Moraine Hills Trail System

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Moraine Hills State Park trail system, managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is located in the northeast corner of Illinois, three miles south of the City of McHenry. Total trail mileage is 10.2, 8.5 crushed limestone loops with the following segments: 

• 2.0-mile Fox River
• 3.2-mile Leatherleaf Bog, 
• 3.7-mile Lake Defiance
• 1.7-mile linear paved River Road

Trail use consists of cycling, mountain biking, hiking, jogging, and cross-country skiing.

Broad trails swerve in and out of marshland and up and down kettle moraines, near natural lakes, prairies, bogs, wooded hills, and streams. More than 10 miles of the trail make Moraine Hills popular for hikers, skiers, and cyclists. Four trail segments, three surfaced with crushed limestone and one with asphalt paving wing their way through the park and offer exceptional views of the 48-acre glacier Lake Defiance, 115-acre Pike Marsh, home to many rare plants, and 120 area region known as Leatherleaf Bog, an example of kettle-moraine topography. The trail also offers a close-up view and experience of the historic Fox River and McHenry Dam on the park's western border.

The park's 11.7-mile linear asphalt trail along River Road connects to the 450-mile Grand Illinois Trail connecting many communities from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.

Allowed Uses:

• Certified as an NRT
  May 25, 2009