Biking an ideal way to explore La Grange

If there's one topographical feature that distinguishes Chicago and most of its suburbs, it is the region's relatively flat terrain. While this no doubt disappoints mountain bikers (although they have options nearby), it makes everyday bicycling in and around La Grange a breeze.

A full rack of bicycles is a common sight at the Stone Ave Metra rail station. And the parking is free.

There's no better way to explore the town, short of walking, and you always have that option with a good bicycle lock, especially downtown where you are encouraged to use the several public bike racks.

Most village streets are smoothly paved and follow a basic grid that makes navigating idiot simple. Riding in the streets through the neighborhoods is generally safe thanks to 25-mph speed limit for automobiles and frequent stop signs.

Riding in traffic along the main thoroughfares, however, should always be avoided. These routes would include La Grange Rd, Ogden Ave, 47th and 55th Sts, Plainfield Ave and East Ave. Fortunately, there are sidewalks, often with curb cuts, along most of these roads.

Two other routes, Cossitt and Hillgrove Avenues, lie somewhere in between being side streets and main roads. Although both have sidewalks along their entire length, riding in the street is faster, less bumpy and generally safe as long as you stay off to the side. Both roads run east-west and are ideal choices for expanding your biking horizons into the adjacent communities of Western Springs and Brookfield.

Heading south into Countryside

Travelling on sidewalks alongside La Grange Rd, you can venture north quite easily into La Grange Park and south into Countryside, although in the latter case you will want to stay on the western sidewalk while still in La Grange as the sidewalk on the east side peters out before reaching Plainfield Ave.

Despite its car-culture landscape of shopping centers, drive-thru restaurants and automobile dealerships, Countryside provides well maintained sidewalks along both sides of La Grange Rd for its entire length through the city. Consequently, you can bike to the Bally Fitness Center, or to Home Depot or Best Buy, if you are so inclined.

You can even reach the Quarry Shopping Center in Hodgkins, south of Countryside, to visit other big-box retailers or even see a first-run movie. Just remember to cross Joliet Rd at the traffic lights, and be extra cautious in those big parking lots.

From the eastern end of the shopping center, you might be tempted to follow the sidewalk north along East Ave as an alternate route back to La Grange. Don't bother. Once you reach 55th St, the sidewalk ends. While the parking lots and smooth lawns of the light industrial buildings ahead of you might be tempting, once you hit Plainfield Ave and cross over into La Grange, there is a stretch of homes tightly fronting East Ave, sans sidewalks but with a lot yard clutter, mailbox posts and crowded driveways.

The other side of East Ave offers no option. It's a real quarry, not the shopping kind, fronted by a high fence and thick grass. Skip East Ave entirely and return along La Grange Rd.

Biking north into La Grange Park

Finding a route north from La Grange into La Grange Park, on the other hand, is a snap because the side streets of the two villages do just that—snap together on the same grid. Just be sure to cross Ogden Ave at one of the intersections with traffic lights.

You might not even be aware of it when you leave one one town and enter the other as the actual boundary between them is Brewster Ave, in the neighborhood just north of Ogden Ave. La Grange Park has no downtown of its own. Instead, there is a shopping plaza stretching two blocks along La Grange Rd, and a nice, big recreational park. Behind the park, out of sight from traffic on the road is a Jewel supermarket, the largest food store near downtown La Grange. So you can pick up some groceries if your bike has mounted baskets.

What you certainly won't realize unless you know where to look is that La Grange Park is your connection to the Salt Creek Trail, an asphalt path that breaks free from the urban grid and meanders more six and a half miles alongside the creek through a forest preserve.

Designated trails for bicycles and hikers

We will provide more details on the Salt Creek Trail, and other area bike routes, on this page in a week or two. Please check back then.

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