Find the top rated bike trails in Mulberry Grove, 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.
This is a very nice, scenic - absolutely beautiful trail and you can either start out or end up at Eckerts!
With construction of the new trail bridge over the Flat Branch starting in September (2024), the trail will soon be restored to its full 14.6-mile length, with access points at the Taylorville Trailhead, Lake Taylorville (Lake Point Veterans Memorial) parking lot, Owaneco, and the Pana Trailhead.
New trail signs are up. It is renamed the Illini Trail. It a short ride from the trail head down Illini Drive to the Goshen Trail.
Well maintained, nearly all paved trail. We started at trailhead at Metro east parks and rec center. You can find benches bathroom tools and even air for tires. Thanks!! Only warning is that trail has great signage until we were at Chained Rock and Sand Lane… guessed that we had to travel on crushed rock road over expressway to find rest of trail. Correct turn.
I rode this trail in late 2023 from Russell Commons in Alton to Chain of Rocks bridge. The surface is old but well-maintained. A lot of filled cracks along the asphalt portion, views of the industrial use of the river (barge facilities, chemical plant), and several places where the trail comes down from the levee top and crosses a road, then climbs back up. I didn't find these hills to be particularly steep (and they're always short). The chip-and-seal surface of the next part of the trail could use fewer chips and more seal, although it was perfectly flat and smooth.
I left the trail at Chain of Rocks bridge, and did not ride the remaining 5 miles. The detailed MCT map shows after a few more miles it changes briefly to stone, then is paved & alongside city streets to its end.
Construction at the Missouri end of the bridge has led to some closures. There is a new park and trailhead facility being built in 2024; I haven't seen what the plans are to keep the bridge and connecting trail open during that phase. Parking on the Illinois side is plentiful.
This was a very nice addition to a ride along the levee in Illinois when I first rode across it around 2012. A decade later the displays are showing their age though the information on them is still readable and worthwhile, as is a ride along the original Route 66 surface that's almost 90 years old!
Trail is almost completely overgrown now. All access to confluence was closed. Too bad.
Decided to check out this trail on a warm fall day. I rode from Auburn - Divernon-Farmersville-Waggoner which made it around 40 miles round trip. Once I hit Farmersville, the trail was easy to locate at the end of S. Cleveland Street.
The trail passes through some woods and has a few gentle curves at the beginning. A couple benches and a picnic table were just off the trail the first half-mile from Farmersville, presumably for walkers. The trail quickly straightens out and heads south, the old rail line being rather obvious due to the flat, straight, fairly level path. I rode mid-morning, so still had the benefit of shade from the trees that lined either side of the path. At mid-day there would be a lot more sun because those trees would be ineffective in providing shade. I encountered two walkers (photographers, both with cameras) on this Saturday morning. No other cyclists, coming or going, but did catch up to an older gentleman and his wife/lady friend in a 4-wheel-drive Gator. He took up the entire path, and was driving around 5-7 mph, so I was able to pass him on the left by going into the grass. From a distance when I saw the vehicle I assumed it was someone doing maintenance on the trail. But when I passed him, it seemed obvious he was just ignoring the rules about no motorized vehicles.
By the description, the trail used to be asphalt, but now is mostly covered in crushed limestone. It was bumpy in parts ... the emerging weeds, fallen leaves, and limestone made it difficult to see the rough patches, but overall, it was a pretty smooth trail. I probably slowed down a good 2-3 mph from my average speed on the road, mostly due to the crushed gravel surface. I was glad I had let some air out of my 35c tires to make it a more comfortable ride on the bumpy sections.
The trail doesn't appear to be well-maintained ... the weeds are really grown up in parts, and they encroach right at the edge of the trail.
In Waggoner, two diamond-shaped yellow signs that start the trailhead say "Ride at your own risk." Yes, well, anytime you venture out of your house you assume certain risks. Does the highway coming into Main Street say "Drive at your own risk?" They have concrete barriers where the path is interrupted by roadways to deter anything larger than a bicycle on the trail.
The historic depot in Waggoner was locked at 10 am on a Saturday. I didn't see any sign if it has hours that it is open. Also, that building is pretty run down. The sign that says "Waggoner" is really faded and worn. It is no where near the pristine condition shown in the photo from 2013 on this site.
I took a short rest at the gazebo in Waggoner to consume a snack and beverage that I brought. As another reviewer mentioned, there is not even a vending machine in town, so bring any water/snacks with you. Farmersville has places to stop if needed.
All-in-all, a nice, short trail, which is a nice change of pace from always riding on the road. The trail itself has seen better days, to be sure, but still is a decent, ridable trail, one which I will do again.
This trail was overall very nice!! the only issue i had with it personally was that the first bridge i crossed, about a mile in, was blocked off with concrete dividers. thankfully, there were some desire trails going around these, so i was able to walk my bike over the bridge. it was a very long trail, and sometimes i wouldnt be able to find the the path again when it passed through an industrial or residential area, but that wasn’t really a big issue. i was riding my mountain bike, and the path was very clear and easy to ride on. only complaints i have are about the first bridge, and the mile markers were not clear enough, so i didnt really know where i was at.
Agree with others that signage is needed. Riding the short distance by the lake was enjoyable on a sunny September day.
It is a lovely trail. Nicely maintained and easily walkable on a nice day. Good views right next to the golf course, and a few creeks to view over bridges.
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