Prairie Trail (of McHenry County) Photos
Dirt Trail into Wisconsin

The McHenry County Prairie Trail is paved from the southern end of the trail (south of Algonquin) to just past Barnard Mill Road (around Ringwood, Il which is north of McCullom Lake and south of Richmond, Il.) As you head north, the trail goes from a paved surface to a crushed stone surface and then to the gravel/dirt road (the original rail ballast/gravel section) as in the photo above.

The trail is a little more rugged here and mountain bikes are probably a little better at this point but I have ridden my road bike on the part of the trail many times without any problems. The weather was hot and dry on the trips that I made this far north on the trail so the surface was no problem. I would imagine that this would be sloppy and more difficult on a wet day. You also have a tendency to run into some bugs in this section.

There are places in the far north part of the trail, as in the photo above, where the Prairie Trail actually looks more like a dirt road with 2 tire tracks.

In the distance are my son (13) and daughter (10) at the end of the Prairie Trail at the Wisconsin Border! We made it! 32 Miles from East Dundee, Illinois!

The path/road/trail continues a little past where the end of the trail sign is here and eventually comes out into a neighborhood in Genoa City, Wis. (there is a narrow gravel path between 2 house that takes you into the neighborhood).

On our first trip from Dundee, Il to Genoa City, Wis. we were really hungry and needed a break so we asked some people where we could get a good meal in this town. They told us about Keller's Restaurant (in the photo above) where we ate and took our break.

This was a nice place for a good meal and break before doing the 32 miles back to East Dundee! Since then we have made it a tradition to eat here on our long rides to Wisconsin. We did have a problem with them not being open on one of our trips. I don't remember all the details of that particular trip but I am thinking that it might have been on a Sunday.