The Green Bay Trail is scheduled to join up with the Chicago Botanic Garden and the North Branch Trail of the Cook County Forest Preserves with the creation of a new connecting trail to be put in place by next summer. The trail is to be multi-purpose for bikers and walkers. It is designed to be 10' wide and made of asphalt, except for two 14' W wooden sections over wetland areas along Lake Cook Rd.
According to the CBG website, the trail will run 8.3 miles from the Braeside Metra station along the edge of Turnbull Woods (which comprises the SE corner of Lake Cook Rd and Green Bay Rd in Glencoe), across Green Bay Rd to CBG's McDonald Woods, and along McDonald Woods (parallel to Lake Cook Rd.) to the North entrance of the Chicago Botanic Garden. There it will link up with the Bike Trail that goes along the East side of the CBG, and thus connect with the North Branch Trail that ends at Dundee Rd. on the South end of the CBG. Bikes will still not be allowed in the horticultural areas of CBG.
The new trail will make it possible to go north on the Green Bay Trail, cross over to the Botanic Garden, and head back South on the North Branch Trail on a continuous biking journey (that ends a few miles west of Wilmette).
The Green Bay Trail begins near the RR Station in Wilmette (see photos) and goes to Lake Bluff. Evanston bikers can pick it up at the South end of the RR Station across the street from Panera Bread, or at Lake Ave. just east of the tracks.
Phase 2 of the CBG project is a trail system within McDonald Woods and Phase 3 is a Natural Play Area for children in the McDonald Woods complex. The total budget is 5.1 million dollars.
