From Breidert Green, the Old Plank Road Trail heads out of downtown Frankfort along an old railroad right-of-way. It crosses Route 45 on a bridge that the trail's own photo tour treats as a local landmark, with Main Park just to the south. In both directions it looks like one continuous path, but two different owners hold it.
The Forest Preserve District of Will County says the trail runs 22 miles from Joliet to Chicago Heights, and 14 of those miles are in Will County. The Forest Preserve owns 11.5 of those 14 miles. The Village of Frankfort owns 2.5. So the stretch you probably use most, the part through town, belongs to the village. That ownership is why Village Hall shows up in its seal coating schedule and in the plan for its next on-ramp.
The miles that answer to Village Hall
Village ownership shows up most clearly in maintenance. In its most recent trail notice, the Village of Frankfort announced that starting Thursday, August 13, it would seal coat the Old Plank Road Trail inside village limits. The village's notice said the work would take about a week, done in sections, with short closures where crews were working. The notice explained the purpose plainly: seal coating protects the surface and extends the trail's life.
The trail itself is older than many of the subdivisions it now connects. The Forest Preserve called it a 28-year-old trail in December 2025 and the first rail-to-trail conversion in Will County. Ownership is one layer; management is another. The Old Plank Road Trail Management Commission describes itself as managing and maintaining the trail, and its members are the Forest Preserve District of Will County, Rich Township, and the villages of Frankfort, Park Forest and Matteson. Frankfort holds a seat on that commission and owns its own trail miles.
Why the paving calendar splits at Schoolhouse Road
If you have ridden west toward New Lenox recently and noticed darker, smoother asphalt, that comes from the ownership split too. The two most recent major paving projects split the Will County portion of the trail roughly in half:
| Stretch | When | What was done |
|---|---|---|
| Harlem Avenue to Schoolhouse Road, including Frankfort's village-owned portion | Fall 2022 | Eastern 7 miles repaved; the Forest Preserve coordinated with Frankfort to include the village section |
| Schoolhouse Road in New Lenox west to Washington Street in Joliet | Finished late 2025 | $1.3 million, 7-mile resurfacing, plus ADA improvements at 18 street crossings, dead tree removal, and repairs for root damage and water pooling |
| Frankfort village limits | Starting Thursday, August 13, per the village's latest notice | Village seal coat, about one week |
So the Frankfort stretch got new asphalt three years before the western miles, and the village has since scheduled its own seal coat to protect that surface. The western miles are the newest pavement on the Will County side, and they come with crossing upgrades the Forest Preserve described as early-warning devices and rumble strips ahead of crosswalks. The 2025 project also resurfaced the connection at Hickory Creek Junction, which matters if you start your rides there.
Where Frankfort gets on the trail
Frankfort has more entry points than the downtown trailhead. The Frankfort Park District lists direct Old Plank Road Trail access at four of its parks:
- Michele Bingham Park on Elsner Road, the one whose listing specifically mentions parking
- Butternut Creek Woods Park at Cedar Road and Lincoln Lane
- Indian Boundary Park at Nebraska Street and Luther Lane
- Windy Hill Park at Pfeiffer and Charrington roads
Downtown, the trail's organization lists Frankfort's Historic District and Breidert's Green, with access from White Street, as a public access point with parking, restrooms, water and picnic tables, plus restaurants and shops nearby. The village says free municipal parking is available in lots throughout downtown. To the west, Hickory Creek Junction on Route 30 west of Wolf Road is a Forest Preserve access point. The Forest Preserve's Old Plank Road Trail page says it reaches the trail by a 0.65-mile connection.
The downtown access point is also the edge of the historic district. The village describes the district as bounded by the Old Plank Trail on the north and Ash Street on the east. Prairie Park, which the village describes as more than 13 acres of native prairie with a fishing pond, is also in the downtown area.
Winter rules are written for roads and preserve trails
For the Forest Preserve's miles, the winter rule is in writing. In January 2026 the Forest Preserve District said it does not clear snow from its paved trails and warned that snow and ice can make them difficult or slippery. After a snowfall, it promotes cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. If you head west past village limits toward Hickory Creek Junction after a storm, plan on snow on the path.
The village side works differently. Frankfort's snow plow page covers streets. Its plow maps are labeled for state and county roadways and for village roadways and arterial roads, and it says nothing about the trail. The same page sets a rule that matters if you drive to a trailhead. Parking is prohibited on local roads after a 2-inch snowfall until all roads have been cleared, so Public Works crews can remove snow and ice. On a snowy morning, the lot at Michele Bingham Park or the downtown municipal lots are the places to park, not the curb.
The next on-ramp depends on a grant decision due in the spring
The village is also the one planning a new connection to its trail miles. On September 14, the Frankfort Village Board approved an engineering agreement and a grant application for a new multi-use path from the northwest end of the Prestwick subdivision to the Old Plank Road Trail. Patch reported that the route would cross village-owned, ComEd-owned and Kinder Morgan-owned land.
The funding works like this:
- The village has applied to the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program, which could reimburse up to 50 percent of right-of-way and easement costs and up to 80 percent of preliminary engineering and construction costs.
- The total project is estimated at $627,900. According to board documents, the village's share would be $125,580, about one-fifth of the total.
- Robinson Engineering will do the Phase I engineering for $27,870.
- The village expects to learn in the spring whether it won the grant.
Patch's September 15 story put that answer in the spring. Until it comes, the Prestwick path is a proposal, not a project with a construction date. If it is funded, Prestwick would get its own direct route onto the village's stretch of trail, similar to what Bingham, Butternut Creek Woods, Indian Boundary and Windy Hill parks already have.
Downtown, the trail runs right past dinner
Because the trail forms the historic district's northern edge, a walk that starts at Breidert Green can end a block or two away at one of these spots:
- Trail's Edge Brewing Co., 20 Kansas Street, open from 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. Sunday, until 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 9 p.m. other nights
- Grounded Coffee Bar, 19 Ash Street, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends
- Nautical Bowls, 5 N. White Street, open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Old Plank Trail Tavern, 113 Kansas Street, which shares its name with the path
As the season turns, the downtown calendar fills in around Breidert Green:
- Saturday, November 7: The 33rd Annual Holiday Craft Show runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Founders Community Center, 140 Oak Street, according to the Frankfort Park District.
- Saturday, November 28: The Forest Preserve holds a volunteer morning from 9 a.m. to noon at Hickory Creek Preserve's LaPorte Road Access.
- Thursday, December 3: The Lighting of the Green. The village says more details are coming.
- Friday, December 11: The 31st annual Midnight Madness runs 6 p.m. to midnight. Patch reported that participating Frankfort Chamber of Commerce businesses will offer holiday sales, promotions and seasonal treats.
- Saturday, December 12: Holiday on the Green at Breidert Green, with more details to come from the village.
- Sunday, December 13: Another Forest Preserve volunteer morning, 9 a.m. to noon at Hickory Creek Junction, the same spot where the 0.65-mile connector meets the trail.
The December 13 volunteer morning is a good chance to see the newly resurfaced Hickory Creek connection up close. Midnight Madness ends a short walk from the White Street trailhead.
Owning part of the trail ties Frankfort's seal coating and its proposed Prestwick connection to village budgets and grant decisions. In the same way, how close a home sits to the trail is part of its value. If you're curious how trail access affects what your home is worth, I Sell Chicagoland can put together a free home valuation, or you can schedule a consultation with Christina Horne to walk through it together.
