Posted 10/01/13 by
Laura Stark
in
America's Trails
| Tagged with
Illinois, Local Organizing, Overcoming Opposition, RTC in Action, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month
Traveling along the tranquil Old Plank Road Trail today, you would never know the site was once the cause of heated debate and a contentious struggle lasting 20 years. The paved 22-mile rail-trail now offers a canopy of oak trees and sugar maples rustling overhead, delicate prairie grasses that stir with the passage of bicyclists, and soft purple wildflowers that peek up through the green underbrush.