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The George Rogers Clark Discovery Trail has a name from the history books, and it runs entirely through Fort Massac State Park—Illinois’ first State Park, now over 100 years old—with its recreated...
The Rend Lake Bike Trail, in the heart of southern Illinois, goes around nearly half of the second-largest man-made lake in the state. Along the way, trail-goers will enjoy picturesque views of the...
The Rend Lake Bike Trail, in the heart of southern Illinois, goes around nearly half of the second-largest man-made lake in the state. Along the way, trail-goers will enjoy picturesque views of the...
The George Rogers Clark Discovery Trail has a name from the history books, and it runs entirely through Fort Massac State Park—Illinois’ first State Park, now over 100 years old—with its recreated...
The Rend Lake Bike Trail, in the heart of southern Illinois, goes around nearly half of the second-largest man-made lake in the state. Along the way, trail-goers will enjoy picturesque views of the...
The George Rogers Clark Discovery Trail has a name from the history books, and it runs entirely through Fort Massac State Park—Illinois’ first State Park, now over 100 years old—with its recreated...
Flat, minimal hills, and winds throughout the city! Very pretty through wooded areas. Offers a great escape for bikers! Well-maintained. Plenty of room to pass others and even ride alongside friends.
My wife and I took the trail from Vienna IL. to Harrisburg IL. for our 29th anniversary, Uh lala how romantic (he says with a wink). 34 miles one way. We packed overnight cloths and stayed in an Airbnb, "The Apartment at 217" in Harrisburg. Loved the apartment and our hosts. Stopped in Stonefort on the way up and ate lunch at "Bucketheads", a must stop. Nice staff and good Cajun food. We've ridden from Karnack to Vienna before so we have completed the whole trail. The ride from Vienna to Tunnel hill is the prettiest part. 9.3 miles from Vienna to the Tunnel. When you get to the tunnel you can feel the cool air and it feels great on a hot day.
Took the family of five (3 kids ages 6-12) and had a great experience! We took lots of photos along the way, even stopped for ice cream in Sandburn crossing.
My husband and I just stayed at South Marcum campgrounds. We rode the bike trails there, at North and South Sandusky and also Wayne Fitzgerald State Park. We enjoyed it very much and will camp again just to bike there. Most of the trail is paved. We saw deer and baby fawns, turkeys, and even a groundhog.
My husband and I started at the Tunnel Hill Trailhead and rode south 25 miles to the Wetland Center and then back. It was a beautiful ride. We were impressed how well it was maintained. A fallen tree that we had to climb over on the way out was already cut and pulled off the trail on our way back.
At least one snake, five deer, several hawks and what I thought was a very challenging ride since I rarely do 46 miles. The washboard effect could be noticed from Karnak to the wetland center head to the center.
My sons and I still loved the challenge.
I rode from Vienna up past the tunnel on a crisp spring day in April on my hybrid bike and loved every inch. Make no mistake, the gentle uphill grade to the tunnel may seem Slight but it took its toll on me. GREAT ride
I have only ridden from Vienna to Tunnel Hill and back but I did drive down to the Wetlands Nature Center at the southern end as well as go to Karnak and check it out. Even had lunch at "Our Place Deli". I wish I would have given myself more time and got to actually Bike the whole thing but I will be back for sure to enjoy the whole experience. It is easy to see why people love and care for this trail the way they do. I will give myself at least 3 days on the trail to fully enjoy it next time, especially the southern end. It is a shame there isn't any campgrounds listed close by on the northern half.
Rode the trail from Harrisburg 27 miles south to view the Eclipse right on the line of totality. I was expecting a packed trail but was surprised to see very few people. The trail surface was fine for my hybrid bike. Enjoyable scenery with the trestles and tunnel.
After viewing the eclipse I rode back in the heat. Even though there are plenty of trees covering most of the trail the mid day sun still gets through. Thank goodness for the small town stops with water so I could reload and refresh my water bladder. I hope to take this trail again to Karnak.
I probably could have gotten home faster to Bloomington (ordinarily 4 hours by car) if I had stayed on my bike. It took 10 hours in bumper to bumper traffic to get home!
A very nice flat trail. I wish you could see the river from more of it, but the forest is quite peaceful.
I rode this trail end-to-end in 2005, and this was my first return visit for a ride on the northern half from Harrisburg through the tunnel and back, a total of 49.6 miles. Harrisburg has a paved 2.2 mile segment with numerous street crossings; the locals seemed very aware of the trail, and more than one driver stopped to wait for me to cross. While this is a kind gesture, it holds its own dangers. I always remind my riding companions to watch out for traffic in other lanes who are still coming through.
The next few miles were hard-packed stone, very smooth and easy to ride. After that the stone was still smooth but just a little bit softer packed. It was a good surface but I realized late in the ride that I had expended more energy than expected most of the day, and it caught me by surprise that at 35 miles my legs felt like they had done the full 50.
I spotted one ATV rider using the trail and noticed a few spots where someone's access road jogs for a few feet on the trail, but the surface was not damaged noticeably by these activities. There was one stretch of 100 yards or so with a lot of very loose gravel that had eroded or not been properly patched, but I was able to steer to the edge and get through OK.
There is a mix of sun and shade, an interesting rock cut to ride through, and the tunnel is short enough that a light is not strictly necessary. I would urge anyone without a light to walk their bike through the darkest part of the tunnel.
Johnson's Southern Barbecue operates from a mobile home with a separate screened dining tent at the Harrisburg trailhead. It looks intriguing, but I had leftovers waiting in the motel fridge and missed that opportunity.
I'll come back and ride the southern half of the trail again sometime. My memory from 12 years ago was that the last stretch from Karnak to Rago was not a rail trail and held little interest. The Barkhausen Wetlands Center was a nice place to end, but I spent most of my time in the restroom with the cold water running to cool myself on a 100 degree day.
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