I did a short ride on the Fox River and McHenry Co Prairie Trails this past weekend from West Dundee to Crystal Lake and got a chance to see and ride the new trail in Algonquin at Route 31.

Prairie Trail Tunnel Under 31

This actually threw me off at first because I was so used to crossing route 31 and riding the trail on the west side of the road. So that is what I did on the way north since this is the way I took when the trail was under construction.

It was a bad way to go and seemed like it was still under construction but when I finally got to the actual trail again I realized that the trail now winds around then goes under Route 31 and alongside the road on the east side now.

It would be nice if they had a sign there to let you know which way to go when you are heading north but now that I’ve done it (and made my mistake on the way north) I will know how to do it next time.

I thought that this change was noteworthy so I took some photos of the new part of the trail and posted them on this site.

You can see the New 2015 Prairie Trail Route 31 Intersection here.

I also updated my Fox River Trail and Prairie Trail pages to include a link to the new intersection. These bike trail pages and photos are from 2003 and I have left the original pages in place since they are almost historical now (or just old…).

Also, who says you can’t travel through time? Well, it might be tricky physically but you can easily travel to the past with PHOTOS!

Since you have to go back and forth between the old and new bike trail pages to compare how this intersection looked in the Past and in the Present (2003 and 2015), I have also included a Prairie Trail Route 31 Past and Present page here.

As for the trail conditions, there was no problem on the Fox River Trail heading north from West Dundee and once you get on the Prairie Trail, the trail is in great shape from Algonquin to Crystal Lake. This section is all new blacktop and provides a nice, smooth ride.