Cross-Country Skiing Trail Trip Reports

“I went on the Monarch trail group with family. 2 20 year olds, a 49 year old and two 69 year olds. It was great. We went counter clockwise and had the lake views for the first third of the trip. Then it went into the woods and varying falls. All so beautiful on a perfect afternoon.”

“Well marked, very rocky, pretty muddy a couple days after a rain in June.”

“I hope everyone will consider adding Hickory Creek and Hickory Barrens to their Plank Trail route. The forest preserves are beautiful with majestic oaks, hickory trees and maples. Nice bridges cross hickory creek three times. The hills and curves add interest to an otherwise straight rail trail with little elevation change. So, I will add details to help the reader choose a route. A good starting point would be Hickory Creek Forest Preserve which is accessed on LaPorte Rd between LaGrange and Wolf. This gives you 1.7 miles ending at Rt. 30 (Lincoln Hwy.) I like to continue west behind a group of condos and then proceed 1.2 miles along a path that parallels Rt. 30. You will go under the Hickory Junction overpass and turn right into Hickory Barrens. This part of the route is 3.1 miles and is lovely passing a beautiful pond where you can hear frogs and perhaps see a Blue Heron. At the end of the trail there is a pavilion, water and pit toilets. There is a schoolhouse museum and you are across the street from Lincoln Way Central High School. You could now access the Plank Trail by traveling south along School House Rd for 0.9 miles. Again, there is a sidewalk (narrow, about 3 feet) to avoid traffic. Plank Trail continues southwest for an additional 7.3 miles to Washington Street access in Joliet. Although this is the end of the Plank trail, you could take a couple of side roads for 1.3 miles access the start of Wauponsee glacial trail Under I-80 at Rowell Rd. The first few miles are paved and somewhat shaded. I only continued 2 miles before turning around. (This adds 22 miles to my usual 13.5 mile route) Since I love the forest preserve trails my normal route is not to access the Plank Trail at Schoolhouse but return through Hickory Barrens and cross Lincoln Hwy via the overpass referred to earlier. If you do this, your odometer will read 9.1 miles. At the junction of the Plank Trail you can head to Joliet (west and mostly shaded) or go east through the town of Frankfort and many miles further. (Note, if you are tired and you turned around at the pavilion by Schoolhouse Road you can take a cut off at the 7.9 mile mark to Laporte street by turning left at a cul-de-sac via a small neighborhood and return back to your car in Hickory Creek. There is a sidewalk on LaPorte that can be biked to avoid the street.) My usual route takes the Plank trail east to Wolf road where I turn left and head back to cross route 30 (be careful crossing the 6 lanes of traffic with the light on the East side of Wolf) Note: Panera and Chipotle are in the shopping center if you need some food. I retrace my route behind the condos and reenter the Hickory Creek Forest Preserve for a 13.5 mile trip.”

“Hiked a portion on 6/26/19. Still wet, muddy due to lots of snow this past winter. Wait a bit longer for it to dry out before hiking there. ”

“The description of this hike (done on 6/21/19) is a combination of the Rock Creek trail and the Gore Range trail to Boulder Lake. Reaching the right trailhead can be confusing and can add unnecessary mileage to the hike. As you travel on the nice (but unpaved part) of County Road 1350 you get to what looks like the parking spot to the trailhead but you can actually continue for another 1.5 miles or so on a rougher but passable dirt road to reach the actual Rock Creek trailhead. The trail starts on an even rougher road and then it reaches an intersection with the Gore Range trail. At this point, you turn right (north, north/west) on the Gore Range trail and follow that to take a left (west) on the intersection with the Boulder Creek trail to Boulder Lake. I uploaded a GPX file for the hike. Most the hike is on the Gore Range trail, a well used, wooded and wet trail. It also had a lot of trees down on the trail and although I went over or under them it got annoying after a while. The destination is really nice but it was a little windy and threatening to storm on the day I was there so I did not linger much. I clocked the length at 5.7 miles with an up and down elevation change of 1208 and 1164 ft, respectively starting at 9455 ft. It took me about 3 h and 30 min with only a 15 min break at the lake.”

“I climbed this at 11 years old to raise cancer awareness.”

“A rewarding trail with ocean views and lots of looks at the scenic town of Newport. It's an easy trail to take and follow, so likely crowded in peak seasons and times, but I had it to myself on a May morning at sunrise--well, I shared it with a couple of deer. A few spots lend themselves to scrambling on the rocky coastline; allow plenty of time for that. This trail makes for a more natural counterpart to the famed Cliff Walk and is worthy of a look. The Ocean View Loop Trail offers better views, but Flint Point is scenic as well.”