The Constitution Trail is a multi-use trail made possible by a joint venture with the City of Bloomington and the Town of Normal.

Constitution Trail discussions began as early as 1983 with the parks and recreation staffs of both the City of Bloomington and the Town of Normal. In May 1986 at a joint Council meeting, permission was recieved to proceed with land acquisition. This was especially timely since the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad was looking to sell their right-of-way. This provided a wonderful base and direction for the trail to take.

The Constitution Trail was officially dedicated September 17, 1987; the Trail grand opening was May 6, 1989.

Currently, Constitution Trail's north-south segment starts from Northtown Road in Normal and goes to Washington Street in Bloomington. The east-west segment intersects the north segment at Normal Parks and Recreation Office, City Hall Annex and continues to Airport Road in Bloomington. The cities have jointly developed a master plan for trail development. These long-range plans call for extensions to connect and encircle the City of Bloomington; and extend from Normal City Hall to Lake Bloomington.

If you are driving to Constitution Trail, parking is available in Bloomington at Hugh Atwood Wayside (Hugh M. Atwood is considered the "founding father" of the Constitution Trail) on Robinson and Jefferson and the G.E. parking lot on G.E. Road. In Normal, parking is available a the Parks and Recreation office, 611 S. Linden; Colene Hoose School on Grandview and Vernon; and Normal City Hall on Phoenix.

The Trail is open to walkers, runners, in-line skaters, skateboarders, cyclists, wheelchair users and other non-motorized forms of transportation. During winter months, the Trail is not cleared of snow, so is available to skiiers, weather permitting.

Trails for non-motorized use have become very popular. A consequence of their success is congestion. With this, a major issue has become safety. Regardless of whether you are bicycling, walking, jogging or skating, if you follow the same set of rules as everyone else, your trip will be safer and more enjoyable.

BE COURTEOUS. All trail users -- bicyclists, joggers, walkers, wheelchair users, skateboarders and skaters -- should be respectful of other users regardless of their mode, speed or skill.

KEEP RIGHT. Stay as near to the right side of the trail as is safe, except when passing another user.

DON'T BLOCK THE TRAIL. When in a group, including your pets, use no more than half the trail so as not to block the flow for other users.

BE PREDICTABLE. Travel in a consistant and predictable manner. Always look behind before changing positions on the trail.

PASS ON THE LEFT. Pass on the left of others going in your direction. Look ahead and back to make sure the lane is clear before you pull out. Pass with ample separation. Do not move back to the right until safely past. (Faster traffic is responsible for yielding to slower and on-coming traffic.)

USE SIGNALS. Give a clear warning signal before passing. Signals may be produced by voice, bell or horn. In order to hear these signals, please do not wear earphones or anything that distracts your awareness of the environment.

YIELD. When entering or crossing a trail at uncontrolled points, yield to traffic on the trail.

CLEAN UP LITTER. Do not leave glass, paper, cans or any other debris on or near the trail. Litter should be placed in appropriate containers along the trail.

PETS. Pets on the trail must be on a leash. Be sure to clean up messes left by your pets.