The Grand Illinois Trail - Recommended Trip 9 - Old Plank Road Trail

The 19.4-mile Old Plank Road Trail portion of the GIT is a rail-to-trail conversion on the abandoned PennCentral railroad line. The route parallels the Sauk trail of Native American Heritage, followed by generations of local Indian communities as well as the invading Iroquois. It also parallels Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, America's first transcontinental road. Today the Old Plank Road Trail is a very popular suburban greenway, uniting the communities of Chicago Heights, Park Forest, Matteson, Frankfort, New Lenox and Joliet.

Park at the Cherry Hill parking lot just south of Route 30 on the west end of the trail or the Western Avenue parking lot on the east end of the trail.

Call the Forest Preserve District of Will County to order a free copy of the "Map and guide to the Old Plank Road Trail" (815-727-8700) which is filled with local info on parks, spur trails, historic sites and services.

For more detailed information and access to a printed map see Section 18.

Openlands 25 E. Washington St., Suite 1650, Chicago, IL 60602
312-863-6250 | 312-863-6251 (FAX)
info@openlands.org

Copyright © 2010 Openlands