The Tunnel Hill State Trail is a bicycle trail running from

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The trail runs along the former bed of a part of the

Cairo and Vincennes Railroad The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum ...

, a transportation unit led during its early years by

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

General

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

. The Cairo & Vincennes became a branch line of the Southern Railway before its trail section shut down in the late 1900s. The northeast end of the trail is in Eldorado, on Trolley Road just north of

U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

. (). The southwest end of the trail is west of Karnak just off

Illinois Route 37 Illinois Route 37, Illinois 37 or IL 37, is a north–south state highway in southern Illinois. IL 37's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 51 (US 51) and IL 3 in Cairo and the northern terminus is at US 45 in Watson. Route ...

at the Cache river wetlands center (). The trail connects to several trails including the

River to River Trail The River to River Trail is a 160 mile (256 km)-long hiking trail that serves Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois. The trail is used by both equestrians and hikers. About half is on off road trails. Its eastern terminus has his ...

; the Illinois southern route of the

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 tra ...

; the U.S. Bicycle Route 76 (part of the

TransAmerica Bike Route U.S. Bicycle Route 76 (USBR 76) is a cross-country bicycle route east of Colorado in the United States. It is one of the two original U.S. Bicycle Routes, the other being U.S. Bicycle Route 1. USBR 76 runs from the Midwestern state of Kansas ...

); and the

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, Mus ...

. The trail is long. The trail is suitable for both hiking and gravel cycling. The trail surface is crushed limestone. During the summer, the surface is hard packed and easily ridden on a road bicycle. However, at other times of the year, the trail may be soft and is better navigated on a gravel bike, mountain bike or hybrid. Parking is available at several locations. (Vienna, Karnak, Cache river center, Tunnel Hill, New Burnside, Stonefort, Carrier Mills, Harrisburg, and Eldorado) However, full services (restaurants, lodging, groceries) are only available in Harrisburg, Carrier Mills, and Vienna. There are limited services elsewhere along the trail. (Soda machines in Stonefort and Karnak)

References

External links

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American Trails-National Recreation TrailsMap from the League of Illinois Bicyclists website - pdfRails-to-Trails Conservancy
Rail trails in Illinois State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Johnson County, Illinois Protected areas of Pulaski County, Illinois Protected areas of Saline County, Illinois Protected areas of Williamson County, Illinois National Recreation Trails in Illinois Long-distance trails in the United States {{WilliamsonCountyIL-geo-stub