Tunnel Hill Trail

3 photos above courtesy of Charles Clemens of the Carbondale Bicycle Club.

All information below is adapted from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Tunnel Hill State Trail Brochure (1031178-25M-4-2000).Information on this page is provided by the League of Illinois Bicyclists for your use and is not to be mistaken for an official or approved IDNR publication or website.

Tunnel Hill State Trail

At one time, the rumble of freight cars reverberated through the narrow tunnel. Wooden trestles, with their system of slanted supports and horizontal cross pieces, spanned numerous bluffs and creeks. Passengers in Pullman cars clocked the miles with these and other landmarks as they traveled one of southern Illinois’ most scenic routes. Today, the railroad is gone. The route, known as Tunnel Hill State Trail, remains.

This hiking and bicycling trail is completed and stretches for 45 miles from Harrisburg to Karnak. 2.5 miles is being managed by the City of Harrisburg’s park system while a 2.5-mile spur on the southern end extends access to the Cache River State Natural Area.

The 9.3-mile section between Tunnel Hill and Vienna crosses trails already known to outdoor recreationists: the River-to River-Trail, which extends from the Mississippi to the Ohio River; the unmarked American Discovery Trail, which in southern Illinois follows back roads and some of the River-to-River Trail; the U.S. 76 Bicycle Route, a part of the TransAmerica Bike Route; and the Trail of Tears, the primary route the Cherokee people took in the winter of 1838-39 during their forced move from the Great Smokies to Oklahoma.

History

The nation’s history and economy are entwined with 19th-century railroad construction since the federal government made land available to the states for developing a cross-country railway system. Among the developers in Illinois was a hapless Civil War general, Ambrose Burnside, perhaps best remembered for his style of facial hair, for which his compatriots transposed the syllables of his last name to create the term ‘sideburns.” In 1872, Burnside and others began the Vincennes and Cairo Railroad, named for its terminuses at Vincennes, Ind., and Cairo, Ill. In addition to passengers, the railroad transported coal, salt, wood products and orchard-grown peaches and apples.

The railroad changed hands through the years. Other operators and owners included the Wabash, St. Louis, Pacific; New York Central; Penn Central; Conrail; and, during its most productive years, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis line, also known as the CCC & St. Louis or Big Four. The last owners were the Southern line and, following a merger, Norfolk Southern Railroad. (For a first person childhood remembrance click here).

In 1991, Norfolk Southern gave the state of Illinois the railroad right-of-way between Harrisburg and Karnak, where it had abandoned operations. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has worked to develop the railroad ballast as a trail for hikers, joggers and cyclists, surfacing the trail with crushed limestone and gravel, installing privy toilets and providing drinking water. The first segments of Tunnel Hill State Trail opened in 1998, with additional segments planned to follow as funding becomes available (the full 45 mile trail was open in May 2001).

Tunnel Hill State Trail Site Office, Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The Site Office is located just east of Vienna, Illinois.

Museum inside the Site Office at Vienna.

The museum features color photographs of the railroad in operation.

Natural Features

The trail at Harrisburg begins in flat farm country. At New Castle, the old railroad bed enters the Shawnee National Forest purchase area, remaining there for roughly half of the trail’s length. By New Burnside, it’s among bluffs, and south of Vienna, it passes through a lush wetland. At Karnak, it emerges from the Cache River State Natural Area’s ancient cypress-tupelo swamp.

The trail continues for 2.5 more miles in a trail spur from Karnak to the once busy community of Rago and to the IDNR Cache River Education Center.

Click here for more information and maps of the 12,000 acre Cache River State Natural Area.

The Barkhausen Wetlands Center under construction (May 2001)

Trail Bridge over the Cache River on the 2.5 mile extension.

As one landform melds into another, the countryside offers ever-changing vistas. Woodland wildflowers dot the forest floor each spring, while prairie flowers and grasses lend their beauty to the summer landscape. Contrasting with the profuse greenery of summer, the lack of foliage on the oak, hickory, tulip poplar, cottonwood and sweet gum trees brings the river valleys and rocky bluffs into sharp focus from late fall to early spring.

