Prairie Trail (of McHenry County) Photos
from Algonquin, Illinois

The photo above is where the McHenry County Prairie Trail crosses Route 31 in Algonquin, Illinois. The beginning of this trail is actually a little further south of here where the Fox River Trail turns into the Prairie Trail (heading north at the county line). For a long time I thought that this was actually the start of the trail but it actually starts in a wooded area south of here.

Note: The photo above and the first few photos below were the old trail before the Route 31 construction in Algonquin. See the links below for the more current view of this intersection.

As we headed north on the Prairie Trail (just north of route 31 in Algonquin) there is a little field to the right with some stores and a row of trees on the left. Almost all of the Prairie Trail is paved until you get very far north near the Wisconsin border. There used to be a bike shop in the building ahead on the right but I don't think that it is here anymore.

There was little snack stand by the bike shop here (at the start of trail), but I have never been here when it was open!!! (I usually avoid weekends, so maybe that is when it is open). Note that this photo tour was from 2003 and I am updating the captions after the fact which is why you get a little trail history and current information both.

Much of this trail is wooded as seen in this nice little wooded area just before you ride by the the gravel pits part of the trail. You also cross Algonquin Road on the Prairie Trail but fortunately there is a bridge over the road.

Also note that I often refer to this trail simply as the "Prairie Trail" but there are quite a few other trails in this area with very similar names (Prairie Path, Long Prairie Trail, etc.) and this particular trail is actually the "Mchenry County Prairie Trail".

The photo above show the part of the trail that runs next to the the gravel pits. On the right you can barely see the conveyor belt. It can be fairly noisy when riding past the conveyor belts if they are running.