April 5, 2013 Tunnel Hill
On our way home after we left Paducah, KY on Friday, we drove to Vienna, IL and got off the Interstate and dove up to the Tunnel Hill Road Trailhead and got on the trail. I had read about this trail before and decided to take advantage of the chance to ride a portion of the trail..
About 100 yards from the Trailhead is the
name sake tunnel, this tunnel used to be 800 feet long, but in 1929 a collapse
shortened it by 300 feet. The path is crushed limestone and pretty smooth. I
would recommend lights on your bikes, you can see the other end of the tunnel,
but you must focus on the opening at the other end to ride through and hope for
no obstructions.
There are 23 trestle bridges on the trail, this is the first we we came to, the Breeden Trestle, this one is 450 feet long.
The next trestle was not far ahead
This is the wash to the west of the trestle, that during heavy rains joins with the main stream.
Looking south through the trestle
The next bridge is an old I-Beam rail road bridge.
View from the other side
One of the many rock cuts along this portion of the path, in most sections there is a running creek along side the path about 100 feet down.
Here we are coming back to the namesake tunnel.
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