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Print Friendly MapThe 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 additional 1-mile loop takes you around the ball fields to Logan Street.
All 12 miles of the trail's surface is paved. The trail is open year-round from dawn to dusk.
Parking is available in Mattoon Park, at the 10th Street ball fields, or by the Roundhouse Complex on Shelby Avenue. Parking is also available midway off Loxa Road where the trail crosses the road. In Charleston, there is a small parking area between the industrial sites where Madison Avenue and CR 7/Old State Road run parallel. Additional parking is at the ball fields on Division Street.
This trail is well maintained. Lots of birds and wildlife. I rode the trail on a Friday afternoon in late March (62 degrees) and there were 5 other folks riding and walking. It is a flat trail that runs through mostly farm land. ¿
The trail surface is smooth asphalt. Except for the first and last miles, it is also essentially seamless. Great.
The scenery is pretty much nothing, and there isn't really anything along the way. The eastern portion is more scenic than the western, passing over a couple ravines of tributaries to the Embarras river.
Great trail for a workout.
Nice way to spend a beautiful day biking 16+ miles on an asphalt trail. They are currently doing work putting in new telephone poles.
100 percent ashphalt! Straight with nice towns on either end. New bathroom stop 1/2 way. Great length and a nature center at one end. Worth the effort.
If you happen to be in Charleston IL then definitely visit it, but don’t go out of your way to visit it It is in very excellent condition, 95% paved despite the photo on this website Straight as an arrow, one slight turn in 11 miles. Very nice nature center about 3 miles from end in Mattoon Il.
The trail is great, but needs shade and wind barriers.
We parked at the Charleston Baseball Seaton Complex and rode towards Mattoon. The trail is a wonderful smooth asphalt surface which is sunny all the way to the Douglas-Hart Nature Center. It is a great trail!
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
This trail has been greatly improved and is now asphalt from Mattoon to Charleston.
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.
Access to the trail is easy and I picked the West end trail head in Mattoon. I parked at Peterson Park where there are many shaded parking spots. The start of the trail is one block west and one block north of the park. The trail starts off paved and once out of town is crushed gravel. The trail is pretty well maintained and used quite a bit, but there were still a few sections where my comfort bike got a little out of sorts in deep gravel. Overall though, the condition of the trail was good. The trail is pretty flat and there are only a couple of places along the route where it is necessary to cross roads. The scenery is very peaceful and at one section, the trail cuts through a country club - so you may be sharing the trail in that section with a golfer or two... Both Mattoon and Charleston offer many opportunities for dining, so you won't go hungry! I will definitely be back and will use this trail for 50 mile rides in the future.
I first rode this trail several years ago and was not impressed: the surface was full of washouts and 4 wheeler ruts. However it now seems to be better maintained. The easternmost section is the best, a narrow corridor with lots of wildflowers and birds. As you get closer to Mattoon the trail opens up and there is no protection from the sun and wind. For a nice bit of shade take the spur into the Douglas Hart Nature Center.
This is one of my favorite trails. Good parking is available. The trail is not very curvy. It's somewhat hilly, but do-able. The trail near the end in Charleston is very peaceful. Downtown Charleston is only a couple blocks away too, plenty of food & drink.
My wife and I have ridden 15 trails in Central Illinois, and this one is in worse condition than any of them. The long, cross-country sections of crushed stone are in particular need of some maintenance. Through the I-57 underpass there are some serious wash-outs; and there's a lot of weeds growing up on the pathway -- especially east of Loxa Road, and even more, east of Charleston. Not to mention the manure piles one has to dodge on the equestrian section of the trail. It rained a couple of days before we rode the trail, so we also had some mud and water holes to contend with. Completing the asphalt paving of the trail would do much to turn it into a great Prairies Grass experience.
Me and my 10 yr. old son rode this 12 ml. trail.This was on 7/3/10 we both held up great.The trail is great for any naturalist.You see all kinds of wild flowers,bunny's,birds ect.The trail also runs past the Charleston golf coarse and also the 1/8 ml. drag strip.You also get a chance to smell all the wild flowers as you ride.We ended up in Charleston.We ate dinner then rode back.I remember growing up in Mattoon,Il and walking the train tracks as a kid."I think it was a great idea to turn that piece of property into a bike trail".We all have to take charge a fight for places like these.I THINK AN ALL BIKE NATION IS WHAT AMERICA NEEDS.Thank you
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