Took a medium-length road tour — just under 30 miles — on a warm, bright late-July Saturday morning. Just wandering around the back streets with the vague goal of having a Diet Coke somewhere in the vicinity of downtown Plainfield. Ended up near Montgomery somehow, and blundered into a real gem: the Waubonsie Creek Trail.
Came across it behind the Rush-Copley medical complex near Ogden Avenue and Rt. 30. The smooth asphalt-paved path hugs Waubonsie Creek, which is dammed at one point to form a small lake. (Aside: I’ve seen a lot of kids fishing in these little park lakes and retention ponds lately. Does my heart good.) It seems to be a loop about five miles long all told, with lots of curves and a couple of small hills for variety. Delightful scenery and not particularly crowded, even on a pleasant Saturday morning.
Apparently, the Virgil Gilman Trail, which I’ve not yet ridden, is a few short blocks from the Waubonsie Trail’s western end. This calls for additional investigation!
Here’s a map.
I ride the northeast portion of this trail, from where it crosses Eola Road up to McCoy Drive, on my way to work. There's a surprising collection of birds and critters living along the creek and the little ponds by it:
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to go southwest and hop over to the Gilman Trail, too. Maybe some weekend this fall…