Sag Valley Trail System and Forest Preserve

I used to come here exclusively for the workout you can get on The Stairs. The Stairs can’t be duplicated with any workout at the gym and obviously the view/​scenery is great as well.
More recently I have become fond of running the trails throughout these woods. My favorites are the Orange and Yellow loops… each just over 7 miles. The rolling terrain, elevation changes, and beautiful surroundings make for an incredible run.
All in all I love the stairs and the trail system. I look forward to experimenting with new runs throughout the area.

Nice, if crowded, trails. The eight mile loop has a few pleasant hills (and in the rainy months, a lot of mud) and takes you through quite a few interesting areas — prairie, wetland, forest, etc.
It’s not really a get-​away-​from-​it-​all kind of place. You’ll share the path with bicycles, horses, and hikers. But even on a beautiful day on a holiday weekend, we had plenty of spots on the trail to ourselves. I’d love to find a hillier and more remote hike (think DC’s «Billy Goat Trail») but it’s pretty good for the midwest.
As others say, definitely worth the 40 minute drive.

yellow trail — 8.1 miles. we started at teason woods and went the loop. mostly about distance than anything else. EASY. muddy (made it fun), saw the famed stairs in the distance. nice walking trail. wouldn’t call it a HIKE. love being out among trees. great for running/​biking etc. the horse shit i could have done without. i’m pretty critical of trails since i’ve hiked a bunch in national parks. this did the trick. for midwest, decent.

If you want a good hill run in the Chicago suburbs, this is the place to go. As good as it gets out here peeps. Yes, you do pass over a few streets on the trail. Then again it is the burbs and not the country. But seriously, to have such a nice trail for the majority of the 9 miles is incredible. The trees, the bridges, the flora! I love the hills. They will get your heartrate to aneorobic threshold in no time flat. Port a pot at the entrance. The running community out here is a lot of college and high school runners. And everyone is super friendly. It is a great change of pace and I highly recommend this for your hill training. Nice for repeats, out and back or the loop. Outside of Waterfall Glen, this is my fav.

Great Place for a hike, definitely worth the 40 minute drive.
I originally went to «The Stairs» when I came here but, after climbing those murderous things a few times… well you know, ya kinda wanna do something else.
I started out on the main loop, wide enough for a good sized group to walk past each other without bunching and shimmying to pass. The trail or semi-​improved path rather, had a layer of gravel — dispersed by time and slightly rutted from foot and hoof traffic (Yep, I saw a horse). The Main loop makes for a pretty relaxed walk, going through the woods but also keeping comfortably close to the edge of the park, close enough to just *barely hear traffic noise — Perhaps a City Slickers security blanket? Now, about that horse… Do be careful when running on the main trail, manure has a knack for sneaking up underfoot if you’re not watching for it. Though the path is mostly easy and fairly level there are some pretty good inclines and declines too, nothing an even «moderately healthy» person couldn’t handle though.
After the main loop we (I took my pup) decided to go to some of the small foot (though I did see bike tracks too) trails and wander around a bit. I gotta say, THIS is where it’s at. Ravines and dense woods, some places got downright DARK. No traffic noise in there, not much foot traffic either. It really feels like you’re alone except for the birds and woodland creatures. «It’s not a bear, it’s NOT a bear, * Expletive*! what if it IS?» was thought more than once that day.
These smaller trails gave me a good opportunity to just kinda wander through my own thoughts (between thoughts of bears eating me) as much as wander through the woods. It’s all very peaceful, sunlight wisping through the treetops, birds chirping, so many great little things can be found if you just take the time to appreciate what you’re looking at.
Here’s the skinny on The Sag Valley Trail System and Forest Preserve
1– It’s open from Dawn to Dusk
2– Parking lots are clean, maintained and readily available.
3– Dog and horse friendly, Dogs must be leashed.
4– Food and Water — bring it, no fountains or vending machines.
5– On the small side trails — they can be a bit tricky and aren’t maintained like the main loop.
6– Personal request here — keep it clean please, I came across wrappers, bottles and even a sock… there’s garbage cans available, please make use of them.
I’m definitely going back to this spot, «Because I like it, I love it, I want some more of it…»
Happy Unilocaling!

Swallow «your soul» Cliffs. Challenge: Try running up and down those stairs as many times as you can without stopping. My first time there I tried running full steam up that sucker. Oh my god was that a mistake. Noodle legs hit me hard. People were laughing. A fat pug ran past me heaving. When I finally crawled to the top I looked around for a Monk holding a pebble. No Monk. However there were piles of pebbles. Very intense workout with a fun vibe and it’s free.
*Warning*
Don’t clear off those pebbles. People use those as a counting tool for walking up those stairs. The last thing you want is some no necked wrestler chasing you down through those woods for knocking over there pile. Trust me you will not have the endurance to out run her.

