About trails in Madison County, Illinois

Madison County has 72 named trails on the map, covering 239 miles in total, an average of 3.3 miles per trail. That is the 9th largest mapped trail network among 65 counties in Illinois. 58 of them are tagged for hiking and 24 for mountain biking.

The longest single trail is MCT Nickel Plate Trail, at 55.7 miles. 11 trails run 5 miles or longer. Mapped points of interest in the county include 32 trailheads, 17 campsites, 4 waterfalls, 13 boat launches, and 2 rapids. The nearest towns to these trails are Glen Carbon, Hamel, and Marine.

What the trails in Madison County are like

By length, 48 are under a mile, 13 run 1 to 5 miles, and 11 are 5 miles or longer. 5 are loops, ending where they start; the longest is Delyte W. Morris Trail, at 4.8 miles.

Of the 31 with a difficulty rating, 31 easy. Of the 72 with measured elevation, MCT Nickel Plate Trail climbs the most, about 849 ft.

Explore by activity

239Total miles

17Campsites

13Boat launches

4Waterfalls

32Trailheads

2Rapids

MCT Nickel Plate TrailMTB55.7 mi MCT Confluence TrailMTB30.0 mi MCT Quercus Grove TrailMTB17.5 mi MCT Goshen TrailMTB16.3 mi MCT Schoolhouse TrailHikeMTB15.2 mi Schoolhouse TrailMTB15.0 mi MCT Nature TrailHike12.4 mi Glen Carbon Heritage TrailMTB7.6 mi MCT Ronald J. Foster Heritage TrailHike7.3 mi Heritage TrailMTB6.4 mi Eagle Point Trail5.8 mi Sam Vadalabene TrailMTB4.9 mi Delyte W. Morris TrailMTB4.8 mi MCT Heritage Trail4.7 mi Horseshoe Lake Hiking TrailHike3.9 mi MCT Watershed TrailHikeMTB2.7 mi Bluff TrailMTB2.0 mi MCT Bluff TrailHike1.9 mi Confluence Bike Trail1.7 mi MCT Silver Creek TrailHikeMTB1.6 mi MCT Confluence Trail SpurHikeMTB1.2 mi Glazebrook TrailHikeMTB1.2 mi Deer TrailHike1.1 mi Greenspace East Walking TrailHike1.0 mi F.E. Widman TrailHikeMTB1.0 mi Beaver-Deer-Rock TrailHike0.8 mi Red TrailHike0.8 mi Heritage Connector TrailHike0.8 mi MCT Monarch Valley TrailHikeMTB0.8 mi Triad Community School TrailHikeMTB0.8 mi Gorenz RoadHike0.7 mi Beaver TrailHike0.7 mi Old Chain of Rocks BridgeHikeMTB0.6 mi Yellow TrailHike0.5 mi MCT Yellowhammer ConnectorHikeMTB0.5 mi Schoolhouse - Nature Trail ConnectorHike0.5 mi Mark Hall TrailHike0.4 mi Connection to HighwayHike0.4 mi Beaver-Deer TrailsHike0.4 mi Blue TrailHike0.4 mi Silver Creek Elementary TrailHikeMTB0.4 mi Prairie Edge TrailHike0.4 mi Indian TrailHike0.4 mi Fox TrailHike0.4 mi Hutchinson Bird TrailHike0.4 mi Montclair Bike TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Bunny Rim RunHike0.3 mi YMCA Connector Trail0.3 mi Coyote TrailHike0.3 mi Carillon CrestHike0.3 mi MCT Riverbend TrailHikeMTB0.3 mi Alton Bike PathHikeMTB0.2 mi Goshen - Heritage Trail ConnectorHike0.2 mi Rock TrailHike0.2 mi Beaver-Deer-Rock-Fox TrailHike0.2 mi Marsh WalkHike0.2 mi Old Blue Pool TrailHike0.2 mi Frog TrailHike0.2 mi Designated WalkwayHike0.2 mi PrivateHike0.2 mi Memorial Wood TrailHike0.1 mi Dogwood Dell TrailHike0.1 mi Owl Hollow TrailHike0.1 mi White TrailHike0.1 mi Poppy's PathHike0.1 mi Sycamore DrawHike0.1 mi All TrailsHike0.1 mi Whitetail Deer TrailHike0.1 mi North TrailHike0.1 mi Nut RidgeHike0.1 mi Nickel Plate TrailHike0.1 mi FrogHike0.1 mi

More Illinois counties

679 trails · 2,006 mi

Trail geometry from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Compiled and published by Trailmonger · trail data last rebuilt September 24, 2026.