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The new bike trails built in the Stearns Road Corridor are open and the weather finally cooperated.  I went for my first bike ride of the year.  I wanted to keep it short, because I haven’t been on my bike in six months.  I also wanted to stay on paved trails, because of rain last night.  Here is my route for today’s ride.

I started at the Tri-County State Park on Stearns Rd.  A new bike trail leads from the parking lot near the visitors center to Stearns Rd, then runs alongside the road to the new Stearns Rd/IL 25/Dunham Rd intersection.  The trail here is made of crushed stone from the DuPage County line east.  The trail is asphalt west of the line.

The Illinois Prairie Path – Elgin Branch passes under Stearns Rd and intersects the new Stearns Rd trail at a sort of traffic circle.  I felt like I was supposed to travel through this intersection using traffic circle rules from driving, but instead chose to take the shortest way through.

Illinois Prairie Path - Stearns Road underpass

I rode under Stearns Rd and decided to follow the rerouted section of the Prairie Path.  The trail used to cross Dunham Rd near the Lamplight Equestrian Center.  The last time I rode it, you had follow a zig-zag detour through the Stearns construction area.  Now the trail is asphalt, going uphill parallel to the realigned Dunham Rd.  The slope is about 3% according to my GPSr when traveling southbound toward the bridge over the railroad tracks.  Steep enough to make me work.  The IPP now uses the old Dunham Rd bridge over the tracks.  The new pavement ends where the IPP used to cross Dunham Rd.  I rode back to the Stearns Rd trail (no name for it, as far as I know) and headed west on the new trail.

IPP/Stearns Road trail - Illinois Route 25 underpass

The Stearns Road trail and the IPP run westward to the junction where the IPP takes off northwest toward South Elgin and Elgin.  The bridge the IPP used to cross over IL Route 25 is still in place, but the only trace of old IL Route 25 are road signs that weren’t removed.

IPP bridge over "old" IL Route 25 - looking north

IPP bridge over "old" IL Route 25 - looking south

After checking out this intersection of the trails, I continued southwest along Stearns Rd/IL 25.  A new bridge crosses over a creek and then you follow the part of IL Route 25 that curves past the Woodland landfill.  This part of IL25 hasn’t changed.  I have to say, be aware of stones and gravel on all parts of this new trail.  Construction isn’t done (final Stearns & IL25 paving will take place this summer) and there is some erosion, so the trail is a bit messy in places.

The Stearns Rd trail gets real narrow at the intersection of Gilbert St and IL Route 25.  There is a new stoplight here, so pay heed to that.  A new wall/Jersey barrier kind of thing separates IL Route 25 traffic from the bike trail, but there is precious little space between the wall and the abutment of the railroad bridge you pass under.  The approach to this narrow passage is blind from the north, and pretty close to blind from the south.  Slow way down so you don’t crash into another cyclist or pedestrian when going around the corners to get under the bridge.  This underpass will be widened in the future.

Looking north at the underpass near Gilbert St & IL25

Farther south, you encounter a barrier at the second set of railroad tracks, stating the path is closed.  It isn’t really.  They simply didn’t install the ramps to get over the railroad tracks yet.  You have to dismount and carry your bike over the tracks.

Trail obstacle along IL Route 25

At the intersection of IL Route 25 and Stearns Rd, you round the corner and head west.  Except for a short uphill section about 0.2mi east of the river, you are going downhill the whole time.  Right now there isn’t much landscaping.  Mostly some hay that has been thrown on the bare ground.  This place will look nice once the grass grows.  Some flowers would make this a pretty stretch also.  While the trail runs alongside Stearns Rd, it is not that bad of a ride.  The road isn’t terribly busy, so there isn’t much road noise.  Nothing like the crappy noisy ride along the Algonquin Rd trail going west from Harper College to South Barrington.  While Stearns Rd and the railroad tracks rise to cross the Fox River, the bike trail descends to the river and moves away from Stearns Rd.  Just before the river, the trail turns south and passes under Stearns Rd.  There is a trail junction.  Bear west, and you cross the river.  Keep going south, and you find a dead end with a big rock and a plaque.

The deck of the bridge over the river is made of wood.  As you can see, the bridge arches as it crosses the river.  At the west end, the Stearns Rd trail terminates at its intersection with the Fox River Trail.  This is an interesting intersection, as it is made of concrete and elevated above the level of the river.  The Fox River Trail rises both from the north and the south to meet the bridge.

