One long road ride I figured out early in my amateur bicycling “career” took me through Barrington Hills to a wonderful road along the Fox River.
The far northwest suburb of Barrington Hills is famously pretty itself. Its narrow, quiet roads through a real forest and huge real estate for the rich and famous plenty are popular among road cyclists (to residents’ chagrin sometimes). It’s not a huge suburb, but it happens to span four counties: Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry.
McHenry County, overall popular among bicyclists, has a list of “McHenry County Scenic Drives.” One is in Barrington Hills, and one is right outside its western border, in Algonquin right off the Fox River.
That road, called River Drive, became one of my favorite summertime destinations. But I found different scenic Barrington Hills roads to get there, Spring Creek Road my favorite.
I think Spring Creek ought to be one of the county’s “Scenic Drives” in its own right. I even wrote about it separately, and it’s now fully repaved.
The trip I put together gave me about a 40-mile loop from my Hoffman Estates home at the time; the Barrington Hills and Algonquin portion runs 00 miles. This is strictly a road ride, but the traffic is light, with one needling exception. So it’s best for serious cyclists, OK for casual bicyclists.
Where I start
I start this loop by getting to Ridge Road off County Line Road. This, unfortunately, is tricky.
From the south I ride through Hoffman Estates and South Barrington to get to Old Sutton Road via Penny Road. That runs through Cook County forest preserve land, so already it’s peaceful cycling territory.
Old Sutton quickly takes you into the Cook County portion of Barrington Hills (and by the way, it’s a little hilly); it runs 00 miles north to the county line. But to get into Lake County, you have to actually ride on the County Line Road for a quarter-mile.
It’s a tiny shoulder on this road, and especially during the afternoon rush, it can get busy, so it’s not a totally comfy quarter-mile.
Nevertheless, I turn right or east onto it to get to Ridge Road.
Heading north on Ridge Road ultimately takes you to some rolling hills, more the farther north you go. But I don’t go all the way north.
Instead I turn west at Spring Creek Road.
The sleeper scenic road
Spring Creek Road presents long rolling hills with vast horse farm scenery. It starts with tree cover on the east end, then leads you to a big downhill.
That downhill rolls you into views of land that’s more open. Already it’s a sight to see. The trees never entirely disappear.
After the downhill you ride relatively flat for a while. But then you come upon a canopy of trees up a difficult hill. You might even need to shift into the small chainring up front.
But as you’re struggling up that hill, don’t forget to look at the pretty, tree-covered home and garden on the left. The tree cover follows for a while.
Spring Creek ultimately can take you west past sunflowers, in season. You may or may not see them before making the next key turn.
Braeburn Road
I next take Braeburn Road to the north. Both Braeburn and Spring Creek would take you closer to the river, but Braeburn winds up being more direct — and fun.
The majority of Braeburn is tree-lined, and since this is only a mile long, more of a cut-through road, there’s hardly any traffic.
That’s a good thing, because after you work up the hill on the south end, you ride a good, long downhill.
And the downhill gets dramatic on the north end. Like, hold on tight, get in an aero position and proceed carefully, because you can easily exceed 30 mph. Thankfully, the road is recently repaved!
It’s a secret little thrill, if you’re into that sort of thing. But get yourself ready to brake hard when the road ends, at Algonquin Road.
Here’s a video of how Braeburn Road looks.
Take me to the river
This is not Route 62 but another Algonquin Road — yes, oddly very close to the Route 62 Algonquin Road — that runs along the borders of Barrington Hills and Fox River Grove. Turn left and it takes you to the Fox River.
But first you must push back up some hills. They’re not long, but they’re a good little workout.
You pass homes and even riverside camp entrances. You come upon Haegers Bend Road.
After that, the Fox will start to appear on your right. One final left curve and the river will be right alongside you. Soon the road becomes River Drive in Algonquin; it seems to be called River Road sometimes, too.
Homes are on the left, usually on little hills. Docks and parked boats appear regularly on the right. Residents may be out relaxing.
There’s no shoulder and not a ton of room. Some traffic does come by. But you get the river view that those residents do, and in the warm months you’ll be rolling alongside people recreating in boats or floats.
It’s a great summertime feel. At other times of year, it’s still a lovely view with the sun on the river from the southwest in the afternoons. Here’s River Drive on video.
Close the loop
River Drive ends at the big Algonquin Road. You can turn right, onto the sidewalk on the bridge, to head into downtown Algonquin, and you can then cross the big road at the next traffic light to head south and pick up the Fox River Trail; there’s a ramp to it in the middle of a neighborhood.
But to complete my Barrington Hills loop, I turn left onto the rough, narrow sidewalk and ride to the second street, Highland Avenue. It comes quickly, and the left turn requires a quick uphill.
The street runs parallel to River Drive but is off the river, feeling very separate in its own neighborhood; it even has a side path if you’re so inclined. Here’s how it looks on video, though going south rather than north as I usually do.
The ride on Highland is pretty enough, but the best part is it turns into Spring Creek Road as you turn east. Soon you cross Haegers Bend Road again and head back to Ridge Road. You get different views of Spring Creek just by looking from the west.
Finally, I turn south on Ridge Road and get myself back into Cook County and home.
Or a slight variation is to turn south at Meadow Hill Road, then do a little stretch on County Line Road to Bateman Road, where I head into Cook County. Both Meadow Hill and Bateman are beautiful with tree-lined canopies — and some hills.
I’ve done this loop for more than 20 years now, with variations. It’s another way to enjoy riding by the Fox River.
The Ridge-Spring Creek-River Drive loop is at the very top of this route.
This is the route variation where I head back south on the Fox River Trail.
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