I’ve written about the pretty Powis Road and its parallel neighbor Munger Road, connected by Smith Road in west DuPage County, but I’ve neglected to celebrate nearby Klein Road.
Finally, when I stopped again this year to try to take a picture that captures the beauty of the adjacent West Branch Forest Preserve, I decided little Klein Road should get its own due.
Klein is hardly a 2-mile stretch surrounded by Wayne, West Chicago and Carol Stream. Though it takes you by the West Branch preserve, it doesn’t lead to an entrance; you can get into the preserve only on Army Trail Road, or by bike off Carol Stream’s Fair Oaks and Lies roads on the other side of the preserve.
But maybe it’s Klein that gives you the best scenes, showing the preserve’s ecological variety.
That’s in large part because Klein is a little hilly. When I get to the highest hill, I keep finding myself stopping and wanting to take pictures — or at least soak it in, as no matter how hard I try, I can’t truly capture all of the great wide view with a camera.
It can be a bit of a problem because moderate traffic does roll by on weekdays, maybe less so on weekends. And there’s no shoulder on the road. So I call it suitable mostly for serious cyclists, maybe for casual bicyclists.
Klein has a good number of cracks sealed by road snakes, too, yet it’s not horribly bumpy.
That hilly spot where I take pictures has a “No parking on this side of the street” sign. Is it because drivers stop to take in the scene, too? It’s not like the other side of the street is any better for parking. In any case, I hope drivers forgive the cyclist stopped on the side of the road with the smartphone’s lenses held high.
The spring brings a variety of greens, with trees, shrubs, grasses and prairie across the preserve. In the summer, some of the plant life may suffer a yellowing. Then in the fall, oranges and browns fully arrive — but not before a floral show that includes small sunflowers.
There’s a gravel trail within the West Branch preserve itself, on the east side, and of course it gives you access to some panoramas — best in the fall, even the later fall, in my opinion.
But Klein Road gives you road riders a great vantage point. I tend to access it on one of my clockwise DuPage loops, coming from Prince Crossing Road heading north to St. Charles Road (just across North Avenue/Route 64), where I turn west to get to Klein.
After Klein, I tend to turn right on Smith to get to Army Trail Road so I can dash to Gerber Road and head toward Bartlett. But sometimes I head west on Smith Road to get to either the aforementioned Munger Road or Powis Road, and then head to Bartlett on a longer route.
Whichever way I’m riding through west DuPage, Klein offers a lovely respite. Klein Road on the map below is the vertical line at the very bottom left.
• Enjoying the scenery? Consider donating to help defray the costs of gathering this material and storing it on this website.
One of the best cyclist spots on Klein Road is the Wayne Township Road District office where you can fill your water bottle from the cooler for all visitors and get the latest news on improvements. Currently beginning an engineering study for an off road path west side of Klein from Smith to St Charles Road for the local dog walkers and bicyclists too. You will notice the give bicyclists three feet signs and warning sign to bicyclists not to ride more than two abreast. The Road District was instrumental in building the Fair Oaks side path with Carol Stream to form a near continuous offroad path circling the forest preserve for local social bicyclists that can get families to the Sunny Acres Farm for year around entertainment.