Illinois Prairie Path

Illinois Prairie Path
Illinois Prairie Path
	2-mile marker on the Aurora Branch of the Illinois Prairie Path in Wheaton, Illinois
Length	61 mi (98 km)
Location	Kane County, DuPage County, Cook County
Established	1963; 61 years ago
Designation	CR 47; CR 48; CR 49; CR 57;
Trailheads	Maywood; South Elgin (Elgin Branch); Geneva (Geneva Spur); Batavia (Batavia Spur); Aurora (Aurora Branch);
Website	ipp.org
Trail map
	Main Stem Aurora Branch Elgin Branch Batavia Spur Geneva Spur

The Illinois Prairie Path (often called the Prairie Path and abbreviated IPP) is a network of 61 miles (98 km) of bicycle trails, mostly in DuPage County, Illinois. Portions of the trail extend west to Kane County and east to Cook County. Most of the trail is categorized as rail-to-trail, meaning that the bicycle path is built atop a converted former railroad right of way. In the case of the Prairie Path, the vast majority of its routing runs on the former right-of-way of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad.

May Theilgaard Watts is credited for a letter written in 1963 that initiated the first project in what became a widespread rail-to-trails program of land use across the United States.^[1] In August 2008, the Illinois Prairie Path was inducted into the Rails-to-Trails hall of fame.^[2]

^ Rackl, Lori (June 3, 2018). "Bicentennial Bucket List". Section 5. Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
^ Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (2008-08-01). "Trail of the Month: August 2008". Retrieved 2013-08-19.

[1] Rackl, Lori (June 3, 2018). "Bicentennial Bucket List". Section 5. Chicago Tribune. p. 1.

[2] Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (2008-08-01). "Trail of the Month: August 2008". Retrieved 2013-08-19.

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