The station is the terminus of the McHenry Branch of the Northwest Line; inbound trains operate as far as Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago.

There is one grade crossing of a road at the station, which is placed under a Federal Railroad Administration horn quiet zone.

[2] As of 2018[update], McHenry is the 198th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 85 weekday boardings.

The tracks, despite no current use, continue to Barnard Mill Road in the Village of Ringwood, Illinois at the Dow Chemical plant, where the Union Pacific McHenry Subdivision ends.

[4][page needed] However, UP left trackage for local freight trains that served industries in and around McHenry, all of which are long gone.