A 21-mile recreation and nature trail in northeastern Illinois
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	Click for information on the OPRT map brochure which lists distances, parks, food stops, etc.		2007 Trail Funding announced (SPRINGFIELD, November 16, 2007) More than $1.5 million in bicycle path grants for communities in northern Illinois were announced. Approximately $3 million for bike paths were awarded statewide. Local grants include $200,000 to construct a 2.9-mile trail in the southeast section of Frankfort. The trail will run west on Laraway Road from Sauk Creek Forest Preserve to Pfeiffer Road, then north on Pfeiffer to the Old Plank Road Trail. The Will County Forest Preserve District was awarded two grants. The first is for $200,000 to construct a 1-mile multi purpose trail through Hadley Valley East Preserve. The trail starts at Bruce Road and runs west to the I-355 corridor. A trail head with parking, water, a shelter, signage and a latrine will be developed near Bruce Road. The other Will County FPD grant is for $144,900 to construct a 3-mile trail along the Des Plaines River between 135th Street and Keepataw Preserve. Full text at WWW.ILLINOIS.GOV Trail patches are available Earn a patch for completing the 20-mile trail in one trip or several smaller trips. Patches are full color, embroidered, and 2.5 inches in diameter, and ideal for sewing onto vests or backpacks. Patches sell for $3.00 each and come in two styles: hiking and cycling. Payment is accepted by cash or check made payable to the Forest Preserve District of Will County. TO ORDER your Old Plank Road Trail patches, visit the Sugar Creek Visitor Center at 17540 W. Laraway Road (3/4-mile west of Route 52) Joliet, Illinois open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or call 815-727-8700. Trail Etiquette Motorized vehicles are prohibited Stay on the designated trail Be courteous to all trail users Announce your intention to pass Keep right and pass left Move off the trail when stopped Cyclists & skaters yield to walkers Dispose of trash properly Leash pets and remove waste Joliet & Southern Traction Company The Old Plank Road Trail (OPRT) is a rail-trail conversion, an asphalt hiking and biking trail built on an abandoned rail roadbed. The original Michigan Central Rail Road (MCRR) from East Gary (Lake Station) to Joliet was surveyed and built in the mid 1850s. It was called the "Joliet Cut-Off," because it allowed trains to avoid going through Chicago. The Joliet Cut-Off was one of the first rail connections between Illinois and east coast cities like Boston and New York. During the early years of the 20th century the MCRR right-of-way also was home to an interurban line. The light weight interurban or trolley rails of the Joliet & Southern Traction Company ran parallel to the MCRR rails from Chicago Heights to Summit station west of Frankfort. For more information on the J&ST interurban click here or on the logo. For more history of the OPRT check out the history section of this website. Click here. Panorama pictures of the Old Plank Road Trail I've posted some interactive Quicktime panorama pictures taken along the trail. These images are very large files, 6 to 12 megabytes. If you have a cable modem or DSL Internet connection then you might want to take a look at these panorama pictures. Click the photograph above to go to the Quicktime movie page.
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