Learn New Skills

Gain trail building knowledge and sustainable construction techniques

Local Amenities

Bike Shops

• Orland Park Cyclery
• REI Orland Park

Dining

Various restaurants available nearby in Carpentersville and Algonquin

Amenities

• Restrooms: Permanent outhouse restrooms at the LaPorte Road access
• Water: No hydration station on-site (nearby stores available)
• Bike Wash / Tools / Pump: Not available on-site
• Hours: Sunrise to sunset when accessing by vehicle
• Fees: No trail fee or pass required

Events & Community

• Events / Races: None scheduled at this time
• Trail Director: Jeffrey LaMorte — [email protected]
• Volunteer Opportunities: Posted on the Hickory Creek Riders Facebook page
• Trail Updates & Communication: Follow us on Facebook at Hickory Creek Riders

Recommended Trailhead

Shagbark Parking Area (recommended starting point)

Important Trail Etiquette

•Family-friendly environment: This trail is designed for beginners and families – be extra courteous and patient.
•Multi-user system: Yield to hikers and other trail users – the park serves the entire community.
•Control your speed: Call out when passing and slow down around children and beginners.
•Stay on trail: Use designated trails to protect the park environment.
•Safety first: Wear a helmet and encourage others to do the same – set a good example for new riders.

Hickory Creek Park Photos

Ready to Hit the Trails?

Join CAMBr and help us maintain and improve the Hickory Hill trail system

Become a Member
Join a Workday

CAMBr Current
Trail Conditions

Natural surface trails and bike parks can be easily damaged when they’re soft, wet and/or muddy.  All trail users should stay off the singletrack trails and jump lines unless they’re dry, or frozen solid.  CAMBr volunteers put in many thousands of hours each year maintaining and constructing trails, and we closely monitor their condition.  

CAMBr uses the Trailbot smartphone app to publish trail conditions updates.  Trailbot is a completely free, ad-free, easy-to-use trail conditions app for iOS and Android  – so you’ll know what to expect before you go, and can make informed decisions when conditions aren’t favorable for hitting the singletrack.  

Visit Trailbot.com to download the app, or find it in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Within the app you’ll find not only current trail conditions updates for all your favorite CAMBr trails, but also weather information, trail descriptions, maps, and other useful links. Trailbot updates are also pushed to our website for easy access.

Please respect the trails, and all the work that goes into them, by staying off when they’re soft.

ABOVE ALL – IF YOU’RE LEAVING AN IMPRINT, IT’S TIME TO LEAVE

WHAT ARE FREEZE/THAW RULES?

There’s a season in the Chicago area, typically between mid-November and the end of March, when temperatures will drop below freezing at night and then warm up above freezing during the day. What this means for the trails is when actually frozen they are hard and good to ride. But when the temps go up and the moisture in the ground thaws, the dirt becomes very soft and muddy. This is because the water in the soil expands when frozen and it looses the tightly packed soil. The result is the trails can become very soft and muddy even if there hasn’t been much rain or snow fall.

So, to protect the trails from damage, only ride when the ground is frozen hard, and get off once the ground begins to warm up. South facing trails will usually soften up first, and if the sun it out and the temps get into the 30’s, you’ll probably need to be done by 10AM.

Remember, if you’re tires are leaving an imprint, it’s too soft to ride. 

Fat Bike Tire Pressure