Wildlife abounds in this section of the state, and Tunnel Hill State Trail offers habitat to a variety of animals. Bluebirds and other songbirds flit through the trees, while killdeer, dove, quail and wild turkey also are present in the area. Squirrels often are seen scampering among the tree tops, and white-tailed deer are frequently observed. Less noticed, but having a presence, are red foxes, eastern cottontail rabbits, raccoons and opossums.

Turtle on the edge of the trail.

Landmarks

If the 45-mile length of Tunnel Hill State Trail could be seen in cross-section, it would taper to its lowest points at either end, with Harrisburg at 370 feet and Karnak at 340 feet above sea level. The highest point is midway at Tunnel Hill, which has an elevation of 680 feet. By mountain standards, it’s just a molehill, but it was high enough that railroad builders decided rather than going over it, they’d tunnel through it, giving the landmark its name. Their decision resulted in a comfortable 2-percent grade the length of the trail.

Approaching Tunnel Hill.

For more than 50 years after the railroad was built, the tunnel was longer than 800-feet, but when a portion of the tunnel collapsed in 1929, the landmark was shortened by 300 feet. Now 543-feet long, it is the only tunnel on the trail.

The 21 picturesque trestles along the completed sections of Tunnel Hill State Trail feature decking and side rails, which entice trail users to stop. The trestles range in length from 34 to 430 feet. The longest is Breeden Trestle, which is also the highest at 90 feet. It is located 2-1/2 miles south of Tunnel Hill.

The trail corridor, which varies from 40 to 200 feet in width, connects numerous communities: Karnak in Pulaski County; Belknap, Vienna, Stonefort in Williamson and Saline counties; and Carrier Mills and Harrisburg in Saline County. Each has parking areas from which hikers, runners and cyclists can access the trail.

The parking lot at Harrisburg is city-owned and maintained. Located at Walnut Street and U.S. Route 45, it is at the northern end of a 2.5-mile-long, city-owned trail. The Harrisburg trail skirts the city’s east side parallel to Route 45 and runs to the city’s southeast limits, where it connects to Tunnel Hill State Trail at the intersection of Feazel Street (Pauper Crossing) and the highway. Parking is available only at the Walnut Street lot.

In addition to the large communities, there also are hamlets along the trail, including Bloomfield, Sanburn and Ledford. In addition, there there a handful of of locations—that could he described as ghost towns—Forman, Bender, Parker City and New Castle. All serve as landmarks to trail users. Interpretive signs along the length of the trail point out old coal mines and a sandstone quarry.

There currently is a 3/4 mile detour over the roads around this trail-railroad crossing. The detour does include a short stretch of gravel road. The crossing should be completed during 2001.

Facilities

Tunnel Hill State Trail is a day-use trail, offering drinking water, privy toilets and parking at the access areas. Motorized vehicles, horses and hunting are not allowed on the trail.

Although an experienced cyclist should be able to travel the complete trail in about a day, Tunnel Hill and New Burnside in Johnson County; hikers are advised that the trail does not have camping facilities. Several campgrounds, however, are located nearby. Shawnee National Forest has three campgrounds within 10 miles of the trail: Lake of Egypt, north of the community of Tunnel Hill; and Teal Pond and Bell Smith Springs, both southeast of New Burnside. A fourth, Lake Glendale, is about 15 miles east of Vienna. Also located in the same vicinity as Lake Glendale is Dixon Springs State Park. Two other state park campgrounds are about 10 miles from the trail: Ferne Clyffe, west of the community of Tunnel Hill; and Saline County Conservation Area, southeast of Harrisburg.

Site Office at Vienna

The site office for Tunnel Hill State Trail is located on State Highway 146 on the east side of Vienna. For more information about the trial, contact the site superintendent at Tunnel Hill State Trail, P.O. Box 671, Vienna, IL 62995, or phone (618) 658-2168.

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