Kevin had been eyeing the biking trail called Tunnel Hill in Vienna, IL for a while. We have been trying to take advantage of the summer to get our bikes out and go to far off trails we’ve never done before.
Unfortunately it is too hot and the bike ride is too long for Georgia to come with us. As usual she stayed with Dave and Cindy , her second Grandparents.
We’ve been looking into getting a bike trailer for her but that’s a long ways away. She needs to learn how to run along side the bike. When she gets tired she has to be happy staying in the bike trailer.
Right now she’s mostly scared of being beside the bike and we are not sure if she would like the bike trailer so for now the trailer with a happy Georgia is a proof of concept.
Day 1: Travel Day
The drive to Vienna, IL is not too bad. With the trailer and pit stops it took us about 3 hours. Our campsite this time is private because we couldn’t find a state park near the area.
The campsite is called Shawnee Forest Campground which looks like it used to be a golf course. We were able to reserve a pull-through site with full hook ups which, once you experience it’s hard not to miss. It means do not have to hook our truck up again to refill our tanks and dump our gray and black tanks.
Set up was the usual gig. Even though we did not have Georgia we decided to pack all of our meals for the trip so after setting up we had dinner and explored the trails around the camp which we suspect was used by the golf carts when it used to be a golf course
Day 2: The Best Biking in Vienna, IL: The Tunnel Hill State Trail
Before setting off on our bikes to explore we agreed that we would at least bike up until the tunnel and do a check in whether or not we want to go further. I said ok to this but I already know I ain’t doing 40 miles again. 30 at most.
We’ve been to Shawnee National Forest many times and every time we’ve gone we’ve always been amazed by the landscapes. We’ve seen their version of Garden of the Gods, Giant City State Park and Little Grand Canyon Trail. All in different trips and we kept coming back.
Tunnel hill is surely no different. The trail goes on the side Little Cache Creek which definitely gives a different landscape than we are used to which is the KT Trail. In the KT trail we bike by the Missouri River. Both are pretty but we are glad for the change of scenery.
Thankfully it rained the night before which helped cool down the temperature the next day. It also helped that it was a cloudy day so it provided a pleasant bike ride.
When we finally got to the tunnel it was pitch black. I hate tunnels!!! Something about it gives me the heebie jeebies. Kevin always has to wait for me at the beginning of tunnels so he can bike with me as we cross it. He also had to turn on his camera flashlight because I can’t see a thing and I won’t go through if I cannot see where I am going
After doing 15 miles we both decided to head back because we knew that there is an incline on the trail and we are too tired to extend any further
After breakfast… nap is key to further adventures
Our next destination is Trigg Tower which is the last remaining of the sixteen fire tower in the Shawnee National Forest area. Looking back on it was not the best idea to climb almost 4 flights of stairs after doing a bicycle ride that is mostly on an incline
But wait there is more!
Then we headed on to Sand Cave which used to be a part of the Underground Railroad. The trail was sketchy!!!! There were no trail markers of what lies ahead. I am not sure where Kevin finds these things but we went on with it.
When we got to the cave, it was creepy as hell since there are no markers or anything that even says "hello everybody! this is the sand cave!"
Kevin is like... let me go in there... and I am like HARD PASS! There might be meth kitchen on there and we’ve left out DNA now we are implicated… no thank you I would take my pictures from this safe distance. When someone grabs you... I am gonna run and you just have to be a part of your own rescue!
We just got back to our car just in time because there was a family who looks like they are from the cast of Hills Have Eyes that pulled up wanting to “see the cave”. Like… homie you don’t gotta front!!! I know it’s your meth kitchen in there... and I would let you cook meth in private!
It's a bird... no it's a plane... it's Superman
But wait… there’s more! We also went to Metropolis to see Superman. Definitely not worth the drive but we did it for posterity because we know we probably won’t be coming back this way.
After all of that we’ve had enough for the day and headed back to our campsite
Day 3: Biking and Travel
We decided that we would explore the other side of the Tunnel Hill State Trail which we were told was a good thing because on weekends the trail on the other side can be ridiculously busy
The other side of the trail is not as pretty as the one leading up to the trail but there are still some interesting spots like the Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center
The area and wetlands was pretty. It also gave us a good spot to check out the scenery and experience some air-conditioning before heading back to the car
The ride back to the car was chill not that interesting until this sighting...
But this is no ordinary sasquatch.. it's packing...
After the bike ride we headed back to camp. We had our breakfast and started our pack up procedure. Which is the usual business but one thing to note is that I always feel that my legs are at stake of being amputated when I have the job or raising the trailer jack up or down depending on the need
This is basically the set up of the trailer hitch. You have to hitch up the jack so the weight (5300 lbs actually) is transferred to the trailer hitch and the truck.
This is basically my leg as I raise the jack praying that nothing gives and I won't lose my legs. Kevin is checking tire torque and pressure
Thankfully my legs survived yet another camping trip!
I hope you enjoyed reminiscing our bike ride! Tunnel Hill Biking Trail is truly the Best Biking Trail in Vienna, IL!
TTYL!