I just rode the Algonquin Road / Paul Douglas Bike Trail yesterday and I was surprised to find that the west side (at the Huntington / Freeman Road and Lakewood intersection) was flooded again (or still)!

Bike Trail Flood

This is a new trail so I guess they missed this low area in the design and haven’t worked out the kinks yet.

The last time that I did this part of the trail it was even worse and I started to go through but chickened out and turned around when it looked like I was riding into a lake!

This time the water was a little lower and I could see the center line of the trail all the way and I could see where it ended so I went through. I’ve ridden through flooded trails in the past (like along the Des Plaines River Trail) but it can be scary and if the water is too deep you just need to go around it or go back.  I would say if it doesn’t look safe then just don’t do it.

Anyway, the deepest section was probably about 4 inches, which got my shoes wet as I pedaled. On the way back I tried to pedal in short strokes (back and forth and not all the way around) and to keep my feet above the water. Since this was just a short stretch that worked out pretty well.

You can also just go around this little section (it is only about 3/10 of a mile) by going out onto Huntington / Freeman Road which is not very busy at all at this point. You can go out to the road and back to the trail at the trail entrance at Lakewood (south) and at the red fire hydrant (north).

I was considering photographing this part of the trail (which I don’t have on the trail pages yet) but decided that it was too cloudy and not green enough yet (I think I’ll wait a few more weeks). But the nice part about that was that I did have my camera with me (in my bike bag).

Since I had my camera with me, I did take some pictures of the flood and I have posted them on the website. Check out the Bike Trail Flood Photos here.

This is still a really nice bike path so I wouldn’t avoid it just because of the flooding in that one section. But it’s nice to know that it is there ahead of time.