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E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingHorseback ridingCross-country skiingand more
The Elgin Branch leaves the Volunteer Park junction in Wheaton on a volunteer-built bridge over city streets and active rail lines, then heads northwest through Lincoln Marsh, past the Geneva Spur junction at County Farm Road and the 1890s Kline Creek Farm. It briefly overlaps the Great Western Trail near Prince Crossing Road, crosses the horse farms of Wayne, and runs through the wetlands of Pratt's Wayne Woods before ducking under Dunham and Stearns roads. It ends at Raymond Street in Elgin, where a tunnel under the railroad links it to the Fox River Trail. The surface is almost entirely crushed limestone, and it is the most tree-lined branch. Beyond Wheaton lie the Main Stem and the Aurora Branch.
Illinois Prairie Path: Elgin Branch
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Illinois Prairie Path: Elgin Branch has about 101 to 140 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, e-biking, running, birding, biking, and walking, with May, September, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Illinois Prairie Path: Elgin Branch!
In half of past years, color along the Illinois Prairie Path: Elgin Branch peaks October 24 to November 6, typically around October 30. The trail has 16% deciduous coverage, with the majority being bur oak, white oak, boxelder, black cherry, and black oak.
The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin ran its last passenger train at noon on July 3, 1957. The line had opened on August 25, 1902 as the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago, an electric interurban that drew power from a third rail. It carried commuters to the Loop, milk from Fox Valley farms, and some freight. Postwar expressway construction cut its direct route into downtown, and riders drifted away. Freight ended on June 10, 1959, and the Illinois Commerce Commission authorized full abandonment on July 6, 1961. On September 30, 1963 the Chicago Tribune printed a letter from Morton Arboretum naturalist May Theilgaard Watts asking for a footpath on the empty right of way. DuPage County bought the property that same year. Her supporters incorporated the Illinois Prairie Path in 1965, leased 27 miles from the county in 1966, and had the first trail signs up by 1967. In June 1971 the Interior Department named it a National Recreation Trail. A state lease in 1972 pushed the path across Kane County to the Fox River, and in 1979 it grew east through four Cook County towns. DuPage County took over maintenance in 1986. This segment follows the Elgin line opened on May 26, 1903. Its bridge out of Wheaton is the path's proudest volunteer project, built in 1982 and 1983 for a tenth of the contractor bids.
Illinois Prairie Path: Main StemIllinois Prairie Path: Aurora BranchIllinois Prairie Path: Geneva SpurGreat Western Trail (DuPage County)Fox River Trail
