On Sunday, August 22nd, I "discovered" a wonderful new bike trail called the Salt Creek Greenway Trail. It was a truly wonderful discovery, since I didn't even know the trail existed a week before. Yes . . . I admit that I had seen a couple of signs on Lake Street in Addison that identified some type of well-organized bike trail, but I failed to do any research that would have "connected the dots" and made me fully aware of this trail and the many places it can take me.
However, thanks to Jeff, who famously organizes many of the rides for the Schaumburg Bicycle Club, I learned about the SCGT. About a week before, Jeff posted a notice for a slow and easy ride that he was leading on Saturday, August 21st. Although I couldn't join that ride (because of a vet appointment for our youngest cat), I was intrigued by his description of the ride: "This slow and easy ride will bicycle the northern section of the Salt Creek Greenway Trail from Busse Woods south to Cricket Creek. . . This trail connects with the larger Great Western and IPP bicycle paths."
A trail that connected Busse Woods with the Great Western Trail? Wow! My interest was definitely piqued! I immediately began a Google search for "Salt Creek Greenway Trail" and found an amateur website that posted maps for most sections of this trail. I created PDF files from these maps and printed them out, but I wasn't sure when I would first attempt to follow them on my bicycle.
When I left the house on Sunday morning at 8:15 a.m., I wasn't sure of my ultimate destination. I knew I was headed to the Roselle Starbucks and then onward to Busse Woods, but I postponed the decision about the rest of my ride until later. Just in case, however, I brought along the SCGT maps that I had created the day before. After enjoying a refreshing ice coffee, I left Starbucks at about 8:55 and arrived at the Busse Woods Loop at 9:25. Feeling strong and adventuresome, I decided to leave the familiar Busse Woods Loop and strike out in a new direction -- namely, the spur path that forms the origin of the SCGT. I originally wanted only to find the first few segments of the trail, but it wasn't long before "let's see if I can find this trail" became "this is pretty easy; I'm going for it!"
The SCGT is more paved than not, and is very well-marked except for one trail fork on a paved section in Addison. One fork (that turns left) leads you in the correct direction toward Addison Road, while the other fork (that goes straight) leads to Mill Road. I went the wrong way while heading south but was able to follow the correct route coming back north. I took a picture of the infamous "fork in the road" on my way back so that I wouldn't make the same mistake in the future. The trail definitely needs a better sign there!
Otherwise, the SCGT is a delightful experience. It's not often that you discover such a well-built trail that you never knew existed the week before. It was that exciting! The SCGT begins in Elk Grove Village and winds through Itasca, Wood Dale, Addison, and Villa Park. It continues southward past the Great Western Trail, but I didn't take it that far. Instead, I stopped at "Rocket Park" in Villa Park, where the SGCT joins the Great Western Trail at 10:40 a.m., rested and hydrated a couple of minutes, then began the return trip. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to recognize the trail coming from both directions. In so doing, I discovered that it was even easier to follow the trail northbound than it had been southbound. I also noticed that there were a number of places where an underpass was built so that the SCGT could cross underneath major roads such as North Avenue and St. Charles Road. Very impressive!
The SCGT has something for everyone. There are wooded sections along Salt Creek that are truly picturesque. There are sections that parallel major roads; fortunately, the paved path is always well separated from traffic. There are places that could only be described as ugly, high-tech; that is, the trail follows a matrix of high-voltage towers that branch in several directions from an electrical substation. You can hear the crackling of electricity as you pass far beneath the high voltage cables. There's also a very impressive bicycle bridge over Irving Park Road in Wood Dale. I had seen it before while driving, but never knew it was a bike bridge until now. I also "discovered" the Cricket Creek Forest Preserve (which I drive nearby to every day en route to work).
Now that I'm aware of the SCGT, I will likely use it to create longer-distance routes that loop through Busse Woods, the Great Western Trail, the Illinois Prairie Path, and the familiar trails and roads west of me in Bartlett. It was a wonderful discovery indeed!
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