The Sag Valley trails are a great place to hike. They’re great for beginning hikers, but the hills and terrain still offer a bit of a challenge.
I’ve found the bikers on this trail system seem to be a bit lacking in trail etiquette compared to bikers on other area trails. I’ve run into a lot of instances where bikers are coming up on me from behind with no warning. I think maybe there are a lot of newbie bikers on this trail because of the popularity of the stairs at Swallow Cliff? Who knows.

The yellow trail is about 9 miles so make sure you map out the trail system you want to use before you go because while it is beautiful if you did not come prepared for nine miles (water, dog treats, proper shoes) it won’t be good. There are no pumps or fountains on the trail. With that being said there are beautiful ravines and brooks. A great amount of elevation. You won’t feel like you are anywhere near the city. By the end of the trail I had burned almost 1100 calories basically oohing and ahhing the entire trip. It took about 3.5hrs and there were plenty of bikes, horses and runners after nine am.

I ride these beautiful trails regularly, and meet many friendly, interesting people, see a lot of animals, and just generally enjoy nature with my horse. I highly recommend a ride or a stroll through these woods. A word of caution, however. Please, for all of you who jog, or ride bikes, or have dogs, or strollers, or anything else, know that horses can be surprised and frightened by unexpected things, and may be dangerous in that state. They don’t intend to hurt anyone, they are just protecting themselves (they are prey animals!) Further, what they see on one side, they do not see on the other. (So what they see on one side is totally new on the other, hence a surprise, which appears to humans as the same thing.) Therefore, please understand that they may be spooked and frightened in that manner.
So, when you see a horse coming (or, especially, when you come up on one from behind) please announce yourself, slow down and leash your dog if you have one. (Just let the horse see you in advance.) I ask this because horses can be unpredictable, and as riders, we do not want to get hurt, we do not want YOU to get hurt, nor do we want to put our horses in danger. So please just let us know you are in the area; make yourself known to both us and our horses. If I repeat myself it is only because those who don’t spend time with horses do not know how they react to any given situation.
We are happy to share the trails with everyone, and I enjoy all the conversations I have with the people I meet on trail. (I recently met a man who was pushing a double stroller (2 toddlers included!) and leading a dog! A hardy soul!) Just please be careful, for everyone’s sake. Most joggers, parents, and bikers abide by these suggestions and I thank them. These small courtesies make the trails safe and pleasant for everyone.

This is a pretty nice set of trails. Aside from some muddy spots (unavoidable with the amount of rain this time of year; and it is nature, after all), the trails were pretty clean; no trash lying around that we noticed.
I added a photo of the stairs. It doesn’t really do them justice; they are exhausting! I didn’t realize how out of shape I am.
I can’t say too much more; it seems to be well-​maintained, and the parking is pretty plentiful.

Love the trails out here! The stairs at Swallow Cliff rock any workout. Be advised that you need to come here prepared — bring bug spray and water. There are no shops or fountains. Maps are not scarce so be aware if you are heading out onto the trails in the evening hours.

Can I get a w00t w00t for Forest Preserves?! The Sag Valley Trail System in Palos Park is a great system of forest preserves that one can use for hiking, biking, running, horse riding, and of course throwing a stone soul picnic.
We decided to grab our mountain bikes for some early spring trail riding. Plenty of people out and about enjoying the trails, and even an equestrian or two. (Watch out for road apples!) The trails are clearly marked but do yourself a favor and print out a color copy of the trail map or you might take a wrong turn at Albuquerque and wind up doing a loop twice. Trails were well-​groomed albeit somewhat muddy in spring, there is definitely some degree of difficulty of steep uphill and fast downhill riding, so be prepared to get a workout.
There’s an old toboggan slide that we decided to carry our bikes up to shorten our ride. This hill makes Rocky’s jog up the Philadelphia Institute of Art stairs seem like child’s play! And there was a high school wrestling team taking advantage of it for workouts. It’s a Vision Quest!
I can’t wait to do this again in summer when there is full greenery. This is an incredibly peaceful Oak Savannah, with many oaks and the occasional fir, and we had four deer run across the trail 20 yards ahead of us at one point.
The Sag Valley Trail System in Palos Park is only a 45-​minute drive from the city center, so rack up those bikes and surrey down! You won’t regret it!