GIT Route Notes
[Under Construction]


 We used both the LIB/DNR and Openlands Project maps.  

The routings differ in only a few areas.  In the few areas where they do differ, the Openlands Project routing was always on less heavily travelled roads than the LIB/DNR route.

At several places  we deviated from the published routes because of road closures, traffic concerns, or other logistic reasons.  Here are our alternate routes.

Lansing  (A section of bike trail has since been completed)
Chicago Heights  (There is an error on the map just 2 blocks from our home)
I&M Canal to Hennepin Canal, Seatonville to Bureau
Lake Le-Aqua-Na to Freeport
Freeport  to Pecatonica and Pecatonica to Rockford ( The Pecatonica Prairie Path is definitely a mountain bike path)
Wauconda to Richmond  ( A section of bike path has been compmleted since the GIT maps were published)



 Lansing

A newly completed section of the Burnham Greenway runs from River Oaks Drive (159th ST) all the way to Chicago Street in Lansing, with a two block construction detour at an I80 underpass.  The construction was finished and the detour removed in Feb 2007.

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 Chicago Heights

The GIT section thru Chicago Heights directs the rider onto a street that no longer exists, and to turn at an intersection that is now barricaded.  

Here is a map of the published route:

The problem is at the corner of 10th Street and Ashland Ave.   The cue sheet directs the rider to continue west on 10th street across Ashland Ave.  to Scott.  But the map is wrong.  10th Street west of Ashland was long ago vacated by the city, and is now part of a church parking lot.  Westbound riders crossing Ashland at 10th St. will be riding into the parking lot against a Do Not Enter sign.   Also, what once was the intersection of 10th and Scott is blocked.

Eastbound riders proceeding north on Scott will encounter a dead end blocked by a fence and a 3 foot wall at what would have been the intersection of 10th and Scott.

Al Sturges at LIB suggested this route which avoids the problem.   And here is a corrected cue sheet for the LIB suggested route:

Go
Dir
On
Miles
Total
L
S
Chicago Road
0.1
11.6
R
W
10th St.
0.7
12.3
R
N
Ashland
0.2
12.5
L
W
8th St.
0.4
12.9
L
S
Damico
0.2
13.1
R
W
10th / 207th St.
0.6
13.7
R
N
Western
0
13.7

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 I&M Canal to Hennepin Canal, Seatonville to Bureau
The LIB route from Peru to Bureau  follows US 6 and IL 29.  We were concerned about  3 fairly short sections on IL 29  with narrow lanes, no shoulders, and poor lines of sight over hills and around curves.   LIB offers an alternate route on several miles of railroad ballast gravel.  Also, the LIB alternate route tries to cross a closed  bridge over abandoned railroad tracks.  The bridge floor was completely missing.  The only way around the the bridge is to descend into the old railroad bed on a Jeep trail, and climb back up the other side.

The Openlands route takes better roads to from LaSalle to Seatonville.  But the section from Seatonville to Bureau goes over 6 miles of freshly graded gravel road. It would have been like trying to ride in beach sand.  After the freshly graded gravel, the Openlands route had another 2 miles of railroad ballast gravel.

We decided to use the Openlands route from LaSalle, to Seatonville, then found our own way from Seatonville to Bureau.  Our route used IL 29 , except it avoids the problem sections,  is paved all the way, and is 4 miles shorter than the Openlands route.




[If clicking the image doesn't bring up the route details, try this alternate link]


Cumulative
Distance
Where
Notes
Direction
Elevation
0mi
0mi
Start at Veteran's Park, East St and US 6 in Seatonville
West on US 6 (Princeton St) Watch for fast traffic
WNW
281°
607ft
0.48mi
0.48mi
Hollowayville
Bear right on Main ST
WNW
276°
636ft
1.20mi
0.72mi
Left on West St
SSW
183°
659ft
1.25mi
0.05mi
Right on Peru St (Co 1500 N)
W
269°
648ft
1.53mi
0.28mi
Continue west on US 6. Watch for fast traffic
W
270°
662ft
2.43mi
0.91mi
Left on County 2775. This deviates from the Openlands GIT route to avoid 7 mi freshly graded gravel + 3 mi ballast gravel. Co 2775 is a truck route, but with almost no traffic on weekends.
S
180°
675ft
3.82mi
1.38mi
N De Pue
Right on Co 1350 N. This avoids a narrow section of IL 29 with bad sight lines, steep hills and curves.
W
265°
679ft
4.02mi
0.21mi
Becomes Oakbrook Dr
S
180°
682ft
5.06mi
1.04mi
Right on IL 29
WSW
233°
689ft
9.20mi
4.14mi
Over RR tracks and right into Hennepin Canal trailhead
WNW
289°
472ft
9.25mi
0.04mi
End in Hennepin Canal Trailhead parking lot
WNW
289°
462ft



Two notes.
1) The route uses DePue Road for 0.9 mi.  DePue Road is flat, straight as an arrow, and has excellent sight lines.  There was no traffic when we rode it on a Sunday morning, but it is a truck route, and traffic could be heavier at different times of day or on a different day of the week.

