Coalition for Recreational Trails

Accessibility Enhancement

Danada-Herrick Lake Regional Trail- Cromwell Drive Connector

The new trail has seen an incredible amount of pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian use in the few months it has been open to the public. The completion of this project has linked over 800 homes in the subdivisions north of Butterfield Road to the District's expansive Danada-Herrick Lake Regional Trail system, continuing the District's mission of connecting people to nature.

The Cromwell Drive Connector trail began with the intent to provide a safe pedestrian connection from the neighborhoods north of Butterfield Road to the District’s existing trail system in Danada Forest Preserve. This trail segment would connect those neighborhoods, as well as provide a link from District trails to Wheaton’s bicycle network through the signed on-street route on Cromwell Drive.

This trail starts to the North with a pedestrian traffic signal at the Butterfield Road and Cromwell Drive intersection. This ADA compliant crossing was coordinated with the IL DOT, and ensures safe pedestrian access to the trail across Butterfield Road. From there, the trail runs along the south side of Butterfield Road for 750’, before turning south into the Preserve.

The District worked together with DuPage County to restore the wetland complex immediately south of Butterfield Road for over a decade, which was completed in 2022. The trail alignment was extremely sensitive to the habitat improvements, and was designed with that in mind. The majority of the trail through District land runs parallel to what was an existing fence row between old farm fields, which can be seen as far back as our 1939 aerial. That fence row has been a separation of spaces and habitats for likely over 100 years. Constructing the trail in that location allows room for the wetland complex to breathe and limits potential disturbance to the wildlife that lives and hunts there. The trail will also act as a starting point to continue clearing and restoration work in the area, and become a new burn break, allowing for the continued maintenance of the natural areas surrounding it.

To keep the trail passable long-term requires regular maintenance completed by in-house grounds crews. Maintenance activities include twice-monthly mowing along the shoulders, spraying the trail edges to reduce weed encroachment into the limestone, and annual care to the surface such as dragging and repaving.