Find the top rated trails in Chatham, whether you're looking for an easy short trail or a long 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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Sorry for the cobbled review below. My screen froze up. This is a really nice trail and it is well-maintained. There’s lots of shade and it goes through a nice area. I definitely recommend this trail.
I started on the nature trail around the corner horseshoe Lake and did a loop and connected to this trail. I really enjoyed it. Lots of shade and nice scenery. It backs up to some nice houses and a good area. Not a lot of people on a trail and even though it was in the 90s, it didn’t feel that hot because of the shade. The trail is really well maintained. What the are parks and various stores and things right off the trail. I recommend doing a
We rode this trail on June 11, 2026 after a lengthy closing in Springfield due to extensive construction at the trail head behind the DOT Building. We parked in the parking lot of the large grey building just south of the DOT building. Unloaded our bikes and proceeded towards Rochester . About a half mile, the trail was very bumpy
We camped at Taylorville Lake which has direct access to the trail. Rode SE to Pana one day and into Taylorville the next day.
There are no amenities on the trail other than a bathhouse at the marina at Taylorville Lake. Easy to ride into both towns though to find a restaurant, gas station, or something.
When the trail ends at Pana, cross route 29 and take the street on the north side of the Dollar General and you can ride into town on side streets.
Trail is dead straight and flat the entire length (only 4 bridges) and is all paved other than a couple hundred yard stretch around a grain elevator. Trail condition is ok. Quite a few transverse shrinkage cracks in different sections, but we've been on much worse. A road biker would probably not be pleased, but the traffic on route 29 would be a lot worse.
The Bridge is fixed full trail now
This trail was really nice to bike. Says it’s 11.5 miles but there are 2 additional miles of what looks to be very new pavement. Total length now 13.5 miles. Trailhead at the very northern end now.
I would have given this 4 stars if the trail was resurfaced and smooth.
We liked the trail for its shallow inclines, and the trees lining the trail make it pleasantly shady.
We brought along our bikes on our visit to Springfield to ride this trail - it was wonderful! We had beautiful weather. We started at Centennial Park and rode the entire trail. We enjoyed the variety of scenery riding through areas of housing/neighborhoods and rural areas. The trail was extra wide, completely paved and in excellent condition- very well maintained. Kudos to Sangamon County for maintaining this beautiful trail!
One of the plusses about rail trails is the gentle slope in grade .which was totally ruined after the MacArthur I72 interchange I don't know WHY a much simpler tunnel could have been made under the RR retaining the original trail alignment
Just love this trail. It was a beautiful fall day. Trail is very clearly marked. We appreciated the wide asphalt path. The bridges gave us some great views, you go from the sunny corn fields to the shaded tree covered areas. This is a trail that we will return to ride again.
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