Grand Illinois Trail

[2] The Grand Illinois Trail began life in 1992 when three La Salle County residents began exploring ways to connect the existing Hennepin and Illinois & Michigan Canal state trails.

This led to IDNR involvement and its decision to extend the trail across a much broader region of Illinois.

It contains flat and easy-to-ride portions through green farmlands and pastoral vistas, as well as the hilly geography of Jo Daviess County, Chicago streetscapes and Lake Michigan, the Mississippi river, the Upper Illinois River Valley, Small Town America and medium-sized cities and suburbs.

particularly noteworthy is the famous Prairie Path through the western suburbs of Chicago, which was the first long rail-trail development in America, along with the great Chicago Lakefront trail.

The best long-section of the GIT is the southern section along the state canal trails, between Joliet and the Quad Cities.