Fox River Trail approaching the Stearns Rd bridge from the south

From here, I rode south on the Fox River Trail down to where the trail splits into one branch that heads into the Duerr Forest Preserve while the other continues as the Fox River Trail over the river and into Tekakwitha Woods.  I had never been on this part of the Fox River Trail before, as it had been barricaded for well over a year due to the Stearns Rd bridge construction.  Once I reached the familiar trail intersection at Duerr FP, I turned around to ride north along the Fox River Trail into South Elgin.  I was finally getting to ride this trail!  Other people ignored the construction barricades and some got ticketed during construction.  I try to follow the rules, so I had to wait a couple of riding seasons to finally ride this part of the Fox River Trail.

The Fox River Trail follows the tracks used by the Fox River Trolley Museum.  I believe they offer trolley rides from the museum to the Duerr Forest Preserve during the summer.

Railroad tracks along the Fox River Trail

I took some artsy-fartsy photos of the trio of bridges crossing the Fox River in the Stearns Rd Corridor.  See them here on Flickr.

After going under the railroad bridge that crosses the Fox, please use caution.  The trail runs right at the river’s edge.  No room for evasive action and it’s not a place you want to lose your balance.  There are several other places to the north along the trail that have no room for error, due to steep drops off the pavement.  Ride responsibly.

Fox River Trail - at the river's edge, looking south

I came across an interesting backyard before reaching the trolley museum.  This homeowner had a variety of railroad signals in their backyard, as well as a little rail vehicle and depot.

I like how South Elgin routed the Fox River Trail to use the State St bridge to get across the river.  You ride parallel to the street then go up to the bridge at the west end, cross the river, then ride down a loop at the east end and go under the bridge to continue north.

Fox River Trail in South Elgin

On the other hand, Batavia has you carrying your bike up/down some stairs at Wilson St as well as at pedestrian bridge just to the north of Wilson.

Riding north along the Fox River Trail from South Elgin, there are several signs and gates blocking off the trail.  Just after passing under the State St bridge, I saw another cyclist and asked him if “the hole was still in the trail.”  I was referring to some damage to the trail near the wastewater treatment plant in Elgin.  You’ll see it later.  The fellow said the trail was still passable and you could get through.

Fox River Trail closure at Woodbury St & River Rd in South Elgin

The trail runs parallel to some railroad tracks northeastward.  As you can see above, people ignore the gates.  The trail is in good condition and passable.  You go through some residential neighborhoods.  Peaceful, kinda scenic, a little hilly.  You then find a final warning and barricade.

Final trail barricade, heading north on the Fox River Trail

And here’s why the trail is closed.  It’s been like this for quite a while, and somebody is suing the forest preserve district because he got injured here.  Poplar Creek eroded the foundation of the trail and it has fallen into the creek.  This is where the trail meanders under the railroad bridge over the creek, just south of Elgin’s wastewater treatment plant.

Fox River Trail damage

I have no idea if the forest preserve district is going to fix this.  It is likely an expensive fix.  Unfortunately, there are no detour signs.  Below is a map of the area.  You can easily detour around this by turning off and crossing the railroad tracks at that final barricade I showed earlier.  Ride along Riverview Ave northeast to Raymond St.  Riverview is residential and had no traffic when I passed through.  Then ride 125ft along Raymond (watch for cars) up to where the Illinois Prairie Path crosses the street.  Ride a little farther north, and you’ll find the original junction with the Fox River Trail.  The damaged section of trail is closed from the north, also.

Closure of the Fox River Trail at Poplar Creek, from the north

From here I rode southeast on the IPP back down to its new intersection with Stearns Rd.  There is new asphalt from Raymond St to Kenyon Rd (or is it Middle St?).  You’re back on crushed stone until the bridge over old IL Route 25.  Here’s a pic I took riding past a farm.

I foolishly decided to try to add on some mileage by riding around part of the Tri County State Park.  It’s a hilly park, and the wind was about 25mph out of the southwest.  The trails are crushed stone and there are few trees to mitigate the wind.  The trails were pretty soft after some rain that had fallen overnight.  I was leaving a rut about a half-inch deep.  I was pedaling against the wind and against the soft surface.  I became pooped out and only rode half of the trails through the park.  I’ll ride the rest someday.

Here are my stats for today’s ride.  Kinda mediocre.  The average speed is low due to me stopping to take a bunch of photos.

Hope this proves useful to future riders of the reconfigured Illinois Prairie Path and Stearns Road trails.

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