Southern Illinois MX scene?

jermag24
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jermag24
My wife and I will be moving to southern Illinois early next year and so far I'm disappointed in MX options there. Can someone tell me where the best tracks are within an hour or two from Marion, IL? It's been a while since I rode Moto so it would be nice to ride on a well groomed vet track.
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Indy mxer
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Indy mxer 8/27/2020 1:32pm
8/27/2020 1:32pm
Lincoln Trail MX is the place in Casey IL. One of the best prepped tracks I've ever been to. The Bomber track is Awesome. Tim the owner is a great guy and is always trying to make it better.

He has open practice often and also does some during the week. It's not unusual for him to have 200 plus riders for practice days on weekends, and 500 riders for a race.
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Anton_514
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Anton_514 8/27/2020 1:54pm
8/27/2020 1:54pm
Very glad that you asked that, I've had the same questions since moving back here last October.

Lincoln Trail is the spot in Southern IL and that's the place everyone knows about, from Marion it's almost two hours. Archview is another really good option, it's in East Saint Louis, and that'll be a 1.5-hour drive for you.

Indian Hills and Paradise are both around DuQuion, but I can't get a straight answer if either is open or not. The same goes for Euro in Nashville.

You should look into what tracks are in Missouri, like Sweeney in Park Hill or whatever is around Cape Girardeau, and then northern Kentucky around Paducah and Murray.

Hopefully, some more locals chime in, it would be good to figure out who is still around the STL/SoIL scene.
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Zycki11
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Zycki11 8/27/2020 2:01pm
8/27/2020 2:01pm
Archview Mx Park, Euro Raceway, crossroads, Kahoka MX, and a few others
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ti473
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ti473 8/27/2020 2:04pm
8/27/2020 2:04pm
Zycki11 wrote:
Archview Mx Park, Euro Raceway, crossroads, Kahoka MX, and a few others
I don't think crossroads is open anymore, I could be wrong though. Too bad though, it used to be one of my favorites in southern/central IL
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PDUB481
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PDUB481 8/27/2020 2:20pm
8/27/2020 2:20pm
ARCHVIEW MX PARK, Well know as the best dirt around, no cheap ass saw dust, just good dirt and sand. Follow on Facebook for all updates
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bama205
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bama205 8/27/2020 4:30pm
8/27/2020 4:30pm Edited Date/Time 8/27/2020 4:58pm
. I live there part time. When I lived there full time there wasn’t much, but a ton of private tracks. The good thing is land is affordable.

Echo valley
PMP
Archview
Murray SX summer series
Acens MX
118 SX
Casey(Lincoln trail)
Semo- closed
Seizemore is supposed to be reopening the track in duquoin at the fairgrounds?
Western KY MX (Lowes KY)
All within 2.5 hr.

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bama205
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bama205 8/27/2020 4:31pm
8/27/2020 4:31pm
PDUB481 wrote:
ARCHVIEW MX PARK, Well know as the best dirt around, no cheap ass saw dust, just good dirt and sand. Follow on Facebook for all updates
Crowded MX Park
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Zycki11
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Zycki11 8/27/2020 5:29pm
8/27/2020 5:29pm
bama205 wrote:
Crowded MX Park
Because the dirt is good. Find a hard packed track with open sessions to ride at and then cry about all the rear tires your buying
JMCR250
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JMCR250 8/27/2020 5:41pm
8/27/2020 5:41pm Edited Date/Time 8/27/2020 5:42pm
Archview and Casey are the two best tracks closest to you. A few hours further north, Sunset Ridge is also very good. All have very good dirt, especially Archview, and are run by people who know how to prep an MX track.
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dfoerster92
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dfoerster92 8/27/2020 6:10pm
8/27/2020 6:10pm
Zycki11 wrote:
Archview Mx Park, Euro Raceway, crossroads, Kahoka MX, and a few others
Crossroads is closed, suckes cause it was the closest track to me
bama205
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bama205 8/27/2020 6:27pm
8/27/2020 6:27pm
bama205 wrote:
Crowded MX Park
Zycki11 wrote:
Because the dirt is good. Find a hard packed track with open sessions to ride at and then cry about all the rear tires your buying
I’m not crying. Arch kicks ass. If you want to prep for a 40 man gate, that’s the place to go practice
wwoberg
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wwoberg 8/27/2020 6:34pm
8/27/2020 6:34pm
I don't know any names, but traveling north on 57 just after 24 joins, if you look over to the right which looks like a flood zone, there's a big track with some booter big jumps.
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bama205
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bama205 8/27/2020 7:18pm
8/27/2020 7:18pm
wwoberg wrote:
I don't know any names, but traveling north on 57 just after 24 joins, if you look over to the right which looks like a flood...
I don't know any names, but traveling north on 57 just after 24 joins, if you look over to the right which looks like a flood zone, there's a big track with some booter big jumps.
I-57 MX

Closed for now
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Pirate421
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Pirate421 8/27/2020 7:31pm
8/27/2020 7:31pm
Western ky Mx out by Paducah is a really fun track. Good dirt and really friendly owner. I just moved down to my from Ma and can’t get over only paying $20 to ride. Most tracks in New England are $30-40 to ride now.
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quadzrulebro 8/27/2020 8:13pm
8/27/2020 8:13pm
I just moved away from there, and Sweeney’s, Lincoln Trail, Archview, and Euro (south of Nashville, IL) are all quality tracks in the area. Get on all their Facebook pages for schedules. Right after I moved away, I’ve noticed that Sweeney’s (in Park Hills, MO) has been open quite a bit mid-week. There’s a new track named Double Eagle or something like that in MO that is supposed to be really good, too.
It isn’t prepped often, but Ride Organic in Alton is open every day last I knew.
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quadzrulebro 8/27/2020 8:15pm
8/27/2020 8:15pm
Zycki11 wrote:
Archview Mx Park, Euro Raceway, crossroads, Kahoka MX, and a few others
ti473 wrote:
I don't think crossroads is open anymore, I could be wrong though. Too bad though, it used to be one of my favorites in southern/central IL
Kahoka is closed, too.

