Friday, July 13, 2012

Tunnel Hill Trail

Following upon the Wine Trail post, today's Southern has an article on a study of  the promotion for half a dozen trails  in Illinois, including the 45 mile Tunnel Hill Trail through southwestern Illinois.

A major problem with the Tunnel Hill trail, at least from the point of view of increased usage,  is the lack of services for the most used part of the trail, the 10 mile section running from the ghost town of Tunnel Hill to Vienna.. The easiest way to hike or bike the trail is from Tunnel Hill south to Vienna, as the trail runs downhill or along flat terrain for most of its length.  However, the Tunnel Hill trailhead, though it lies next to a state highway, has no services for bikers or hikers, aside from those provided by the state park service. There are bike racks, a toilet and water, no food or other supplies. Trail users have to get supplies at either the Harrisburg or Vienna trailheads, or make sure to bring them.

Of course, from a business standpoint, offering services or supplies at Tunnel Hill makes little sense. The area is isolated enough to not support any retail operation other than for trail users and I'm not certain the trail gets enough use to justify anyone opening a location there targeting trail users. I am rather surprised to not find more companies offering a bike shuttle service targeting trail users.  As popular as bikes are in Carbondale, it's interesting to find a cyclist has to go clear to Harrisburg to find a shuttle service.

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