Salt Creek Trail I-294 Underpass Reopens: La Grange Park Fall Guide

The signs were still wrong on July 10. Suburban Chicago Bicycling reported that bicyclists found the Salt Creek Trail open under the Tri-State Tollway that day, even though the signs didn't quite say so, and that Cycle Brookfield members reported the reopening on July 11. The bridge has new walls with a greeting in each direction. Westbound riders see "Welcome to Oak Brook Park District." Eastbound riders see "Welcome to Forest Preserves of Cook County."

Three days later, the Forest Preserves of Cook County made it official. Its Salt Creek Trail System page now carries an alert dated 07/13/2026. It says the underpass "has fully reopened to the public, restoring uninterrupted trail access across the western border of Cook County," and it thanks users for their patience "throughout this multiyear closure."

That changes what the trailhead at Brezina Woods means for La Grange Park. For years, riding west meant turning back at the county line. Now the paved trail keeps going into Oak Brook, past a nature sanctuary, and on toward a 19th-century mill and a creek that was rebuilt after its dam came out. Those western stops are at their best for only a few more weeks. Graue Mill's season ends in mid-November.

A closure with no way around it

During the Central Tri-State reconstruction, the trail had no detour at all. Suburban Chicago Bicycling noted that the FPDCC page had said for at least a year and a half that "periodic openings will be provided." By all accounts those openings didn't happen, and riders complained about unsafe workarounds.

Even the last estimates were cautious. On June 8, an update from the Tollway posted through the forest preserve district said the underpass was "anticipated to reopen in late summer, weather dependent." The remaining work listed was the I-294 bridge over the trail, trail widening and resurfacing, bridge aesthetics, new railings, and rehabilitation of the underpass itself. The trail opened in July, ahead of that window.

The Oak Brook Park District's announcement describes the reopening as restoring the continuous Salt Creek Greenway Trail. It calls the full route "a nearly 25-mile multi-county trail system stretching from Elk Grove Village to Brookfield." The Cook County section on its own is an estimated 16.4 miles, according to FPDCC. The two figures cover different stretches of the same corridor. With the underpass open, they connect again.

Where La Grange Park gets on

The forest preserve district lists Brezina Woods, on North La Grange Road south of West Cermak Road, as the trail access point in La Grange Park. From there, FPDCC says the Red Paved Trail runs about 4 miles west to the DuPage County border and about 3 miles east to Brookfield Zoo. The underpass sits at that western border. Brezina used to be the middle of a dead end. Now it's about 4 miles from the Oak Brook side.

Depending on where you start, FPDCC lists other nearby entry points:

• Bemis Woods-South, on Ogden Avenue west of Wolf Road, listed as near Western Springs
• Bemis Woods-North, on Wolf Road south of 31st Street, the closest access to the underpass
• Brookfield Woods, on 31st Street west of 1st Avenue, the trail's eastern start across 31st from Brookfield Zoo

Heading west from Brookfield Woods, the paved trail passes Salt Creek Nature Preserve and Bemis Woods on its way to the county border, a little over 7 miles. The trail is open sunrise to sunset all year. By November, that makes an afternoon ride a shorter trip.

FPDCC's alert also says crews may still be nearby finishing the area, and it asks trail users to take care in the underpass.

What's on the Oak Brook side

Past the bridge, Suburban Chicago Bicycling describes a repaved path running by the Dean Nature Sanctuary, with a short loop, before it reaches York Road. At York Road, you can head south and west to Fullersburg Woods in DuPage County.

The Oak Brook Park District calls Dean Nature Sanctuary a passive park, so it's a place to walk and look around.

The creek at Fullersburg has changed since anyone rode there from Cook County. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District reported fish moving upstream again after the Graue Mill dam was removed in late 2023. According to MWRD's later account, partners cut the ribbon on the restored creek on August 19, 2025. A rock riffle replaced the dam, and about a mile of creek upstream was restored with bank stabilization, aquatic habitat work and native plantings. MWRD counted eight native fish species upstream that summer. MWRD's August 2025 account also counted 50,000 native wetland plugs already planted. Another 15,000 plugs and more than 350 trees and shrubs were planned for the following years.

The work is ongoing. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's Fullersburg page warns that a habitat improvement project may close trails temporarily, with signs posted when it does.

The weeks before mid-November

The western destinations follow a seasonal calendar, and the next few weeks are the end of it. Graue Mill's regular season runs mid-April through mid-November. In mid-November, the Nature Education Center switches to Monday through Saturday and closes on Sundays. A Sunday ride that ends at the mill and the mammoth skeleton has only a few weekends left this year.

The program calendars for both sites list these dates:

1. October 30: Lanterns and Legends, Nature Education Center
2. November 1: Spinning Bee, Graue Mill
3. November 3: Graue Mill Guided Tour
4. November 4: Spinning for Beginners, Graue Mill
5. November 7: ID That Tree, Nature Education Center
6. November 9: Storytime With the Animals of Fullersburg
7. November 14: Volunteer Restoration Workday, Nature Education Center
8. November 15: Spinning Bee, Graue Mill
9. November 16: Forest Hike, Nature Education Center
10. November 17: Homeschool Historians, Graue Mill
11. November 19: Brown Bag Lunch and Learn, Graue Mill
12. November 27: Holiday Refresh Hike, Nature Education Center

The November 27 hike falls the day after Thanksgiving. It's the last listed program in this run, and the Nature Education Center will be on its winter schedule by then.

Closer to home, the work continues into December

The Cook County preserves along the La Grange Park stretch keep going after the DuPage sites slow down. The forest preserve district's stewardship volunteer days run through December at the same woods the trail connects. Volunteers cut brush, pull invasive plants and collect seed.

A few details matter before you sign up. The Salt Creek Woods listing says participants under 18 can't take part. The Possum Hollow sessions are held in Spanish and Spanglish. The Brookfield Prairie & Woods group asks volunteers to park on 26th Street, west of 1st Avenue, between 2nd and 4th Avenues. That's a different spot from the Brookfield Woods trail entrance on 31st Street. Listings on the volunteer pages and the FPDCC alert page are updated often, so check the official page the morning you go.

On October 18, the forest preserve district listed Possum Hollow Woods, Salt Creek Woods Nature Preserve, Brezina Woods and Brookfield Woods as open during normal hours with no posted issues. The only active notice on the Salt Creek system is the underpass reopening. After years of no detour, it's the trail's best news in a while.

Trail access shapes daily life in La Grange Park as much as the floor plan does, and I'm always glad to compare notes on which preserve entrance is closest to a given street. If you're thinking about how the reconnected Salt Creek Trail fits into your next move, or into staying put, Anne Hodge would be happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.