Find the top rated bike trails in Chatham, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nickel Plate Trail is the longest of the county’s trails and perhaps the most diverse in its offerings. On the west, it begins at a junction with the MCT Nature Trail,...
This trail is an extension of the Lost Bridge Trail that goes from Springfield to Rochester. From its western terminus, the first half mile is a heavily wooded section of urban rail-trail. It has a...
The first 5.5-mile segment of the 38-mile Sangamon Valley Trail opened in summer 2011 and runs between Centennial Park and Stuart Park in Springfield. In 2017, a 6-mile extension was opened between...
The Benld-Gillespie Bike Trail is part of two developing Illinois initiatives: the Route 66 Trail from Chicago to St. Louis, loosely following the historic highway; and the Illinois Traction System...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...
The Wabash Trail is the epitome of an urban rail-trail link. It's straight and flat. It has bridges over its only intersecting roadways. Just keep moving and enjoy. The trail connects city...
While you’re in the land of Lincoln, visit the Lincoln Prairie Trail to make the trip complete. Starting at the trailhead in northwest Pana, leisurely stroll along a paved trail that is nicely...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
The Lost Bridge Trail, jointly managed by the Springfield Park District and the village of Rochester, is one of the area's earliest and most popular multiuse trails-even for locals taking a weekday...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
Dedicated on August 5, 2000, the Green Diamond Rail-Trail was the first bicycling/pedestrian trail in Montgomery County. Partially funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the trail is...
The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
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The paved Interurban Trail provides 8.4 miles of suburban and rural scenery for users between Chatham and Springfield. It follows the former route of the electrified Illinois Terminal Railroad...
The Wabash Trail is the epitome of an urban rail-trail link. It's straight and flat. It has bridges over its only intersecting roadways. Just keep moving and enjoy. The trail connects city...
Dedicated on August 5, 2000, the Green Diamond Rail-Trail was the first bicycling/pedestrian trail in Montgomery County. Partially funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the trail is...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
The first 5.5-mile segment of the 38-mile Sangamon Valley Trail opened in summer 2011 and runs between Centennial Park and Stuart Park in Springfield. In 2017, a 6-mile extension was opened between...
The paved Interurban Trail provides 8.4 miles of suburban and rural scenery for users between Chatham and Springfield. It follows the former route of the electrified Illinois Terminal Railroad...
The Benld-Gillespie Bike Trail is part of two developing Illinois initiatives: the Route 66 Trail from Chicago to St. Louis, loosely following the historic highway; and the Illinois Traction System...
The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
This trail is an extension of the Lost Bridge Trail that goes from Springfield to Rochester. From its western terminus, the first half mile is a heavily wooded section of urban rail-trail. It has a...
The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nickel Plate Trail is the longest of the county’s trails and perhaps the most diverse in its offerings. On the west, it begins at a junction with the MCT Nature Trail,...
While you’re in the land of Lincoln, visit the Lincoln Prairie Trail to make the trip complete. Starting at the trailhead in northwest Pana, leisurely stroll along a paved trail that is nicely...
The Lost Bridge Trail, jointly managed by the Springfield Park District and the village of Rochester, is one of the area's earliest and most popular multiuse trails-even for locals taking a weekday...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
This trail is an extension of the Lost Bridge Trail that goes from Springfield to Rochester. From its western terminus, the first half mile is a heavily wooded section of urban rail-trail. It has a...
The Wabash Trail is the epitome of an urban rail-trail link. It's straight and flat. It has bridges over its only intersecting roadways. Just keep moving and enjoy. The trail connects city...
The Benld-Gillespie Bike Trail is part of two developing Illinois initiatives: the Route 66 Trail from Chicago to St. Louis, loosely following the historic highway; and the Illinois Traction System...
The Madison County Transit (MCT) Nickel Plate Trail is the longest of the county’s trails and perhaps the most diverse in its offerings. On the west, it begins at a junction with the MCT Nature Trail,...
The paved Interurban Trail provides 8.4 miles of suburban and rural scenery for users between Chatham and Springfield. It follows the former route of the electrified Illinois Terminal Railroad...
While you’re in the land of Lincoln, visit the Lincoln Prairie Trail to make the trip complete. Starting at the trailhead in northwest Pana, leisurely stroll along a paved trail that is nicely...
