Friends of the Constitution Trail

Friends of the Constitution Trail We're an advocacy group working for expansion and beautification of the Constitution Trail. Initially, the trail covered 4.3 miles.

Constitution Trail is a multi-use trail made possible by a joint venture with the City of Bloomington and the Town of Normal. The initial idea for the trail was proposed by Hugh Atwood, an alderman on the Bloomington City Council, in the early 1980's. He had seen bike trails in other cities and thought this would be a wonderful amenity for Bloomington-Normal. The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad lin

e was abandoned at around this same time, which provided an appropriate pathway for a trail. Although some members of the community had apprehensions, the railroad tracks were removed, and the first part of the trail was laid. The Trail was officially dedicated and named "Constitution Trail" in celebration of the 200th birthday of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1987; the Trail grand opening was May 6, 1989. The community responded positively, and this led to the gradual expansion of the trail, which now covers over 24 miles.

06/11/2026

An update from the road…

Joe battled through heat in Missouri yesterday but crossed into Illinois several hours ago. His current ETA for Bloomin...
06/11/2026

Joe battled through heat in Missouri yesterday but crossed into Illinois several hours ago. His current ETA for Bloomington-Normal is now after midnight. With storms coming through the area there is no way to predict when he will come through so there will be no organized greeting.

But if you are a night owl, I am sure he would appreciate the support.

Embeddable tracking application, live tracking event map for Route 66 FKT - Joe Barr 2026, leaderboard coverage, including links to individual track history pages

We continue to track Joe's progress but the estimated time that he is expected to hit Bloomington-Normal has been moved ...
06/11/2026

We continue to track Joe's progress but the estimated time that he is expected to hit Bloomington-Normal has been moved from 6AM Thursday morning to 5PM Thursday afternoon.

Embeddable tracking application, live tracking event map for Route 66 FKT - Joe Barr 2026, leaderboard coverage, including links to individual track history pages

We are tracking the progress of Ultra cyclist Joe Barr as he attempts a Guinness Book of World Records ride of the entir...
06/09/2026

We are tracking the progress of Ultra cyclist Joe Barr as he attempts a Guinness Book of World Records ride of the entire Rt 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago.

Joe is expected to reach Bloomington-Normal Thursday June 11 at 6am and will make a quick stop at Bloomington Cycle & Fitness that morning. Come out and cheer him on!

Embeddable tracking application, live tracking event map for Route 66 FKT - Joe Barr 2026, leaderboard coverage, including links to individual track history pages

Thanks to the assistance of volunteers, like these Bloomington-Normal Rotary Club members, and support from the City of ...
05/17/2026

Thanks to the assistance of volunteers, like these Bloomington-Normal Rotary Club members, and support from the City of Lexington, the City of Chenoa and Ameren, FOCT planted 150 trees over the past 10 days along segments of Historic Route 66 Trail. Our crews appreciated hearing all the good words from Trail users over the past 2 weekends. If you’d like to volunteer to help with trail projects/maintenance, become a FOCT member or make a donation, visit our website at https://www.constitutiontrail.org

Congratulations to Patrick Dullard, President of the Friends of the Constitution Trail board! He is the recipient of the...
05/14/2026

Congratulations to Patrick Dullard, President of the Friends of the Constitution Trail board! He is the recipient of the Anne McGowan Making a World of Difference Award for his tree planting efforts along the trail. He has coordinated the planting of over 725 trees along Route 66 in Chenoa, Lexington, Towanda, Shirley and Funks Grove.

Congratulations President Dullard!

The Ecology Action Center recently announced the recipients of their 2025 McLean County Green Awards.

Thank you to all who came out to the 5K to support the Friends of the Constitution Trail and the Ecology Action Center! ...
05/12/2026

Thank you to all who came out to the 5K to support the Friends of the Constitution Trail and the Ecology Action Center! Over $12,500 dollars was raised to support our organizations! These funds wil be used to build shelters, support trail expansion, plant lots of trees, and improve our local community!

"Patrick Dullard with Friends of the Constitution Trail said, "The support from Rivian helps the Friends of the Constitution Trail advance our shared vision of improving the environment and leaving the world a better place for future generations. Funds received from the Rivian 5K have allowed the Friends to substantially increase the number of trees we plant along the Rt 66 Trail in McLean County, including 150 new trees this spring."

Thank you to Rivian for your continued support!

The energy was electric as a record 800+ Rivian employees, family, friends and community members attended the 4th annual Rivian 5K/1 Mile walk at Heartland Community College on Saturday, May 9. Proceeds benefited two local non-profit organizations, the Ecology Action Center and Friends of the Consti...

05/12/2026

After 20 years of trying, the Route 66 Bike/Pedestrian Path will cross the railroad tracks at Chenoa. The Illinois Commerce Commission signed off on the plan on May 7. Trail advocates hope the work can finish by fall.

We noticed today that we are closing in on 5,000 folks who like our page. Could you share this post to all your...
12/13/2025

We noticed today that we are closing in on 5,000 folks who like our page.

Could you share this post to all your friends, tell them how much you love the trail, and ask them to follow/like us on Facebook? We've got big things planned for 2026, and we'd love to share the news with as many people as we can!

Address

PO Box 525
Bloomington, IL
61702

Opening Hours

Monday 5am - 8pm
Tuesday 5am - 8pm
Wednesday 5am - 8pm
Thursday 5am - 8pm
Friday 5am - 8pm
Saturday 5am - 8pm
Sunday 5am - 8pm

Website

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