Chain O'Lakes Trails Photos
Bike Path Through COL State Park

After our trip to Long Lake we crossed Rollins Road again and got back on to the main COL trail. The photo above is back to the southern part of the trail. From here we rode back to where I parked (the park entrance off of Monaville Road) and headed out to the trail that runs through Chain O'Lakes State Park.

I would have liked to have ridden my bike out to the COL Park but I just could not find a good bike route to connect the 2 parks (COL State Park and Grant Woods). There doesn't seem to be a way to avoid going through the busy part of the town of Fox Lake or way to get to the other side of the lakes without riding on the bridge on Route 12. So we packed up the bikes and drove there.

Here is where we parked and started our ride on the "other" Chain O'Lakes (COL) trail in the Chain O'Lakes State Park. The lake in the photo above is part of Grass Lake.

The trail that goes through COL State Park is not very long and is very hilly. The photo above is a view of the path in one of the open areas just after some steep hills through a wooded area. We rode this trail kind of late in the day and if you stopped in the woods for more than a few seconds you would be eaten alive by mosquitoes!

Just after riding through one of the wooded areas in the park we rode by this stone wall. The trail through the park is pretty nice but it is not very long and the hills are very steep. Personally I think this would be a better walking or jogging trail than a bike trail.

There are some benches at various points along the trail (this is a state park after all). At the time that we rode this trail (late in the day on a hot day in June) you would not want to hang out here without bathing in mosquito repellant or something.

This picnic table was out in a more open area where the mosquitoes were not as bad. I liked the way that the table, poles and roof "framed" the background.

 

This hill was not quite as steep as some of the others were on the COL trail but the trail was a little washed out in places too and had some fairly loose gravel at the bottom of some of the hills which made it tricky to stay upright.

I watched my friend riding through the openings in the gates, where the path crossed the park roads, and was amazed that he did not lose one of the mirrors that he has sticking out from his handlebars each time. I had to get a photo of that. I guess there were a few inches to spare on each side but it was a pretty tight fit.

It was easier for me since I don't have mirrors on my bike and I am so thin! :-) lol!