The 18-mile (29 km) path of fine crushed stone traverses unincorporated rural townships, natural wetlands, some restored prairies, and farmland.

The newer of the two sections, between Villa Park and West Chicago in DuPage County,[1] is made up of right-of-way that was abandoned piecemeal throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Great Western trail also was extended to make a connection with the Illinois Prairie Path in 1995.

[2] A three-bridge pedestrian overpass, completed in 2012 in Lombard, spans St. Charles Road, the Metra Union Pacific West Line tracks and Grace Street.

This eastern section of Great Western Trail starts at Villa Avenue in Villa Park joined to the Illinois Prairie Path and rejoins the Illinois Prairie Path just west of Prince Crossing Road in West Chicago.