Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Urbana, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historical downtown train depot. And...
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 Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail runs 12 miles, much of the way along an old railroad right-of-way between County Highway 2 east of Charleston and the ball fields at 10th Street in Mattoon; an...
This trail through the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve shows off Central Illinois' great natural beauty. Starting from the west, the trail meanders through a wonderfully restored prairie. It passes...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
The Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within the...
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...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
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 first 6.7-mile section of the Kickapoo Rail Trail in eastern Illinois opened in August 2017. Paralleling U.S. 150, the Champaign County rail-trail runs from Urbana east to St. Joseph along the...
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 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 backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
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...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historical downtown train depot. And...
The Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail runs 12 miles, much of the way along an old railroad right-of-way between County Highway 2 east of Charleston and the ball fields at 10th Street in Mattoon; an...
The backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
This trail through the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve shows off Central Illinois' great natural beauty. Starting from the west, the trail meanders through a wonderfully restored prairie. It passes...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
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...
One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
The Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within the...
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 first 6.7-mile section of the Kickapoo Rail Trail in eastern Illinois opened in August 2017. Paralleling U.S. 150, the Champaign County rail-trail runs from Urbana east to St. Joseph along the...
This trail through the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve shows off Central Illinois' great natural beauty. Starting from the west, the trail meanders through a wonderfully restored prairie. It passes...
The first 6.7-mile section of the Kickapoo Rail Trail in eastern Illinois opened in August 2017. Paralleling U.S. 150, the Champaign County rail-trail runs from Urbana east to St. Joseph along the...
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...
The Towanda Route 66 Parkway is the longest and most developed of the Route 66 trails in northeast McLean County. Its centerpiece is the well-appointed, community-sponsored linear parkway within the...
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...
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...
One cannot travel this trail today without remembering the iconic highway on which it is built. The city of Lexington saw two alignments of Route 66. The earliest, which served from 1921-1944, went...
The sprawling Constitution Trail covers nearly 42 miles throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. The trail was officially named and dedicated in 1987 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
The backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
The Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail runs 12 miles, much of the way along an old railroad right-of-way between County Highway 2 east of Charleston and the ball fields at 10th Street in Mattoon; an...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historical downtown train depot. And...
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...
I fully agree with other reviews great trail. Thanx to those responsible for getting it paved. All in sun however, might want cloudy day. Easy 20+ mile ride if you want, goes into 2 towns for food also.
This trail used to have some gravel but no longer..., it’s all asphalt now. It is a nice little jaunt to Mattoon and back. There is no shade except under I-57 near Mattoon. Wildflowers are beautiful. There are access points from the trail to the Charleston Country Club ( golf course) and Douglas/Hart Nature Center just outside of Mattoon. Port
The trail was rough and not really suited for road bikes. Where they patched it with ground up asphalt is very rough and not packed well and sucks you’re tires and pulls you.
The trail from Mattoon to a trucking company looks good but from the trucking company toward Charleston which is where we started the trail was not good for road bikes. They have used what appears to be recycled asphalt and it is rough and not packed down well.
We rode the SW section last weekend and the family really enjoyed it. We found great parking and a spot to eat before we rode the 5 miles into town and back out. The surface was well maintained. The scenery was great. It was a nice quiet ride and we stopped to take a lot of pictures.
A waste of time . It is also not the safest area in Champaign
We started off on the south side. I recommend this because the trail has slight up hill run through out the length, until you get back into town. There is a hill down and up just before the High school and level off after you get into the park. In reverse it is a nice slight downhill run once you get about 2 miles into the ride. very friendly people along the way.
Parked at the Savoy rec center and rode North. The North side had road construction going on so was closed. Hopefully it’ll be open by this fall. We loved this trail and just wished it was longer. They could extend it a couple more miles to the South.
Started off on this trail at the Covington city park which has brand new playgrounds, splash park, and restrooms. You could easily let kids play here for a couple hrs. The trail is paved and smooth. It’s almost a complete loop around town. Just a short jaunt down quiet neighborhoods will complete the loop. You won’t be disappointed with the this trail.
We parked at the Buffalo Trace parking lot just north of I-74 on Route 47. Direct trail access at this point. We rode it west to the end, which is about a mile through beautiful prairie. (There is parking at the west end also.)
Then we returned and rode it all the way to the east end, which pops you out into a residential neighborhood. (It's only 3.3 miles total.)
But the real beauty of this trail is that at about the midpoint it connects seamlessly with the Mahomet city trail in the woods at the golf course. From there you can ride south and end up in Mahomet at Route 47 and then ride north up the east shoulder back to the Buffalo Trace parking lot. The Route 47 shoulder is a full car width , paved and perfectly safe. So, you can ride a complete loop back to your car. Nice!
A really nice, fully paved circuit through prairie, forest and town.
Trail is in great condition. Paved at all the grade crossings.
The Walmart parking lot at the west end is a great place to start and finish.
The little downtown in St. Joseph has a cafe with specialty coffee's, sandwiches and ice cream.
You can ride into Urbana from the Walmart to the west on Main Street. It is clearly marked with a dedicated bike lane, and where the lane doesn't exist there are signs that say "Bikes can take the entire lane".
Overall, a very safe and well designed trail.
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