Find the top rated trails in Washington, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Running from East Peoria to Morton, The River Trail of Illinois was resurfaced in summer 2011. From East Peoria, the hiking and biking trail travels southeast along the old Illinois Terminal Railway...
The Hennepin Canal Parkway, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a state park, follows an old towpath along a canal opened in 1907 and quickly abandoned due to competition...
The Pekin Park Bike Trail traverses more than 4 miles between Allentown Road and the Illinois River at Pekin bridge. The trail does a loop in Coal Miners' Park and passes through Mineral Springs Park,...
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Caution: As of August 2017, the trail is closed due to storm washouts from Mile 13.4 to Mile 13.9; this closure is located approximately 2.5 miles north of Princeville in Peoria County. The trail is...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers more than 46 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal region. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
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The El Paso Walking Trail runs along part of an old railroad right-of-way through the town of El Paso, beginning at the city park on the south side of town and ending at a creek north of town among...
The El Paso Walking Trail runs along part of an old railroad right-of-way through the town of El Paso, beginning at the city park on the south side of town and ending at a creek north of town among...
Running from East Peoria to Morton, The River Trail of Illinois was resurfaced in summer 2011. From East Peoria, the hiking and biking trail travels southeast along the old Illinois Terminal Railway...
The Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. The trail runs along the old canal towpath from LaSalle to the historical quarry town of...
The Hennepin Canal Parkway, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a state park, follows an old towpath along a canal opened in 1907 and quickly abandoned due to competition...
The Pekin Park Bike Trail traverses more than 4 miles between Allentown Road and the Illinois River at Pekin bridge. The trail does a loop in Coal Miners' Park and passes through Mineral Springs Park,...
Caution: As of August 2017, the trail is closed due to storm washouts from Mile 13.4 to Mile 13.9; this closure is located approximately 2.5 miles north of Princeville in Peoria County. The trail is...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers more than 46 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal region. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
The Hennepin Canal Parkway, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a state park, follows an old towpath along a canal opened in 1907 and quickly abandoned due to competition...
Caution: As of August 2017, the trail is closed due to storm washouts from Mile 13.4 to Mile 13.9; this closure is located approximately 2.5 miles north of Princeville in Peoria County. The trail is...
The Pekin Park Bike Trail traverses more than 4 miles between Allentown Road and the Illinois River at Pekin bridge. The trail does a loop in Coal Miners' Park and passes through Mineral Springs Park,...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers more than 46 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal region. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
The El Paso Walking Trail runs along part of an old railroad right-of-way through the town of El Paso, beginning at the city park on the south side of town and ending at a creek north of town among...
The Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. The trail runs along the old canal towpath from LaSalle to the historical quarry town of...
Running from East Peoria to Morton, The River Trail of Illinois was resurfaced in summer 2011. From East Peoria, the hiking and biking trail travels southeast along the old Illinois Terminal Railway...
I finally completed the trail in LaSalle last weekend, I had been completing the entire route in segments throughout the summer. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, I liked the historical placards and informative mile markers. Yes, I stopped and read every one of them! I thought it was really well done, and very interesting history of the canal and its construction and usage. Cool grande finale ending up in LaSalle where the packet boat and mule towpath was in full display with the tour.
I started in Lemont where the trail begins, through Lockport (the old canal headquarters) and got through Joliet. A must see is the old Joliet Iron Works, an interesting historical walking tour. The next segment I completed was from Joliet (Rockdale) to Channahon, with beautiful views of the Illinois River. Saw an abundance of varied wildlife as the canal here is wide with plenty of water still left in it. McKinley Woods Park is a nice diversion to take a break. Channahon to Morris was the next segment, again with nice views of barges on the river and the Dresden dam area. From Morris to Marseilles the trail begins to get more woodsy, and at some points the trail goes from crushed limestone to single track dirt. This is where the canal is hard to see, as it has dried up over the years, thus there is less wildlife to see. From Marseilles to Ottawa the trail is still woodsy, but becomes more industrial as you are riding next to train tracks and grain silos along the river for much of it. Ottawa to Utica becomes more scenic as you start to see the St Peters sandstone cliffs at certain points. Finally from Utica to LaSalle you can see much more of this, and the trail ends with a lock with all of its functioning parts, as would have existed back in the day.
I normally ride on much more challenging, tougher and more hilly terrain with my trail bike, so this was a change of pace for me. The trail is in decent shape, but you can tell that it has not been maintained for awhile. There are bridges out in several spots (easy to get around), and fallen trees that you need to lift your bike over. All in all, I would recommend it to the casual rider, seeking an interesting history of the canal from back in the nineteenth century. Happy riding!
Road 60 miles (30 out and back) from trailhead at Rock River in Colona. We brought our road bikes (23mm tires), expecting paved trails. It was slow going, but certainly doable. The trail is definitely in need of repair and maintenance. It is flat, peaceful and quite beautiful. The canal history and artifacts (locks, etc) are a very interesting perk.
Fortunately we packed extra water. We had trouble finding water stops along the way. There was a fountain at the lock (14 miles from the trailhead) but it was not working in late September even though it was almost 90 degrees.
We rode from Toulon to Dunlap and back. It was a beautiful day and the trail setting is very nice with a mix of woods and fields. The trail was in pretty good shape but you need to be alert for ground squirrel burrows. In the wooded sections there is a fair amount of debris so you need to watch out for the larger branches. It's fun riding but if you get too relaxed you may be jolted back to alertness by a branch or a hole.