2) The turn off of DePue Road onto 1350 North Ave bypasses one of the narrow curvey sections of IL 29 that we were trying to avoid.  Failing to turn on 1350 North Ave and continuing south on DePue Road takes one into a steep, deep ravine and on to IL 29.  The climb back out of the ravine on IL 29 is on that narrow curvey section we wanted to avoid.


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 Lake Le-Aqua-Na to Freeport

Deer hunting season had opened the day we rode this section, and the Jane Addams trail was closed.  We took county roads that parallelled the Jane Addams trail to the Wes Block trailhead in Freeport.   The road route runs over gently rolling hills.

Note that if you are not going to stop in Freeport, there is no need to go as far south as the Wes Block trailhead.  Our suggested route heads east towards Pecatonica at Winneshiek Rd, a mile before (north of) the trailhead.



Turn
Street
Leg Length
Leg End
Start at 
County Hwy 7/ Lake Rd headed north
2.06
2.06
Becomes 
2 mi McConnell Rd/ County Hwy 17
3.65
5.71
Bear right on 
McConnell Road/ County 19
2.53
8.24
Cross
Jane Addams Trail
0.42
8.66
Right on 
(S) Red Oak Rd/County Hwy 3
2.89
11.55
Right on 
(S) N Cockrell Rd
2.90
14.45
Left on 
(E) W Winneshiek Rd
0.48
14.93
Right on 
(S) Blumendal Rd
0.99
15.92
Right on 
(W) W Fairview Rd and follow road to cross US 20
0.65
16.57
Right on 
(W) ?  (a T  junction)
0.19
16.76
End at 
Jane Addams Wes Block Trailhead


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 Freeport to Pecatonica and Pecatonica to Rockford

Both LIB and Openlands suggest using the Pecatonica Prairie Path.  But the Pecatonica Prairie Path is a dirt or grass track.  It is fine for mountain bikes, but we didn't think we could ride it with our gear, especially after some rain and with temps in the upper 30s.  I think a road bike would have some serious problems.

The LIB alternate route goes through German Valley, about 5 miles south of Pecatonica.  Pecatonica is a GIT checkpoint, so taking the alternate adds 10 miles to the trip.  Also, the LIB alternate enters Rockford at the very southwest corner of of the town.  We wanted to connect to the very northwest part of Rockford.

We opted to take road routes from north of Freeport through Pecatonica, and directly to the north side of Rockford. It goes thru Pecatonica, uses very low traffic roads ,and is more direct than any of the LIB or Openland routes.  And it has more hills than the route through German Valley.


Freeport to Pecatonica
Note that this is a continuation of the Lake Le-Aqua-Na to Freeport map.  The start point of this map is on Winneshiek road, one mile west of the Jane Addams Trail and  roughly 1 mile north of the Wes Block trailhead.

Turn
Street
Leg Length
Leg End
Start at 
East on Winneshiek Rd at Blumendahl Rd
6.34
6.34
Right on 
(S) Dakota Rd
2.47
8.81
Left on 
River Road/ County Hwy 8
2.97
11.78
Right on 
County Hwt 10
1.14
12.92
Left on 
Ridot Rd
2.49
15.41
Left on 
(N) Farwell Bridge Rd
0.76
16.17
Right on 
(E) Sumner St.
2.81
18.98
end
I block west of main st



Pecatonica to Rockford.


Turn
Street
Leg Length
Leg End
Start at 
7th and Reed, head west
0.32
0.32
Right on 
(S) Jackson
0.65
0.97
Left on 
(E) Berglund
1.72
2.69
Right on 
(S) Conger (two bad dogs)
0.25
2.94
Left on 
(E) Berglund
1.00
3.94
Left on 
(N) Hoisington
0.50
4.44
Right on 
(E) Smith Rd
2.98
7.42
Left on 
(N) Winnebago Rd
0.48
7.90
Right on 
(E) Dickenson Rd
3.54
11.44
Left on 
(N) Meridian
0.27
11.71
Right on 
(E) Porter
1.48
13.19
Right on 
(SE) Kilburn / Rt 70
1.13
14.32
Left on 
(E) Halsted Rd
2.63
16.95
Left on 
(N) Roby
0.32
17.27
Right on 
(E) Thru Parking Lot (Riverside Blvd)
0.40
17.67
Right on 
(S) Into Martin Park
0.29
17.96
End at 
Parking lot end



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 Wauconda to Richmond
A section of bike path is completed between Mundelein and Wauconda.

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