Greenbay Trail

What a beautiful trail for biking and jogging. Tree-​lined with fresh air all the way from Wilmette north to Zion. Simply spectacular and a must for bikers and runners.

This trail starts at Lake St in Wilmette and runs North to Great Lake Naval station. From there it turns into the North Shore Path (Not to be confused with the North Branch Trail which runs from Chicago to the Botanic Gardens)
I trained for the half ironman and some century rides on this trail pretty extensively in 2007. Its possible to maintain 18−20mph throughout the trail.
From the Chicago lakepath, go north along the bike trails towards Evanston and remain on Sheridan Dr to Lake st in Wilmette. Go west for a little bit and then follow the metra train tracks North. The trail runs along these tracks. Word of warning, once you are on the trail, ignore any signs about the direction of the trail and just follow the tracks. Some of the towns try to route you around the business districts, but its better to just forge on North.
Another good use for the trail is to hook up a trailer to your bike and carry your camping gear to Illinois state beach park campsite near Zion. Its about 45 – 50 miles from the North end of the Chicago Lake front path.