Prairie Path from Oak Park to Elmhurst

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Permalink Reply by OLB 0.1 on August 22, 2013 at 10:22am

Tim Heckman commutes from OP to Bellwood everyday, year round. He is always very helpful in providing feedback and advise (he's a nice guy that way). I suggest you message him.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Heckman on August 22, 2013 at 10:42am

There are some commuters on the path (about a half dozen that I recognize). I have never had any significant issues in over a year of commuting, but I recognize that I am a decent sized guy on an inexpensive bike.

Definitely get puncture resistant tires like Schwalbe Marathons or Continental Gatorskins. There will be broken glass on the trail, and you won't avoid it all. Last winter, Bellwood and Maywood plowed the trail during some of the snows. Depending on your traffic tolerance, using Madison to 19th saves a few minutes and can be a good idea.

If I had an Oak Park to Elmhurst commute, I would definitely still do it on the bike.

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Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on August 23, 2013 at 1:56am

I've been on the trail a handful of times in the last two months, making a loop down to the zoo and back up to EGV on the Salt Creek Trail. There weren't a lot of (long-haul) trail users once you get east of Elmhurst on the IPP, mostly locals walking around. There are a lot of groups standing around, kids and whatnot... the kind of thing that makes you anticipate a problem... but, I've never had a problem and everyone has been friendly or just ignored me.

The section between 1st and Mannheim is sketchy; there are a couple of curves that you need to dismount or bunnyhop up on to. There's one of those police security lights that you can activate if you are in trouble (the kind you find on a college campus); hopefully it doesn't get used. I haven't noticed much glass but it wouldn't surprise me to find it in this section. 

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