The Winston Tunnel is the longest tunnel ever built in Illinois at almost a half mile. The Sheppard, Winston and Company started construction in 1886 and was completed in 1888 where it was turned over to the Chicago Great Western Railroad. The tunnel maintenance was the chief reason that the CGW was close to bankruptcy and sold out to the Chicago and Northern in 1968 who closed the entire line in 1972.
The best way to find the Winston Tunnel geocache is to park at the state parking site off of Blackjack Rd just west of Chestnut Mountain. There should be a parking waypoint for users. Then proceed to the second waypoint which is at the base of the old railroad trestle (bridge). You can go strait on the path which eventually gets to the railway base but it is longer. Adventurous people can go right (east) up the trestle embankment and get directly on the old railway. It is shorter but the climb is steep and slippery. Once on the top, walk to the tunnel. The cache is an AMMO STYLE cache.
This is a couple miles at least of walking in heavily forested area. You should be in decent shape to look for this.
The geochache is placed on the Department managed property with permission Permission granted by Jamie Dowdall, Director from the Apple Canyon/Lake Le Aqua-Na State Park. Do not place the following items in the geocache: Food items, inappropriate, offensive or hazardous materials. It is the visitors responsibility to orient themselves with policies and rules pertaining to this Department managed site. Hope the Winston Tunnel Series was fun and worth it!
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