Illinois trails · Red Cedar Trail
Red Cedar Trail
A 10.7-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 352 ft of climbing.
Length
10.7 mi
Elevation gain
352 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
23%
Steepest mile
+268 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
1.5 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Surface
Unpaved
Horses
yes
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,095 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Heads up
Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:58 a.m., the sun rises at 6:25 a.m. and sets at 7:27 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:54 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 02 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 21.5-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 18 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:44 p.m. — 4 h 43 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Horse Trail + Red Cedar Trail — 1.6 mi loop, 209 ft gain
- Red Cedar Trail + Horse Trail — 5.1 mi loop, 566 ft gain
- Horse Trail + Red Cedar Trail + River to River Trail — 5.9 mi loop, 710 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Little Cedar Lake — 7.3 mi
- Little Grand Canyon — 13.5 mi
- Godwin — 14.2 mi
- Kinkaid Lake Trail — 23.4 mi