The Illinois Prairie Path (often called the Prairie Path and abbreviated IPP) is a network of of

bicycle trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

s, mostly in

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

. Portions of the trail extend west to Kane County and east to

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. Most of the trail is categorized as

rail-to-trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on rail transport, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rai ...

, meaning that the bicycle path is built atop a converted former

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

right of way. In the case of the Prairie Path, the vast majority of its routing runs on the former right-of-way of the

Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E), known colloquially as the "Roarin' Elgin" or the "Great Third Rail", was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service on its line between Chicago and Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. ...

May Theilgaard Watts May Petrea Theilgaard Watts (1 May 1893 – 20 August 1975) was an American naturalist, writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She was a naturalist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and author of ''Reading the Landscape of America''. ...

is credited for a letter written in 1963 that initiated the first project in what became a widespread rail-to-trails program of land use across the United States. In August 2008, the Illinois Prairie Path was inducted into the Rails-to-Trails hall of fame.

Routing

The Illinois Prairie Path consists of three distinct branches originating from a point just west of downtown Wheaton (). The northwest branch is called the Elgin Branch and runs approximately to Elgin, where it intersects with the Fox River Trail ). This branch is the longest of the three. The southwest branch is called the Aurora Branch and runs approximately to RiverEdge Park in

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, where it, too, intersects with the Fox River Trail (). The eastern branch is known as the Main Stem and runs east to

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

at the Forest Park CTA station, where it crosses the historic

Elmhurst Great Western Prairie The Elmhurst Great Western Prairie (EGWP) is a six-acre, one mile long prairie remnant located immediately north of the Illinois Prairie Path in Elmhurst, Illinois. The EGWP has been maintained largely by volunteers since 1977 and is owned by the El ...

). All three branches are marked with concrete mile markers stating the name of the branch, and how many miles away from Wheaton the rider is. The frequency and character of these markers varies from county to county. After the path's conception, spurs were added to the system extending west from the Elgin Branch to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

(known as the Geneva Spur) and west from the Aurora Branch to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

(known as the Batavia Spur). These spur branches are 6 and 5 miles (10 and 9 km) long respectively, and are also marked with mile markers. The Prairie Path is part of a larger regional network of trails in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

. The Elgin Branch and Main Stem are part of the long Grand Illinois Trail in north-central Illinois. On a more local level, the Prairie Path intersects with Kane County's Fox River Trail four times, and the

Great Western Trail The Great Western Trail is a north-south long distance multiple use route that runs from Canada to Mexico through five western states in the United States. The trail has access for both motorized and non-motorized users and traverses through Ar ...

—a parallel connector between the Main Stem at Lombard and the Elgin Branch. Future connections are planned to the West Branch DuPage River Trail, the East Branch DuPage River Trail, and the Salt Creek Trail. The DuPage County Department of Transportation maintains internal designations for the Illinois Prairie Path as a part of the county's highway system. County Highway 47 refers to the Main Stem and the Aurora Branch. County Highway 48 refers to the Elgin Branch. County Highway 49 refers to the Batavia Spur, while County Highway 57 refers to the Geneva Spur.

History

The concept of a regional trail in DuPage County was introduced in 1963 by

, a leading figure at the

Morton Arboretum The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, United States, is a public garden, and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research including the Center for Tree Science. Its grounds, covering 1,700 acres (6.9 square kilometres ...

. In a letter to the editor of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', she called for the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Electric Railroad right-of-way to be preserved for future generations instead of being given over to development. After eight years of contentious meetings between Watts and her representatives, and those of the towns of Wheaton and

Glen Ellyn Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

(who sought the right-of-way as valuable parking space), U.S. Secretary of the Interior Rogers C.B. Morton designated the Illinois Prairie Path as the second of 27 new National Trails. In the designation, Mrs. Watts was honored "for her outstanding efforts toward establishment of the Illinois Prairie Path." Although the IPP was the first Rail Trail proposed in the US, the

Elroy-Sparta State Trail The Elroy-Sparta State Trail is a Wisconsin State rail trail between Elroy and Sparta, Wisconsin. Considered to be the first rail trail when it opened in 1967, it was designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian and light motorized traffic. Designat ...

in Wisconsin was completed and opened first. On August 23, 2006, a new pedestrian bridge was lifted into place over the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American Her ...

between Maywood and Forest Park. The bridge and new approaches permit a direct crossing over the Des Plaines River, allowing the main stem of the Prairie Path to terminate further east, at the Forest Park CTA station. The bridge and approaches opened in late October 2006, after lighting and emergency

call box A call box or callbox is a (usually metal) box containing a special-purpose direct line telephone or other telecommunications device which has been used by various industries and institutions as a way for employees or clients at a remote locat ...

es were installed. In 2014,

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has nearly 70 areas of study in undergraduate majors, minors, and programs through 19 academic departments organized in thre ...

became the home to the Prairie Path's official archives.

References

External links

Illinois Prairie Path official website

The Illinois Prairie Path: Hall of Fame Trail

TraiLink.com: Illinois Prairie Path

Detailed map of Eastern Branch (main stem)

Map of the entire IPP and connections to local trails
{{Bicycling in Chicago Rail trails in Illinois Bike paths in the Chicago metropolitan area Protected areas of DuPage County, Illinois Protected areas of Kane County, Illinois Wheaton, Illinois Transportation in DuPage County, Illinois National Recreation Trails in Illinois