What to expect on the Old Plank Road trail | Overview
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- The Old Plank Road Trail is a 20+ mile paved trail that connects Joliet to Chicago Heights. I road the whole trail, and here are some highlights and observations of this Illinois Top Ten Rail to Trail.
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Rode this starting at Western avenue in Park Forest to Joliet and back. Downtown Frankfort has some cool stops for food as well as a nice guitar shop.
Nice ride! I hope they fixed it. I almost lost fillings when I was on it. And yes, Frankfort has a really nice downtown. Thanks for watching and keep bikin’!
They repaved it!
+Taoiorch that’s great! I’ll definitely have to go back and check it out.
Only through Frankfort
Bummer. It’s really the stretch west of Frankfort that’s a mess.
Is Joliet the only trail entrance?
No there are a few places to park and jump on the trail. Check AllTrails.com for all the parking along the trail.
What bike are you riding?
A Trek Marlin 6 on Maxis XC tires.
This would be a fantastic bike trail if, like you said in the video, they would resurface it to eliminate the bumps. I ride a road bike with 25mm tires at 80 PSI and otherwise this trail would be ideal for it; fast, straight and level, and not too busy. Instead, it is quite tedious and I wind up worrying that every little fastener on the entire bike is slowly coming loose from the bumps. I should mention however that my usual riding route is on the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail in DuPage County and they are both hardpacked limestone screenings and are smooth as glass compared to the Old Plank Road trail, so my expectations may be a little skewed. It was actually kind of funny: my bike covered with Prairie Path dust really looked out of place next to all the spotlessly clean bikes on the Old Plank Road Trail!
The IPP and Great Western Trails are great. I live in Glen Ellyn and ride them often. In fact I have videos up on my channel for every branch and spur of the IPP trail system. Thanks for watching and keep bikin'!
@@RoaminLama Oh, how about that, I didn't realize! We are probably neighbors.... I live right by Prospect Ave. I checked out your other videos..... I'll have to keep an eye out for your next group ride! If you see a guy on the IPP with a Bianchi bike, chances are it's probably me.
It sounds like you didn't care for the maintenance of the trail. Do they have an association that maintains it?
The trail is managed and maintained by the OPRT Management Commission, a governing body with representatives from the forest preserve district and the towns and villages that banded together to purchase, plan, and develop the trail. Like all Rail to Trails, the Washington lobbying group, Rail to Trails Conservatory, lobby to acquire Federal funds for converting and maintaining old Rail lines to recreation trails. Hopefully they they'll get some infrastructure bill money for fixing this and some other older Rail to Trails. They're actually a really great group and have created some of the most beautiful trails in the country.