Welcome to the ITS Trail!

The ITS Trail, when complete, will be one of Illinois’ longest continuous rails-to-trails projects. It will meander some 95 miles, plus or minus; through the countryside of Madison, Macoupin, and Sangamon counties and it will connect us to the Gateway to the West, St. Louis, MO., and with our state capital, Springfield. From St.Louis, we travel north via the McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River, and through the municipalities of Venice, Madison, Granite City, Pontoon Beach, Collinsville, Maryville, Glen Carbon, Edwardsville, Hamel, Worden, Staunton, Sawyerville, Benld, Gillespie, Carlinville, Girard, Virden, Auburn, Chatham and Springfield. Seen along the way are beautiful lakes, wetlands, streams, forest, farmland, and a horizon filled with bluffs, prairies and wildlife. The ITS Trail will be a family oriented linear parkway that will be wheelchair accessible, and provide a safe, wide, asphalt paved, non-motorized way to travel while linking communities together. You will be able to walk, run, cycle, skate and when it snows, go cross country skiing. Projects like this have increased tourism and development, benefited government, education, business, and labor, but most of all, it will greatly improve the quality of life of all our residents. We hope that you will enjoy and support the ITS Trail through its development on to its completion and to enjoy its benefits for many years to come. Become a part of your community, your region, and join with us, today.