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Explore Chicago’s 606

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Bloomingdale Trail Leavitt

Milwaukee and Leavitt

Explore Chicago’s 606.

Location:  Bloomingdale Ave (1800 N) from Ashland Ave. (1600 W) to Ridgeway (3750 W). Open 6AM to 11PM.  CTA Guides or maps.  Follow winter Trail conditions on Twitter.

About:  The Bloomingdale Trail is an elevated 2.7-mile-long former rail line converted into a biking, jogging and walking path.  The Trail is part of a larger park system called The 606 which includes five ground-level parks that link up to the Bloomingdale Trail.  Park map.

You can access the Bloomingdale Trail at five parks/fields and eight additional access points.  Each access point is approximately .25 miles apart:

  • Walsh Park, 1722 N. Ashland Ave.
  • Wood Street Access Point, 1801 N. Wood
  • Churchill Field, 1943 W. Bloomingdale (1825 N. Damen Ave)
  • Milwaukee Leavitt (Park 567), 1801 N. Milwaukee (and Leavitt,)
  • Western Avenue Access Ramp, 1801 N. Western
  • Rockwell Avenue Access Ramp, 2558 W. Bloomingdale (1720 N. Rockwell)
  • California Access Ramp 1801 N. California
  • Humboldt Boulevard (Humboldt Park) Access Ramp 2998 W. Bloomingdale Avenue (1801 N. Humboldt)
  • Julia de Burgos Park, 1801 N Albany Avenue
  • Spaulding Access Ramp 1803 N. Spaulding
  • Drake Access Ramp, 3543 W. Bloomingdale Avenue (1800 N. Drake)
  • Lawndale Access Ramp, 1801 N. Lawndale Avenue
  • Ridgeway Trailhead, 1801 N. Ridgeway and Bloomingdale.  The Exelon Observatory is located here. The funds to purchase a closed factory at 1800 N. Ridgeway Ave. intended to augment the Trail were recently cut by Governor Rauner.
Bloomingdale Trail California 2

Drinking fountain at California

Other info:

  • There are no restroom facilities anywhere along the entire 606.
  • There are two drinking fountains on the trail.  One is located at California and one at Rockwell.  There are five fountains below the trail at:  Walsh Park, Churchill Field (2), Julia De Burgos and the Ridgeway Trailhead.
  • Bikes, skateboards, scooters, skating and dogs are permitted on the trail.
  • There are benches along the trail.

The area directly adjacent to the 606 is residential.  There are a couple of restaurants and a discount grocery store.  Exit at Damen or Leavitt and walk or ride south to North Avenue where there are many good restaurants and funky shops as well as chain stores.

Some dining options are:

  • Churchill Field, 1943 W. Bloomingdale (1825 N.Damen Ave)
    • Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, 1747 N Damen Ave, (773) 489-1747. Restaurant, dessert, bar and pastries.
    • The Goddess and Grocer,1649 N Damen Ave, (773) 342-3200.  Soups, salads, sandwiches andwraps. nice outdoor seating.
    • Big Star, 1531 N Damen Ave, (773) 235-4039. Fantastic mexican food and tequila.
    • En Hakkore, 1840 N Damen Ave, (773) 772-9880.  Counter service Korean plus tacos
  • Milwaukee Leavitt (Park 567), 1801 N. Milwaukee (and Leavitt,)
    • Aldi, 1767 N Milwaukee Ave, (855) 955-2534.  Discount grocery store. Closed for rebuilding. Reopening 2017.
    • The StopAlong, 1812 N. Milwaukee Ave. Thin-crust pizza and burgers.
    • Irazu, 1865 N Milwaukee Ave, (773) 252-5687. Traditional Costa Rican food including rice, beans, plantains, yucca and more. BYOB.
    • Small Cheval, 1732 N. Milwaukee Ave, $9-$10 burgers, fries $3.
  • Western Avenue Access Ramp, 1801 N. Western
  • IceTrike a mobil cart selling frozen treats.

There is a new bike repair shop Blackcat1 at 1803 N. California Ave. at the California trail ramp for flats or other service. (HT: DNAInfo).

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The areas adjacent to the park west of California are economically challenged so if exiting the 606 at those points exercise caution.  You may not want to go on the Trail after dark.  The Trail is expected to be patrolled by bike police however they cannot be everywhere at all times.

***Update 3/17/2016 There have been a number of crimes committed on the Trail after it closes.  All parks in Chicago are open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Some people contend that the Trail is a transit corridor and is open 24 hours a day. The Chicago Police Department disagrees.

As I cautioned above when the trail opened: You may not want to go on the Trail after dark.  Any time and any place where there are no people around can be dangerous. The Trail is isolated and elevated and if you see trouble coming there may be nowhere to run and escape as there are limited exits off the Trail.  Enter the Trail at night at your own risk. Safety first.  The police cannot be everywhere at all times. ***

Divvy stations:

  • Damen Stop on CTA Blue line
  • Milwaukee and Wabansia
  • Julia de Burgos Park, 1801 N Albany Ave.
  • Leavitt & North Avenue

Bloomingdale Trail facts and figures:

  • As of opening day June 6, 2015 most of the plantings were not in.
  • The Trail floods when it rains. Read more here.
  • Ten foot wide concrete bike path
  • A two foot wide blue rubber running path and nature trail
  • Approximately 60% of the plants are native cultivars
  • 1,469 shade trees in 39 varieties
  • 567 ornamental plants
  • 4,248 shrubs
  • 53,050 perennial plants
  • 123,158 grass and sedge plants
  • 56,500 bulbs
  • 670 cubic yards of wood mulch
  • 6,215 cubic yards of leaf mulch
  • Some landscaping had to be strategically placed to prevent people on the trail from looking directly into windows at the same elevation as the trail.
  • 6 miles of concrete embankment walls were sandblasted for lead paint remediation and will be replaced with murals by local artists at points along it’s length.
  • Logan Square residents lobbied for the park for more than ten years
  • The basic construction took nearly two years of construction.
  • The Park cost $95M dollars.

The plantings along the trail are designed to bloom at different times.  The Ridgeway (western) end of the trail will bloom first with plants blooming at later times as you head east along the trail.

The trail runs along Bloomingdale Avenue, the street the path between Ashland and Ridgeway avenues.  It begins in Bucktown and Wicker Park on the east and extends west through Logan Square and ends in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.  The 606 is named after the first three digits of the Chicago zip code.

The 606 was developed by The Trust for Public Land’s Urban Parks Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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