I just rode the Green Bay Trail (and the Robert McClory Trail) from Wilmette to just North of Lake Bluff today (7/7/9).
The trail is in good condition and there is no construction, floods, detours, etc.
One more note, I also brought the video camera and will have a new bike trail video on these trails very soon – Stay tuned!
SEE COMMENTS TO THIS POST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
Well, I just talked to a friend about the latest condition of the Des Plaines River Trail (DPRT) and it is not in very good condition at the moment. a lot of the crushed stone has been washed away and there are muddy sections and places that have been patched with loose gravel or sand.
As of yesterday (7/5/9) I’ve been told that this is the worst condition that the trail has been in for quite a few years.
Here’s a direct quote on the trail conditions from my email on 7/5/9:
“Did 34 mi on the dprt. The path was Ok most of the time. There were a few bad areas, like the 1st major bridge where you’re going downhill into an area that was patched with the larger stone gravel which could possibly be dangerous. Then near the underpass in Libertyville as you start to go downhill, there is a 6″ drop off from the trail into this new stuff which is mostly sand. If I wasn’t going downhill I wouldn’t have made it. I had to walk it on the way back. Lots of lines of erosion which had been filled with the large crappy gravel which you can’t ride on, or sand which you can’t ride on either”.
I just got an update on the Des Plaines River Trail conditions and decided to create a new blog category for bike trail conditions for the trails that my friends, the website visitors and I have been on recently so you can select the new bike trail conditions category and find the latest conditions (that have been posted here) on each of the trails that we have ridden recently.
The blog category will be Bike Trail Conditions and I’ll be creating one for each trail that we have been on by season. I’ll probably include the dates of the rides but the blog entry dates should give you a good idea about the dates of the updates too.
I will then add comments to the conditions of each bike trail as I receive updates or ride the trails myself.
Well, I’ll be starting the bike trail condition blog category updates next. I hope this is helpful to you all.
This is just a quick update to let you know that the Des Plaines River Bike Trail (the lake county end) is ready for riding season.
I just talked to my friend who rides this trail quite often and he told me that the underpasses are all open and the trail is all passable.
Since this is a trail along the river, it has been known to flood fairly often when we have a lot of rain. As of today, the lower shadier areas have a few puddles now but the sunny open areas are even a little dry and dusty already.