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Print Friendly MapThis trail along Richland Creek is in two discontiguous sections that must be accessed separately. The northern section goes by the thick and quiet woods of Centennial Park, where there are also very nice walking paths. The southern section begins in the same woods, then joins the MetroBikeLink Trail for 0.2 mile and separates again to continue southward through Belleville. There it goes through seven different city parks, each with its own features and amenities.
The trail has several bridges and picturesque views of Richland Creek. It's ideal for a family or group outing, a quiet walk or a short bike ride. It is altogether flat except for its one steep rise to the MetroBikeLink Trail. Fishing is allowed at the pond in South Side Park.
To reach the northern trail section: From I-64, take Exit 12 to State Route 159 South. Proceed 4.5 miles and turn left on Route 161 (N Belt E). Proceed 0.4 mile and turn left into Centennial Park. Parking is at the end of a short drive.
To reach the southern trail section: From I-64, take Exit 12 to SR 159 South. Proceed 5.2 miles and turn left on N. Douglas Ave. Proceed 365 feet and turn left into parking at North End Park.
Trail itself is in good shape, but there are stretches with basically zero signage that made it a frustrating ride for our first time using this trail
I really enjoy riding this trail starting at Old Collinsville Road. I find the description above a bit confusing. It's described as "discontiguous" but you would never know that when riding, except for about 100 feet where the trail goes on a quiet neighborhood street. The path is clearly marked and crosses 161 with a push-button to stop traffic. Very foresty and leafy for the first half, before merging with the Metrolink trail for a short section (turn right and right again), then it goes down toward Belleville. Fairly flat and easy to ride with lots of cute parks to go through.
There are beautiful sections of this trail and I'll absolutely walk it, again and again, however I feel it's incredibly important to note that there is no parking at the endpoint off 3rd and Cleveland. Instead, it looks like a shady part of town. I drove around and found a parking area near Monroe and Bornman, at the ball fields.
This is a really nice trail with beautiful scenery. The people are real friendly. My bike computer stated around 4 miles from the north end of Centennial park to centreville ave. The trail was close south of that point which should be around another 2 miles. If you are looking for a trail that you can get up to speed and maintain it then this isn't for you. There are a lot of curves that will reduce your speed. But it was nice for a good leisurely bike ride. I would recommend it.
I started at Centennial Park and went both ways for a total of seven miles. The trails were clean and well kept, but hold you nose when you run past the water treatment plant ;)
Overall it's a good run. I prefer crushed rock/dirt to asphalt, but even so I enjoyed the day on this segment of trail.
Love the trail. Confusing connection along the metro link. Don't cross over 159 on the metro bridge. Full length of trail has to be more like 6 miles from Old Collinsville to South Park. We were about 4 miles to Hough Park from Old Collinsville when we stopped.
Just finished this trail and it was great, little amount of people on the trail and it was a breeze will definitely be back!
Before I travelled from out-of-town to ride this trail, I found so many conflicting presentations about it on different web sites! How great to see it now all done right on Trail Link! It's really a great city trail through park after park, only to be enhanced further when they can build a connector between the two sections. On weekends there is often something special going on in one of the Belleville parks or the nearby downtown area.
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