Yep, it is definitely riding season again here in Chicagoland! I’m seeing more cyclists out every day now. Personally, I got a start in February! Yea, that crazy warm weather that we had then but am riding a little more regularly now.

Flooding on Paul Douglas Trail

And of course, with riding season comes flooding season on many trails including the Paul Douglas Trail (PDT) in Hoffman Estates ~ a little southwest of Harper College in Palatine.

Anyone that has ridden this trail fairly often in the spring ~ like myself ~ knows that the western side of the trail, along Hunting-Freeman Road floods pretty regularly.

Well I rode the trail the past two weekends and both weekends it was flooded in this part. BTW, this is the only part of the trail that floods (although there are a few puddles in other areas).

It looks pretty impassable but most of the time you can get through without getting wet ~ except maybe for a few splashes. You can also detour around this pretty safely and easily on Hunting-Freeman Road ~ but what fun is that!

To detour around the flood, go out to Hunting-Freeman at Lakewood Blvd (there is a 2 way stop sign there and a short path to the road there) if you are heading north or at the fire hydrant by the opening on the right if you are heading south. It’s only about 2/10ths of a mile.

Hint for riding through up to 5 inches of water and keeping your feet (and everything else) dry.

I’ve used this method quite a bit and it works well. Last week the flood was about 4 to 5 inches (my best guess) and I stayed completely dry. This past weekend I estimated that the flood was 5 to 6 inches deep and one of my feet did get a little wet so that is about the limit. You must also have a clear path (no obstructions) and it needs to be relatively flat.

You can cover quite a distance this way so here’s what to do: Approach the flooded area fairly slow (just to avoid splashing and sprays) ~ try to keep your pedals parallel to the ground ~ Do NOT pedal all the way around, instead just use short, quick back and forth pedaling strokes keeping your feet above the water.

OK, now that you know the secret, maybe you can go out and find your favorite flooded area and give it a try! 🙂

OK, here’s my CYA Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you get wet or for anything else that happens… It’s just a helpful hint… After all, we are all responsible for our own actions and safety, right? 🙂

Anyway, the PDT is still a good trail to ride in the springtime. This is a completely paved trail that goes around the Paul Douglas forest preserve (I usually skip the part that goes out to Algonquin Road just west of the busy intersection at Roselle and Algonquin Road and east of Ela and Algonquin cause it’s not as nice as the parts that are right up against the forest preserve).

One of the other trails that I know also floods occasionally is the Des Plains River Trail (DPRT) but I usually avoid this one completely in very wet weather since it is not paved and the flooding can be bad in places.

For more on the PDT see the Paul Douglas Trail photo pages HERE on this site. I actually wrote these pages quite a few years ago and they could use an upgrade but there are photos and more information on the trails there.

Well until next time, enjoy the ride(s)!