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Permalink Reply by Glenn on July 5, 2010 at 5:40pm

Hi,
I have ridden Plank Trail many times. It is a very nice trail of 40 miles or so if you do the whole thing. You go through some nice areas. I have never heard or seen anythng about a patch though, so I doubt that there may be such a thing except from some cycling club or somethng. You will enjoy the ride though. There are quite a few people on it at times, riding, walking, walking dogs, etc., but everyone seems to help each other out and co-exist well. I usually start at Rt. 30 and Cicero and ride just about to Joliet and back. There is a portion that goes east for a little bit from there as well. It is very easy to navigate. Hope this helps, enjoy your ride.

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Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on July 6, 2010 at 3:11am

I have heard of the patch. I think it's at the visitor center for one of the little towns. Durr: It's on the webpage http://oprt.org/

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Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on July 6, 2010 at 3:12am

Here is info on the patch, and OPRT in general http://oprt.org/

The Sugar Creek Visitor Center on Laraway Road is 4 or 5 miles off the west end of the trail. I don't know if they stock the patches there or ask someone to mail them out.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on July 6, 2010 at 10:44am

We ride this trail almost daily, We start just off of Harlem and usually ride over the I-80 bridge & back. I love riding in the city, but with this being a couple miles from the house I can't pass it up during the week.

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo Cervantes on July 6, 2010 at 8:18pm

We finished the trail and got a nice 45 mile ride out of the day. We parked near Western and rode west to Joliet. We did a little exploring in Joliet and got caught in a most refreshing storm as we were heading back to the trail. The trail was foggy in parts from the steam coming up off the hot ground. By the time we made it back to my car we looked (and smelled) like wet dogs......but had big smiles on our faces!

We got to Joliet too late to make it out to the visitor center, but we completed the trail....so mission accomplished. Thanks for the info, guys!

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Permalink Reply by Joel on July 7, 2010 at 2:46am

I think I will check out the trail this Saturday. I'll park in Frankfort and do the east and west loops.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on July 7, 2010 at 6:00am

There are some interesting events along the trail in down town Frankfort, too. There's a pretty big car show in every Thursday evening (6 to 8 pm), and a farmer's market every Sunday (10am to 2pm).

Eric Vann said:

Next time (if ever) you ride this trail and you desire to do off trail exploration, take a trip to Manhattan, IL. This small town is often a destination because of a nice bakery that is in the downtown area. They also make great sandwiches as well.

Ricardo Cervantes said:

We finished the trail and got a nice 45 mile ride out of the day. We parked near Western and rode west to Joliet. We did a little exploring in Joliet and got caught in a most refreshing storm as we were heading back to the trail. The trail was foggy in parts from the steam coming up off the hot ground. By the time we made it back to my car we looked (and smelled) like wet dogs......but had big smiles on our faces!

We got to Joliet too late to make it out to the visitor center, but we completed the trail....so mission accomplished. Thanks for the info, guys!

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo Cervantes on July 7, 2010 at 8:32am

I called the Salt Creek visitor center and was able to place an order for the trail patches. I think it's kinda cool to be able to get a patch for a trail you've ridden. I'd collect patches for the different trails I ride. However, this is the only trail I've ever heard of this for. Now I just need to buy a bag to sew it onto.

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