Explore the best rated trails in Washington, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Hennepin Canal Parkway. With more than 11 trails covering 4035 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
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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 sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. 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...
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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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...
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Caution:Beginning November 15, culvert replacement on the Rock Island Trail at Chanute Road will begin. This will involve removing the temporary bridge. This closure will last between 4 and 6...
The Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within the...
Time spent on the Chenoa Route 66 Prairie Trail is time shared with history. As rail-trails are ones built over the railbeds of earlier train lines, this “road-trail” is one built directly over...
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...
One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
Time spent on the Chenoa Route 66 Prairie Trail is time shared with history. As rail-trails are ones built over the railbeds of earlier train lines, this “road-trail” is one built directly over...
The Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail follows the eponymous waterway alongside the Illinois River. It traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 and the first...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Caution:Beginning November 15, culvert replacement on the Rock Island Trail at Chanute Road will begin. This will involve removing the temporary bridge. This closure will last between 4 and 6...
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 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 Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within the...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
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. It traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 and the first...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Time spent on the Chenoa Route 66 Prairie Trail is time shared with history. As rail-trails are ones built over the railbeds of earlier train lines, this “road-trail” is one built directly over...
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,...
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 Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within 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 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 sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
Caution:Beginning November 15, culvert replacement on the Rock Island Trail at Chanute Road will begin. This will involve removing the temporary bridge. This closure will last between 4 and 6...
A couple buddies and I rode the Hennepin Canal trail Memorial Day weekend from approximately Wyanet to the Quads, then took the Great River Trail up to Fulton, country roads to Sterling/Rock Falls, and back down on the north branch of the Hennepin. Great two-day ride, about 130mi. We had one gravel bike, one MTB, and one roadie. Gravel was definitely best, but we all did great. About half the Hennepin is paved, the rest fine gravel or soft dirt. Maybe a couple spots with chunky gravel or potholes, but nothing too difficult. Even the sections that are supposedly in the worst disrepair (north branch between Rt 92 & I-88) are easily rideable. I’m sure it coulda been difficult on skinny tires if there had been recent rains, but the trail was totally dry and the guy on skinnies was fine. Honestly, don’t get scared by some of the reviews on this site. No, it’s not perfectly maintained pavement, but if you want to set personal speed records on your carbon roadie, go somewhere else. This path is a bit more rugged, more remote and wild, but its still Northern Illinois, it ain’t THAT hard. An experienced biker with a moderate sense of adventure can handle this on just about any bike. Just make sure you have water, some snacks and a charged cellphone. Overall, I’d say this is a great loop for anyone looking for a long but fairly easy ride. Easy trip out from the Chicago area, Quads or Central Illinois.
Enjoyable trail, paved, bumpy in some spots and crosses quite a few streets. Have to closely watch the trail signs because of some road construction. Flat, not too steep hills and curvy, just what you like in a trail. Riding through Coal Miners park was quite a treat with open spaces and tree canopy covering other areas. Kudos to this small community trail!
We rode from the Wyoming access to Alta & back, 40ish miles. Pretty much had the trail to ourselves. One needs to watch for huge burrows (ground hog? burrowing squirrels?) and those cute chipmunks dashing across the trail. Well maintained hard dirt trail with crushed gravel, some muddy areas. Since this was a Sunday, there were no coffee shops open in the little towns.
To clarify: The Rock Island Trail is an Illinois state park and goes from Alta to Toulon. It does not include the trail owned by the Peoria Park District known as the Keller Branch although one starts where the other stops - at Alta. The Rock Island Trail is approx 26 miles long therefore not 38. This may be a difference without a distinction for most users but for those looking to set an FKT on the Rock Island Trail the world should understand exactly what the Rock Island Trail is and is not.
Chenoa, Lexington, Towanda...why has Pontiac not done this to it's retired section of 66? From the old Kmart to the old State Police HQ then cross over at E. 1600 North Road and connect to the path at the Rec Plex that runs alongside the prison.
My wife and I road from Toulon to a little past Princeville and back to Toulon (30 miles) in the snow on our fat bikes. There was about three inches of snow. The tree lined trail was beautiful. Highly recommended for winter riding. We were the only set of bike tracks and saw three people in 6 hours.
Oct. 27, 2020 30 year anniversary and we wanted just to get out. It was cold but endurable... We were impressed by our 2 hour round trip ride from the route 29 entrance. In better weather being the kids... Do some fishing.... Watch for animals.
We started at Gebhard Woods State Park. Lovely day for a fall ride. There was a big sign telling us how far to ride to Seneca or Channahan, etc. we chose to ride to Channahan: however barely a half mile down the road there was a fence and there was no way around it. So we went toward Seneca...the trail was crushed gravel and grass and narrow but easy to ride. Might be a challenge to pass for newer riders, but it was a fairly flat ride and wooded. We enjoyed the ride. We rode from the state park on the roads to downtown Morris (which was lovely) after our trail ride. Took about 5 minutes to ride there.
This is a nice trail but blocked by fences just west of Morris at the aquaduct. You can get around the fence but it is very difficult with a bike. This was the low point of a nice ride.
Had a nice time yesterday (9/28/20) on the stretch from Morris west toward Seneca. Note however that the part just west of downtown Morris that goes over Nettle Creek is closed in both directions; you can't proceed west if you start in downtown Morris and need to detour on city streets for awhile.
If you're starting from Morris and want to go west, a better bet is to park at Gebhard State Woods (but note that you cannot head east from there, just west).
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