Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail — Attraction in Morris

Having ridden the trail from Willow Springs to LaSalle, generally, it is in fair shape for a mountain bike; 2 washouts. One just W. Of Morris which is impossible to cross. Nettle Creek. The other 1.5 mi. E. Of Utica which can be crossed on a jury-rigged wood platform . These breaks have been in existence for years but do not appear on DNR maps. Also the trail through Ottawa is disrupted by construction. The best part of the trail is from McKinley Woods to Channahon. From Marsailles to Ottawa is the worst. Very industrialized with fallen branches across trail. Drunken bum yelled at me. Marsailles to Seneca trail used by hostile farmers speeding down trail stirring up clouds of dust. Seneca to Nettle Creek wash out by Morris worth...

I was very disappointed in the trail for most part. The trail scenery is very beautiful though. There is a lot of the trail that is only a narrow single track or two single tracks( like car tracks). The trail is described as being paved and crushed lime stone. Lots of the trail has neither, especially west of Morris to Ottawa. I feel the trail was poorly marked overall. There were a few closings due to construction with no detour signs or explanation. More specifically at the west side of Morris the path is completely torn up due to construction, luckily a construction worker was there to direct me. In my opinion, the trail needs some maintenance / upkeep. It would be nice if a new layer of crush lime stone was applied...

The Illinois & Michigan Canal towpath is a gem of a trail for hikers, runners, and bicyclists. On my most recent visit I ran an out-and-back on the towpath trail from Gebhard Woods State Park in Morris. The somewhat recently completed aquaduct construction of the canal over Nettle Creek, just .2 mi. East of the park, is an architectural score. I have run and cycled the towpath trail many miles in both directions from Morris and it never...