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davis224
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davis224 8/27/2020 9:50pm
8/27/2020 9:50pm
JMCR250 wrote:
Archview and Casey are the two best tracks closest to you. A few hours further north, Sunset Ridge is also very good. All have very good...
Archview and Casey are the two best tracks closest to you. A few hours further north, Sunset Ridge is also very good. All have very good dirt, especially Archview, and are run by people who know how to prep an MX track.
Sunset is more like 5 hours north from there. Trying to ride in central IL sucks, no matter what it's a 2 hour drive, to Casey, Sunset, or Archview. Everything was 2 hours away. Did Paradise in Duquoin close?
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davis224
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davis224 8/27/2020 10:13pm
8/27/2020 10:13pm
But LTM in Casey and Archview are definitely your best bets. LTM has 2 full size MX tracks, an old school, tighter track that's been there since the 70s, and a faster modern style track originally built by Mark Barnett several years back. Archview is all flat in the middle of a dodgy neighborhood in East St. Louis, but if you're looking to ride a rough, rutted track that can take a ton of rain, that's it.

I rarely ride anymore, but the past several times I have, it's been at LTM. They have a year end team race that connects both tracks with a grass track/trail loop that's a ton of fun and a super long lap time.
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dfoerster92
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dfoerster92 8/27/2020 10:26pm
8/27/2020 10:26pm
Echo valley mx in sebree ky is an awesome track as well and probably not to far of a drive for you
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clmartin22
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clmartin22 8/28/2020 12:21pm
8/28/2020 12:21pm
383braaap618 wrote:
Hidden valley mx in Tennessee is another great track.
I didn't think Hidden Valley was still open. Thought Gale shut it down.
Moto520
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Moto520 8/28/2020 12:29pm
8/28/2020 12:29pm
I know this doesn't help much but the Northern, IL MX scene is really solid.
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oldmxracer
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oldmxracer 8/28/2020 2:55pm
8/28/2020 2:55pm
Little Egypt Offroad Park will be just east of Marion. Doesn't really have the track you're looking for but alot of riding. King City Dirt riders in Mt Vernon has an active club. Prepped track sometimes.
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jermag24
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jermag24 8/28/2020 6:33pm
8/28/2020 6:33pm
Thanks everyone for the great advice, finding tracks can be a pain so I appreciate the feedback. I'm hoping to buy a x-country bike to ride both moto and trails.
Pirate421
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Pirate421 8/28/2020 7:33pm
8/28/2020 7:33pm
jermag24 wrote:
Thanks everyone for the great advice, finding tracks can be a pain so I appreciate the feedback. I'm hoping to buy a x-country bike to ride...
Thanks everyone for the great advice, finding tracks can be a pain so I appreciate the feedback. I'm hoping to buy a x-country bike to ride both moto and trails.
Like I mentioned earlier I just moved down to western KY in July. I’m riding a 250XC and have been riding at western ky Mx and plan to race the msxc series hopefully if it goes off. Thinking about trying Lincoln trail and echo valley soon since it looks like it has a bit of everything. I haven’t found much for legit trails to train on mostly Jeep and utv type stuff.
bb252
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bb252 8/28/2020 7:53pm
8/28/2020 7:53pm
On a good day in the fall ride o is the juice factory, but still a fun track when the prep is tough to do in the summer euro in Nashville can be ridden during the week sometimes if u know who to call...😆
U just call his shop euro mx and frank is pretty cool
davis224
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davis224 8/29/2020 3:00am
8/29/2020 3:00am
jermag24 wrote:
Thanks everyone for the great advice, finding tracks can be a pain so I appreciate the feedback. I'm hoping to buy a x-country bike to ride...
Thanks everyone for the great advice, finding tracks can be a pain so I appreciate the feedback. I'm hoping to buy a x-country bike to ride both moto and trails.
I'm not sure of the actual amount of trails down there, but you'll be surrounded by lots of national forest land, so it's as scenic as it gets for Illinois.
cdub_92
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cdub_92 8/10/2023 3:15am
8/10/2023 3:15am

I know this is an old thread, but, Paradise Motopark is closed. The owner no longer maintains the tracks. There’s not a lot to choose from as far as tracks go.. western Kentucky, SE Missouri, Little Egypt Off Road has a small track in the front that you can ride.. the track in the fairgrounds is only used for a few events a year and then it is left to be overgrown with grass until the next event. I haven’t had much luck finding trails open to motorized vehicles either. Little Egypt and a club down near Harrisburg.
 

Illinois gives out grants and funding for off road parks to be built. A few of us could always start a “club” and send in the applications for funding. More info can be found on the IDNR website. 

If you’ve managed to find some places that are open to ride, let me know! 

BRAAAAAP!

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