Grand Illinois Trail on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Grand Illinois Trail (occasionally abbreviated GIT) is a multipurpose recreational
GIT Users Guide
The Bicyclists Guide to the Grand Illinois Trail Ride
GIT brochureOpenStreetMap Trail Map
{{Authority control Bike paths in the Chicago metropolitan area Bike paths in Illinois Hiking trails in Illinois 1992 establishments in Illinois
The Grand Illinois Trail (occasionally abbreviated GIT) is a multipurpose recreational trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...
in the northern part of the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. At over in length, it is the longest trail in Illinois. Parts of it are in the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...
.
The Grand Illinois Trail began life in 1992 when three La Salle County residents began exploring ways to connect the existing Hennepin and Illinois & Michigan Canal state trails. By completing a short 16-mile gap, a major span across the state—from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River—could be completed. This led to IDNR involvement and its decision to extend the trail across a much broader region of Illinois.
It contains flat and easy-to-ride portions through green farmlands and pastoral vistas, as well as the hilly geography of Jo Daviess County, Chicago streetscapes and Lake Michigan, the Mississippi river, the Upper Illinois River Valley, Small Town America and medium-sized cities and suburbs. Those who complete a trail journal and confirm completion with the IDNR are granted the title of Trailblazer.
Its trail surfaces vary from asphalt trails to low-volume streets to limestone-screened trails. particularly noteworthy is the famous Prairie Path through the western suburbs of Chicago, which was the first long rail-trail development in America, along with the great Chicago Lakefront trail. The best long-section of the GIT is the southern section along the state canal trails, between Joliet and the Quad Cities. This southern section includes the Old Plank Road Trail, the Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail, the projected Kaskaskia Alliance Trail and the Hennepin Canal, and is the northern routing of the cross-country American Discovery Trail.
See also
Comparable trails
*Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...
* Mississippi River Trail
The Mississippi River Trail (abbreviated MRT) is a designated bicycle and pedestrian trail that traverses the shores of the Mississippi River in the United States. The trail extends from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to near the mouth ...
* American Discovery Trail
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tr ...
Subsections of the Grand Illinois Trail
* Chicago Lakefront Path * Burnham Greenway * Thorn Creek Trail *Old Plank Road Trail Old Plank Road Trail may refer to:
* Old Plank Road Trail (Wisconsin), a trail in Fond du Lac County and Sheboygan County in Wisconsin
* Old Plank Road Trail (Illinois), a trail in Cook County and Will County in Illinois
{{Disambiguation ...
* Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail — also see Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago ...
* Hennepin Canal Trail Hennepin may refer to:
Places in the United States
*Hennepin, Illinois, a village
* Hennepin, Oklahoma, a small community
*Hennepin Avenue, a street in Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Hennepin County, Minnesota
* Hennepin Township, Putnam County, Illinois
...
— also see Hennepin Canal
The Hennepin Canal State Trail, also just called the Hennepin Canal, is an abandoned waterway in northwest Illinois, between the Mississippi River at Rock Island and the Illinois River near Hennepin. The entire canal is listed on the National ...
* Great River Trail
The Great River State Trail is a rail trail between Onalaska and Marshland, Wisconsin. It is designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian or light motorized traffic. It is designated as a multiuse trail, offering recreational access to the routes, and ...
* Thomson Sand Prairie Trail
* Jane Addams Trail
The Jane Addams Trail is a long rail trail in Stephenson County, Illinois.
Jane Addams, the trail's namesake, was born in Stephenson County. The trail's endpoints are Freeport, Illinois and the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, where it becomes th ...
* Pecatonica Prairie Path
* Rock River Recreation Path
* Bauer Parkway Trail
* Willow Creek Trail
* Long Prairie Trail
* Prairie Trail
The Prairie Trail is a shared use path for walking and cycling, located in McHenry County, Illinois. The path is part of the Grand Illinois Trail and connects McHenry County to other trails in the Chicago metropolitan area. It is considered to be ...
* Fox River Trail (Illinois)
The Fox River Trail is a multi-use path in Illinois along the Fox River. Largely in Kane County, the trail connects the communities of (North to South) Algonquin, Carpentersville, Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia ...
* Illinois Prairie Path
The Illinois Prairie Path (often called the Prairie Path and abbreviated IPP) is a network of of bicycle trails, mostly in DuPage County, Illinois. Portions of the trail extend west to Kane County and east to Cook County. Most of the trail i ...
* North Shore Channel Trail
The North Shore Channel is a 7.7 mile long canal built between 1907 and 1910 to increase the flow of North Branch of the Chicago River so that it would empty into the South Branch and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Its water is generally tak ...
References
* Volker, Todd. "The Complete Grand Illinois Trail Guidebook". FirstServePress, Peoria, IL, 2003. * Volker, Todd. (2003). "Weekend Explorer: Grand Illinois Trail, Northern Illinois".External links
GIT Users Guide
The Bicyclists Guide to the Grand Illinois Trail Ride
GIT brochure
{{Authority control Bike paths in the Chicago metropolitan area Bike paths in Illinois Hiking trails in Illinois 1992 establishments in Illinois