Illinois & Michigan Canal - Bridgeport Access Point?

I would like to check out the I&M Canal Towpath this weekend.  The description says it starts in Bridgeport but the park service maps all start in Channahon.  Does anyone know where there is an access point in Bridgeport?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_and_Michigan_Canal

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Norah Webster on September 25, 2013 at 6:04pm

I've taken city streets down to Willow Springs a couple times, using mostly Google directions, including a pretty long stretch on Archer, which wasn't so bad traffic-wise.  I think I took Roberts to 87th through Hickory Hills.  Before getting on the trail, you can enjoy some nice real hills in Hickory Hills and Willow Springs, too. 

I think that 87th would put you closest to the access point.  If you take 87th to Glenwood Ave, that takes you over a hill and spits you back out on Archer Rd. and it's just a little zigzag to Gilbert where you can get on the trail to head South.  There is a small section that goes North in a loop from there as well, but I've never ridden that.

I was there most recently in May, and 87th West of LaGrange Rd. had been freshly paved, and there's not much traffic there, so it's a fun little stretch of hilly stuff to ride.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on September 26, 2013 at 1:56am

Roberts to 87th looks great, thanks.

 

I guess Archer is the best way to get to Roberts. I'm just surprised that Google gives it the "dotted line" bike route. It looks just like two fast-moving lanes with no shoulder for much of it. Is there not much traffic on Archer or something?

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 7, 2013 at 8:42am

Hello from Joliet!

Biked out this morning and had no trouble finding the I&M Willow Springs access point (other than getting lost in the Spears Woods). Smooth sailing. Recommend it!

Continuing westward toward Iowa tomorrow morning...

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on October 7, 2013 at 3:20pm

May the wind be at your back! 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 8, 2013 at 6:35am

Congrats! Have a great ride.

Alex Z said:

Hello from Joliet!

Biked out this morning and had no trouble finding the I&M Willow Springs access point (other than getting lost in the Spears Woods). Smooth sailing. Recommend it!

Continuing westward toward Iowa tomorrow morning...

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 8, 2013 at 2:05pm

Thanks, Anne and Drewbacca.

I meant to say that, after puzzling over how best to get to Willow Springs, I ended up just walking my bike on the 87th street sidewalk across the railway. Worked out pretty well.

Were I to do this again, I would also avoid trying to bike in the Spears Woods, the paths of which are a little more "rugged" than I was expecting. :)

Permalink Reply by Tim Heckman on October 8, 2013 at 2:13pm
Alex, please write a trip report as you go. I really, really want to make the trip you are currently on, but have only made it to Channahon so far. I regularly travel from Oak Park to 135th Street along that trail...
Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 8, 2013 at 2:32pm

Tim, thanks for your interest. I posted a bit in the Hennepin thread but will go into more detail here.

I took the I&M from Joliet to Ottawa this morning. As you know, the I&M is nice and shady and the terrain is pretty serviceable for the most part. I particularly enjoy reading the signs that provide snippets of history about the canal. It feels cool to connect with one's Illinois heritage.

My feeling about the I&M, though, is that it is sort of boring! A bit east of Morris, I talked to some cool guys who told me that the I&M was shut down for a couple miles west of Morris due to a bridge getting wiped out. I took that opportunity to call an audible and take some country back roads westward. I eventually met up again with the trail in Seneca.

I think the back roads are more fun. The scenery is more varied and it's cool to see the farmland and the farmers harvesting(?) the crops. Plus, you end up going through the towns, which is also interesting. I had a nice lunch at a diner in Seneca.

This feeling is consistent with the experience I had biking from D.C. to Boston last year. The actual lowlight was a really hairy stretch in Connecticut where there was no shoulder and a TON of fast-moving traffic. But, close behind that was the northern half of New Jersey where I was on a trail that followed a canal much as the I&M does. Mind-numbing!

As I head toward Iowa tomorrow and Thursday, I'm thinking I may avoid the trails for the most part and just find my way on the back roads. The iPhone, of course, is a godsend in this endeavor. So far I've had full service, which maybe shouldn't be surprising but I think I actually thought "maybe they don't have 3G out there" in true ignorant cosmopolitan form.

At any rate, I'd be interested to hear thoughts from others on the I&M and Hennepin versus the country roads.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 9, 2013 at 3:32am

FYI - There are areas in western Illinois where you may find yourself without a signal. There are definitely places where you won't get 3G - areas like this.  As you get further west, you may want to plan ahead and get map info while you're in larger towns where you get 3G service.

Alex Z said:

As I head toward Iowa tomorrow and Thursday, I'm thinking I may avoid the trails for the most part and just find my way on the back roads. The iPhone, of course, is a godsend in this endeavor. So far I've had full service, which maybe shouldn't be surprising but I think I actually thought "maybe they don't have 3G out there" in true ignorant cosmopolitan form.

At any rate, I'd be interested to hear thoughts from others on the I&M and Hennepin versus the country roads.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on October 10, 2013 at 2:46pm

Thanks for the heads up; I did prepare a map in advance for day 4. But, turned out I had 3G the whole way!

Permalink Reply by Renee Patten on July 22, 2014 at 7:11am

Over a year later, this thread is helping a lot for figuring out the trip route to Channahon this weekend! 

Permalink Reply by Brett Miller on July 22, 2014 at 9:01am

Post your route on here, please. I have been looking for a good low-traffic route from Oak Park to the I&M trialhead at Willow Springs. From Riverside, it looks like Plainfield Road to Willow Springs road is the best option.

One day, a friend and I took the Canal Bank Road along the canal from Harlem to La Grange Road, but we turned back at that point as we were uncomfortable with the traffic on La Grange Road. And heading back through the access road, we were stopped by a security car, who kindly informed us that we were trespassing. Anyhow, it was an exciting ride among the quarries and reserviors hidden back in there.

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