The DNR web site lists several closures but there is really only one north of Princeville. Like the previous reviewer we rode around it on county roads to the east and it was no problem. The Toulon to Wyoming section has the worst trail conditions (but is perfectly rideable in spite of the trail closed signs) and we will probably start in Wyoming if we do it again.
We ride hybrids with reasonably wide tires and I'm not sure how much fun it would be on a road bike.
We rode from the trail head at Lock 22 (where CR 300E crosses the canal) up along the feeder canal for about 14 miles. The trail was in good shape for most of the way, mostly paved, and it was enjoyable ride. North of the Rte 92 crossing the trail quality deteriorated markedly and it was single track dirt through weeds and grass. We turned around at Osage Rd because of the trail condition. We tried riding west from Lock 22 but gave up after a little over a mail. It wasn't that bad but it was single track through recently mowed but still pretty high grass.
The first thirteen mile north along the feeder canal was a beautiful fun ride with good trail conditions, nice scenery, and a herons, turtles and jumping fish. We also saw very few other people on the ride. North of that and west of Lock 22 the trail was passable but less fun.
We ride hybrids with pretty wide tires. I'm not sure any of it would be fun on a road bike.
Nice easygoing trail for a newbie like me. Stayed at Hickory Grove Campground (great new owners) then early morning ride. Crushed stone & asphalt a little overgrown on the edges but a great trail
I rode from Wyoming to Toulon and back, then continued south to what used to be Stark, now a small group of homes, returning to Wyoming. The next day I rode from Wyoming to Peoria.
The trail was wet from rains both days, softening the low spots and leaving a few puddles. The rides were enjoyable, with a mix of farm and woods. Signage through the towns was adequate to find my way. Each town has stores that provide a snack or a restroom.
Wyoming has a great coffee shop that makes great baked goods and lunches in addition to their coffee. Next door is a gift shop worth a peek.
I detoured around the washout in the Rock Island Trail Nature Preserve by riding the paved township roads east of the preserve.
I rode most of the trail below Joliet on July 28 , 2017. Except for the closures shown on the DNR website (downtown Morris, Marseilles to Ottawa, and two bridges out near Utica), the trail was in decent condition. (I was glad I was on a hybrid and not a skinny bike.)
Joliet to Morris was in good shape. Some of this section is dull, some parts are pleasant.
The closure in Morris has been there for years, and the street detour is easy and not too long.
Morris to Seneca is my new favorite section: quieter and more woodsy than the rest. No trail problems.
Seneca to Marseilles was fine. There’s a good view of the Illinois River if you go a few blocks south of the trail in downtown Marseilles.
Marseilles to Ottawa was mostly dull and pointless. I went around the barricade just west of Marseilles and had to carry my bike over downed trees, which I expected. It got old after a while, though, and since the trail was boring at that point, I wish I hadn’t bothered. There’s a nice paved road next to the trail – use that instead.
Ottawa to Utica is in decent shape, except for the bridge that’s out, and I like this section. I went about 9 miles west from the Fox River aqueduct in Ottawa and came to the bridge. I was tempted to take my shoes and socks off and wade through the two inch deep stream and continue, but turned around instead. (It’s only another mile or so to downtown Utica).
I like the section below Utica, but with the bridge out, I didn’t feel like continuing.
If you accept the closures and the dull parts, the I&M is a good Illinois trail.
rode sw from Brandon Road lock. do not ride this trail on a road bike with anything less than 700x28. I flatted on one of the sections of loose gravel. The ride itself is pleasant enough in that area...lots of tree cover...but the canal itself is overgrown, and not what I expected as far as scenery goes
I have been chunking out 5-10 miles per trip. I have so far made the trek from Seneca to the Illinois River. There is a bridge out about 2 1/2 east of Utica. The trail is pretty quiet and easy to hike. It's relatively flat with some neat little history lessons on the way.
I was on a two day ride from Kewanee, IL to Morris, IL yesterday and today (about 90 miles). I had hoped to ride as much of the Hennepin and Illinois and Michigan Canal trails as possible (I had expected to ride about 50-60 miles on trails split between those two trails). I attempted to ride both trails and have submitted a separate review of the I&M Canal trail.
I only rode about 6 miles of the Hennepin Trail from Tiskilwa towards Bureau Junction (West to east). It was a disappointment. As others have written, it was rough, with some sections of old, failing asphalt. I was not in a hurry, so stuck it out for as long as I felt comfortable. It's just not conducive to a fun ride. Too rough, changing paths from side to side, and just not a fun trail to be on. If you're going in this direction, I would advise taking the adjacent road. I was on it for a considerable time one I got off of the trail and never felt unsafe with cars or trucks.
The trail was disappointing.
Previously, I have ridden this trail from Channahon going west. See that review from 2016.
Today, I was on the I&M canal attempting to go east from Ottawa to Morris, IL. (25 miles +/-) I was on the trail for less than 3 miles and had to get off and ride on the adjoining road. I was riding a hybrid bike with full rear panniers. In the 2-3 miles on the trail, I went over, through, or around no less than 5 downed trees. Only one of them was a recent fallen tree. The others had to have been over the trail for some time. The "trail" is really a dirt path that looks more like a rough hiking path. I would not recommend this trail for bicycle riding. It is slow, potentially dangerous, and is likely to cause a flat tire (I did not have one today).
Avoid the trail from Ottawa going east.
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