A 2-mile segment of the Fort Hill Trail is open for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and horseback riding. Access the trail from the west side of Gilmer Road just north of Route 176 at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. Please keep dogs leashed and on trails at all times, and pick up after them. Learn about our Off-Leash Dog Areas (permit required).
A trail tunnel at Gilmer Road offers trail users a safe connection between Lakewood and Ray Lake forest preserves .
Fort Hill, for which this trail is named, is a high knoll and historic landmark overlooking Peterson Road in Mundelein.
This first segment of trail represents the beginning of a planned regional trail that will connect Lakewood and Ray Lake, the Millennium Trail, Fremont School, Mundelein High School, the Lake County Fairgrounds, Saddlebrook Farms and Prairie Crossing developments, and the Metra station at Prairie Crossing before joining other regional and local trail systems.
Over the next several years, the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) will be completing additional sections of the Fort Hill Trail along Peterson Road and Fremont Center Road where it will join LCDOT's Prairie Crossing Trail at Midlothian Road and Peterson Road.
This regional trail in southwest Lake County connects Lakewood and Ray Lake forest preserves. Trailhead parking is located on the west side of Gilmer Road just north of Route 176.
Browse featured Preserves & Trails and find more great places to go in Lake County.