The first 5.5-mile segment of the 38-mile Sangamon Valley Trail opened in summer 2011 and runs between Centennial Park and Stuart Park in Springfield. In 2017, a 6-mile extension was opened between...
The MCT Quercus Grove Trail begins in Edwardsville at its junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. It begins on city sidewalks and alleys near Edwardsville's historic downtown area and very quickly...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
The Lost Bridge Trail, jointly managed by the Springfield Park District and the village of Rochester, is one of the area's earliest and most popular multiuse trails-even for locals taking a weekday...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
Dedicated on August 5, 2000, the Green Diamond Rail-Trail was the first bicycling/pedestrian trail in Montgomery County. Partially funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the trail is...
Rode today and cant go through to Taylorville and cannot ge on at Taylorville. Get on at Pana and its clear for about 12 to 13 mi. Straight shot.
I checked out this trail today as it was the right distance for todays goal. Drove to Taylorville first and took about 20 min finding the Trail head. No bike trail signs around it. I got on and 1 mile into the ride a chain and a sign “ BRIDGE OUT”. Could not pass. I put the bike back on my car and drove to the PANA end of this 14 mi trail and a nice big parking lot ( none at the Taylorville end) and got a great ride in. So instead of 14 mi at this time its only 13. U have to stop at he bridge blocked . It was concrete with intermittent trees and long stretches of open field. Start at Pana cant start at Taylorville.
This is a nice straight path. Mostly covered by trees so it’s nice and shady! Very beautiful! Wish it were longer!
We rode this trail on 7/6/18. Started at Centennial Park and rode north. This is a great trail to ride on. Outstanding bridges, very well maintained! We will be back to ride this one again. If we had more time we would have done 2 loops on this one.
My wife and I rode the trail on 7/5/2018. We started from Pana and rode north to Tayorville. The trails is in pretty rough shape in areas and in need of some maintenance. We should have brought our hybrids instead of our road bikes. It would have made for a much nicer ride.
We parked in the parking lot of the park at Lake Taylorville to avoid the closed bridge and rode to Pana and back. I admit it was mid-day on a Thursday, but we only saw one other rider the whole time.
The cracks in the blacktop made for a not very smooth ride. Add to that all the small branches and twigs to get caught in your spokes AND all the hickory nuts (?) in places and it wasn’t our best ride, but it was a ride and I can mark this trail as ridden.
My 14 year old son and I rode the trail from Pana to Taylorville and back, nearly the full distance twice for the boy scout cycling merit badge (50 miles). About a mile before reaching the end of the trail in Taylorville, there is a bridge that is closed and there is no easy way to detour around it. The pathway has a few places where the pavement has separated or had tree roots have raised it, but they are marked with white paint. Some of the cracks have been filled with tar and others with very fine gravel. The northern half of the trail is mostly shaded with trees on both sides of the trail (so there are some leaves and small twigs on the trail) whereas the southern half is mostly without shade. There are two small towns where you take a short detour from the otherwise very straight trail. The elevation is slightly higher on both ends of the trail with the middle about 150 feet lower (but it is a very slow, gradual change in elevation). We drove an hour to get to the trail head and it was definitely worth it!
Great warm weather ride. Most of the trail passes through a heavy tree canopy on a flat and level path.We started from the IDOT trail head off Dirksen Parkway and road east to Rochester. Just off this end of the trail is a great little place called Walnut St. Winery. Stopped in for a bit of wine and cheese before returning back down the trail.
Loved it!! Flat, tree lined, quiet, came into Farmersville from Waggoner, road around that town, their is a subway sandwich shop and a few bars that serve food...will definetely be back !! Riding to truck stop made this ride 4.99 miles each way...enjoy!
6/22/17
Very rough trail. Needs attention. Could be a great one, but lots of holes.
It was pretty clear that they will be expanding this trail beyond it's current run from Stuart Park to Centennial Park. Due to time constraints I rode from Stuart to Iles Ave. and back. There's a very slight uphill run over that length, but it's not at all noticeable because the trail is very smooth. There were a constant flow of trail users, but it didn't feel crowded at all. There seemed to be an above average number of dog walkers on the trail, but I chalked that up to the dog run located in Stuart Park.
I had spent the day in workshops and at the State Capitol, so this was a perfect way to burn off some energy before a long drive home. I was very glad I made the stop and will likely do this again when I'm in Springfield.
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