Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan

CMAP coordinates planning for trails and greenways in the region. The officially adopted Northeastern Illinois Greenways and Trails Plan is a long-range, multi-jurisdictional plan which envisions a network of trails and greenways across northeastern Illinois. The plan includes conceptual alignments along with existing greenways and trails. The plan is used extensively by local and county governments, trail users, environmental agencies and organizations, and corridor councils. The map and plan serve as a basis for planning and programming funding for greenways and trails, as a framework and guide for making connections between communities and other greenways and trails, and as a consideration in major infrastructure investment decisions.

Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan - 2009 Update

MAP AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY POSTERS AND PLAN DOCUMENT
Originally completed in 1992 and updated in 1997 and in 2009, the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan sets out a vision for an interconnected network of stream- and land-based green corridors and 2,700 miles of multi-use trails throughout the seven-county region.  The plan envisions a network of continuous greenway and trail corridors, linked across jurisdictions, providing scenic beauty, natural habitat, and recreational and transportation opportunities for our communities. The plan update, adopted by the Board of CMAP and the MPO Policy Committee, has an anticipated horizon year of 2040.

The Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways and Trails Plan 2009 Update consists of both a document and map.  The files can be downloaded below.  Alternatively, contact Curtis Kelley for a free copy at 312-386-8638 or ckelley@cmap.illinois.gov.  Please direct questions about the Regional Greenways and Trails map or text documents to Lori Heringa at 312-386-8621 or at lheringa@cmap.illinois.gov.

Northeastern Illinois Greenways and Trails Plan Documents:

• Poster Map  (PDF, 5.8 MB) This map features both existing and proposed elements and includes about 2,700 miles of trails (700 more miles than in 1997), 4,199 miles of stream greenways, and 1,357 miles of land-based greenways.
• High-resolution Executive Summary Poster (PDF, 9 MB)
• Low-resolution Executive Summary Poster (PDF, 2.4 MB)
• Plan Document (PDF, 3.6MB) The plan lays out the benefits, objectives, county priorities, and actions recommended to achieve the vision.
• Consolidated Regional Greenways and Trails Plan Map  (PDF, 11MB) This map shows regional trails, the primary trail system, and green trails, along with greenway elements in a pdf document featuring layers that users can make visible or invisible. Layers include aerial photography, lakes and rivers, forest preserves and other open space, roads, and county boundaries. This map does not distinguish between currently existing and proposed facilities. Layer control for the map is on the left side of the document.  View all of the layers by clicking the plus sign next to layers; then click on the eye to make an individual or group of layers visible or invisible.
• Planning Process and Public Review   (PDF, 480 KB)
• 1997 Greenways and Trails Plan Poster - Map (PDF, 3.1 MB) This is an earlier version of the map, and is no longer effective. It is retained here for reference.
• 1997 Greenways and Trails Plan Poster - Back (PDF, 3.6MB) This map is an earlier version of the executive summary poster, and is no longer effective. It is retained here for reference.

Download Northeastern Illinois Greenways and Trails Plan Trails Element Shapefiles

Geographic shapefiles are availabe for the trails element of the Greenways and Trails Plan for use in mapping and geographic information systems analysis.  Download the shapefile from the CMAP FTP Site.  Access the site with user name "cmapftpro" and password "cmapread".  Select all of the files in the directory, then right-click to "save as" to your computer.