The 'North Branch Bike Trail' is a paved trail that starts at Devon and Caldwell Avenues in northwest Chicago, just west of Central. It then runs about 20 miles north to Cook County Forest Preserve's Chicago Botanic Gardens. At the north end, a four mile loop runs around the Skokie Lagoons, and at the far upper end of the loop you can cross Dundee Road and enter Botanic Gardens through an open gate, after which you bike the service drive to the entrance area. Entrance for pedestrians and bikers is free, and the Gardens provides bike racks. TIP: Walking through their magnificent gardens is free and worth an hour or more exploration. I especially like the Japanese Island and the Rose Garden. A cafeteria is also available there for carbo-loading for the return trip. Major benefits for bikers are restrooms with running water and the cafeteria provides ice-cool water for refilling water bottles.
The most striking aspect of the Chicago Botanic Garden is its physical face: beautifully designed gardens brimming with two million plants. Twenty-three different gardens showcase the best plants for the Midwest in a variety of beautiful settings. Three native habitat areas, including a woodland, prairie and river habitat, feature native and endangered flora of Illinois.
The Chicago Horticultural Society has been promoting gardens and gardening since 1890. The Society's flower shows, victory gardens, horticultural lectures and more have touched generations of Chicagoans. With the ground- breaking for the Chicago Botanic Garden in 1965 and its opening in 1972, the Society created a permanent site on which to carry out its mission. That mission encompasses three important components: collections, education and research.
