This series is based on a rail to trail cooperative between
Boone and Winnebago Counties. The Long Prairie Trail bisects
northern Boone County by running from the Boone/McHenry County line
through the villages of Capron, Poplar Grove, and Caledonia to
McMichael Road in Winnebago County. To access the trail, parking
lots are provided in all three villages and at the trail's
intersection with the Boone/McHenry County Line Road. Until
recently the trail was owned by the Chicago & Northwestern
Railroad where it was maintained as an active line for many
decades. It was originally known as the Kenosha Division (KD) Line
which crisscrossed Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. The KD
line started out in the early 1850's at a time when nearly every
community realized the need for a railroad to help in establishing
a strong commercial base. A few years ago, on the same set of
tracks, a train crossing Beaverton Road derailed, leaving behind a
torn up road bed, broken ties, and twisted tracks. A huge gouge in
the railroad bed remains today, as a reminder of this accident
which put an end to train traffic here forever.
The Stone Bridge Trail bisects northern Winnebago County by
running from Rockton Road, near 251, east to the county line where
it connects with the Long Prairie Trail. The trail consists of
mostly hard packed crushed stone. Although the signs on the trail
indicate “No Motor Vehicles”, it looks like they do allow
snowmobiles in the winter months on this portion of the trail.
Located at the mid-point parking location, you will find a well
water hand pump to refill your water bottles (depending on the time
of the year) and a port-a-potty should you find nature calling.
Thanks to www.boonecountyconservationdistrict.org for information
the Long Prairie Trail.
Please keep in mind that this series contains a bonus cache
(GC1F1EV). For this Bonus cache, you will need to have found the 6
clues that were hidden among the 10 caches of the series; you will
know them when you see them. The listed coordinates for this cache
is:
N 42° 24.000
W 088° 57.000
You will need to replace the last three zero’s with the numbers
that you will find. For example, if you find something like: N _ 2
_ noted in one of the caches, the second zero in the latitude would
be a 2.
***Please Note: All of the caches in this series, as well as the
parking locations, are closed from a half hour after dusk to a half
hour before dawn. These areas are patrolled by the Conservation
District Police and tickets can be issued.***