MEADOW VALLEY PARK

Located at the end of Legion Rd this park has two entrances that access this trail. The other entrance is on Ernest St. which this route passes a little over halfway through. This walk takes you full circle through the woods and contains steep inclines and declines. It only takes about 22 minutes to complete. There are a few forks in the trail which I have not yet explored so I will point them out and direct you to my particular route. The walk starts from the parking lot on a wide, maintained grass trail with farmland to your left and woods to your right. After about 6 minutes you enter the woods where the trail becomes a beaten path. The vegetation becomes thicker and you are isolated from view, but the path is still plenty wide. There is a ravine to your right and soon you are going down a steep slope to get across. Go left at the fork in the trail at the bottom of this slope. You then cross a river bed which was dry on this day in mid-July and then climb back up the ravine on the other side. There are ties built into the incline to make a stairway and it’s a good thing as this is a steep climb and makes for a mini workout. After you get to the top and catch your breath, there’s another fork by a park bench and yet another one about a minute later. This walk stays to the right in both instances. At about 13 minutes into the walk you exit the woods and reach the aforementioned Ernest St. side of the park. The parking lot is ahead and to the left and the Kiwanis pavilion is to the right. Walk between the two towards the tree line on the right, continue past the George Jirjis pavilion, and you’ll find that the right side of an open field is mowed into a path next to the woods. Follow this path for about 1 minute and look for a trail on your right that takes you back into the woods. It is close to the last tree on your left and you can see a wooden deck at the beginning of the trail. You then start to decline towards the bottom of the ravine. After about 2 minutes into the woods you cross a stream over some rocks and begin a steep but short incline to get back to the other side of the ravine. This takes you to a wider trail which leads you back to the starting point after about 22 minutes of total walking.

There is a Little Johnny porta potty and gravel parking lots at both entrances. There is a pavilion at the Legion Rd entrance and as I mentioned, 2 pavilions at the Ernest St. entrance. This is a woodsy trail so it is mostly shaded except for near the 2 entrances and on this particular day in July I ran into several spider webs which were so frequent I had to wave a stick in front of me. You are isolated from public view so take a cell phone. I do not recommend this trail in wet conditions as there is no pavement and there are steep slopes that would be virtually impossible to cross.

 DIRECTIONS FROM THE SQUARE: East on Peoria St (US-24 BUS) which turns into Washington Rd. Left on Legion Rd ( just before CEFCU). 

DRIVE TIME: About 7 minutes