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The Constitution Trail is a great bike trail. It is a entire 40+ miles long with concrete on all parts. The trial is covered with trees in most areas, creating a nice shaded ride. It makes the rides/walks/runs very relaxing, and it is well known throughout the community.
It’s great to see how trails are being developed along Route 66 in McLean County! The center section of this trail is a masterpiece all by itself! A superb introduction to the place Route 66 has had in American history.
I have ridden this trail 4 times so far, making the 35mile on way drive.
Very nice,tree lined and scenic ride along the creek. Tunnels pass under the busy streets. Can be a little crowded on weekends, so plan on going on weekdays, if possible. Almost totally paved from Bloomington to just south of Hudson and east to Normal. Although not part of the trail, Tipton Park in Normal connects to the trail and is just as nice. Can easily do 25miles by bike. Lots of benches, water fountains and rest rooms.
My husband and I rode this trail for the first time. We rode the Naperville and Bolingbrook sections many times. This section is as good. It has large portions with shade. Several toilets. Picnic tables. A dog park. Picturesque photo op trail branches. One drawback: dog poop. Strangly enough, not near the dog park. The poop is scattered 30 ft or so on either side of access points. No reason for it, because free bags are provided at each access point. Good thing dog walkers are too lazy to walk any farther. We will go back. The poop is not enough to keep us away. Also, we saw a police 🚔 patroling the trail.
Remember the big flood? Tornadoes? This trail is maintained as well as possible considering our financial state in this state. The only real problem this year is the collapsed & under repair Morris viaduct that closed the trail. You must ride on the road to Stratton Park, then back on a continuous trail through Lockport. Safe from traffic, beautiful river views, professionally repaired washed out sections plus fairly responsive fallen tree removal keeps the trail ridable. Occasional trees down may require lifting bike over. I try to break off branches to clear a temp path till they cut it up usually withing a week or two.
Some shallow flooding occurs after heavy rains between Ottawa & Marseilles that is still ridable...Appox 2-4 in deep max.
All in all a wonderful fitness ride from Morris to Buffalo Rock.
I ride this trail every chance I get as I train for a triathlon. I ride my road bike on this paved trail and ride the unpaved Illinois-Mich Canal trail on the mountain bike. I am retired and ride multiple times per week.
Negatives: Somewhat rough in sections so I keep tires ~50psi for a smoother ride. Some tricky sections till you get to know the trail.
Positives (too many to list all): Good pavement in most areas, repaving is continuously fixing bad spots. Nice water refill stations plus drinking fountains, washrooms & repair stations with tools and pumps. No need to risk riding with traffic. Nice small climbing hills for a sprint challenge. Well shaded with nice woods & great river views. Very little traffic on weekdays. Weekends are fun & not too crowded. Oswego to Crystal Lake gives a round trip century ride.
These trails are the best in our nation for long fitness rides without mixing with traffic. I feel guilty riding these near empty trails alone. Where is everybody? ;))
First off, this is my go-to trail and I love it. However, there are 2 areas of the trail that have been closed too long and I wonder who is responsible for making repairs.
The first is on the south side of Elgin along Raymond St where the path used to run along Poplar Creek and go under a bridge. That portion of the trail has been closed for several years now and nothing appears to be happening with regard to repairs.
Bikers are forced to proceed south on Raymond then right on Riverview Drive and go 2-3 blocks to rejoin the trail. There are no directional signs for users to follow.
The second area is near the South Elgin dam where brush and fallen branches have closed the trail making it necessary to cut across a grassy field adjacent to an industrial area in order to rejoin the trail. Again, no signs are in place to aid bikers to find their way around.
Again I ask who is responsible for repairing these areas?
Lexington has done a great job holding onto its Route 66 charm! It’s small town Midwest Americana at its best! The day we were there to ride the trail, we had a great lunch at Kelly’s on 66, where we talked history with the owner and admired all the highway memorabilia from yesteryear. We were going to drive through downtown on Main Street, but found it blocked off and filled with a Homecoming Carnival. I didn’t know small towns even had these anymore! We’ll be going back again – for trail and town. Looks like there’s lots of Lexington events related to the Mother Road.
I've skated the riverfront section and also from Harvard Ave to Alta. The pavements varies in quality from very nice to very rough and cracked. The stretch from Midstate College to Harvard Ave is probably the best for those that want good pavement. Also beware of the tunnel at roughly mile 11.75, as it is situated after a blind turn at the base of a hill. Easier to navigate it coming from the north, but very sketchy coming from the south. It's a great albeit narrow path once in the long tunnel though. I'd probably recommend the East Peoria trail over this one but it is still a good skate or ride.
The reviews are ALL about biking. This trail is sort of inline friendly but it has a lot of flotsam, sticks, debris from trees, and there are lots of repairs made with that sticky tar substance, that the skate wheels are not too good on. Some parts are pretty rough asphalt and some are fairly smooth. Bigger wheels are probably better, though they also make you faster. The street crossings are semi cut curbs with lots of bumps and broken cement to make your wheels stick, unless you're good at navigating these obstacles or good at jumping. This gets worse the further east you go on the trail. *There's a few places where the trail runs downhill (going W at Wolf Rd for one) and then spills directly into a busy street. You'd better practice your stopping skills. I think they should send a sweeper down this path at least a few times a month. I bike this trail and it's really good for that. I've skated it as well, but that was over 10 years ago when I was more confident. One bad fall with a twisted rotator cuff made me more wary since (a jogger wouldn't make way and my avoidance of her made me lose it). People walking 3 abreast and those with dogs on long leashes are also good to avoid.
Yesterday I rode the fox river trail from Aurora to Algonquin and luckily did not have to ride back. I entered the trail off Illinois street and made my way north. The total trip was 35 miles. It was everything that I hoped for as far as beautiful nature and scenic forestry. There were moments where I was Uncertain where the trail ended and resumed when getting into different downtown areas. However, the map from this site helped me immensely and I am So grateful for that. In st Charles, the signs will lead you every step in the right direction as to where to get back on the trail. In south Elgin and Elgin it was not that easy, but again, the map helped with that. It wasn’t until mile 25 in Dundee when I started to “feel the burn.” The next ten miles were a tad painful heading into Algonquin. My plan was to exit off the trail and head to Scorched Earth Brewing but the trail was a bridge going over the road that I needed To exit on. I luckily found a fence in some thicket that I lifted My bike over and then climbed. I had Made it! My girlfriend greeted me there and had lunch ready for me that we brought into the brewery. All in all, this trail is absolutely gorgeous and I cant Wait to do it again. Thanks for reading. -Bryan
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