Heading north, after crossing the Fox on the double bridge and seeing the trail closed barriers ahead, go left into John J Deurr (formerly Blackhawk) Forest Preserve and follow the bike trail to the parking lot. Head north and follow forest preserve road past the trolly deck. Exit the forest preserve at SR31 (Rt 31) and make a right (this heads east, but it is really rt 31 north). Follow RT 31 north approx 1.2 miles into South Elgin past the Trolley museum and turn right on Plum st, go east a couple hundred feet to bike path.
Note that RT31 is 45 mph with no shoulder for most of this section.
The Fox River Trail is a 33 mile, paved trail running north-south from Aurora to just south of Algonquin where it connects to the McHenry Country Prairie Trail. Towns along the way include Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, South Elgin, Elgin, and East Dundee.
There are several direct connections with the Illinois Prairie Path. In Aurora you can connect to the "Aurora Branch" heading northeast to Wheaton. In Batavia you can connect to the "Batavia Spur" which heads southwest to the "Aurora Branch" at Interstate 88. In Geneva you can connect to the "Geneva Spur" heading east to the "Elgin Branch" in Winfield. Finally, in South Elgin you can connect to the "Elgin Branch" heading southeast to Wheaton.
The numerous connections with the Illinois Prairie Path provides some nice loops. For example the well known triangle from Wheaton to Aurora, Aurora to South Elgin, and South Elgin back to Wheaton is an enjoyable 45 mile ride. The triangle can be shortened using the "Batavia Spur" or the "Geneva Spur".
Street/sidewalk connections along Route 31 (Lake) or Route 25 (Broadway) can be used to get to the Virgil L Gilman trail and south to an extension of the Fox River Trail which goes to Oswego. See the Kane County Bicycle Map link on the Links Page. IMPORTANT: Do not rely on posted signs when trying to connect between the main Fox River Trail and the segment which goes south to Oswego. A sign by the Hollywood casino implies that the street route is marked but it is not. A sign at the north end of the Oswego segment points to the east but there are no other signs pointing you in the right direction.
A combination of forest preserve (John J Duerr and Leroy Oaks) and roadside (Silver Glenn and Randall) trails connect the Fox River Trail south of South Elgin to the east end of the Great Western Trail (the Kane County version). This connection is seven miles long, six of which are paved with one mile of dirt trail. The eight foot high waterfall in the John J Duerr Forest Preserve section of this connection is a hidden natural gem.
For a street connection to the Poplar Creek Trail System, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg click on the "Info" link for the Poplar Creek Trail System (Cook County).