Rathje Pond–Illinois Prairie Path, 3 sights is an 8.4-mile out-and-back in St. James Farm Preserve near Wheaton, IL. The route reaches Rathje Pond. It is mostly level, with 27 ft of elevation gain, and mostly gravel. It scores 0/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi712 – 761 ft8.8 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Illinois Prairie Path 41.86412, -88.11108
Nearest town Wheaton, IL
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Rathje Pond–Illinois Prairie Path, 3 sights
8.4 mi · ▲ 27 ft · 2 hr 49 min
Elevation 712–760 ft
Out & Back · St. James Farm Preserve
Trailhead: Illinois Prairie Path · 41.86412, -88.11108
Weather Sep 23: Overcast, high 64°F / low 57° · precip 4% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 6:42 AM · sunset 6:50 PM
Transit-accessible: West & Liberty stop 43 m from the trailhead · Drinking water at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Illinois Prairie Path, heading W.
- 0.1 miTurn right, heading W.
- 100 ftTurn right, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 250 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Illinois Prairie Path Aurora Branch, heading W.
- 0.3 miPass Rathje Pond.
- 2.9 miTurn right onto St. James Farm Bike Trail, heading SW.
- 0.6 miTurn right, heading W.
- 0.2 miReach Rathje Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 350 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.8 miTurn left onto Illinois Prairie Path Aurora Branch, heading S.
- 3.2 miTurn right onto Illinois Prairie Path, heading N.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading N.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading N.
- 250 ftTurn right, heading N.
- 150 ftTurn right, heading N.
- 150 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
72% gravel14% dirt10% paved4% unspecified
Weather
OvercastTemperature 64°F57°
Precip4%Wind6 mphUV5Humidity81%
Rained 2.7″ 3 days ago (5.2″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
70°55°
Sunrise 6:42 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:50 PM
Thu
66°57°
Fri
69°58°
Sat
70°55°
Sun
73°55°
15%
Mon
74°55°
Tue
76°56°
36%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.7 mi in (~66 min). Leave by 5:23 PM for the 6:50 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:11 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: West & Liberty stop 43 m from the trailhead
- Drinking water at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Illinois Prairie Path Trailhead
- Silver Lake–White Pine Pond, 8 lakes 15.2 mi · ▲ 26 ft
- Illinois Prairie Path Elgin Branch 2.8 mi · ▲ 0 ft
- Front Pond–Wood Duck Pond, 5 lakes 8.3 mi · ▲ 0 ft
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