Brown Trail

2.6 miles | 1 hour | Starts from: Death of the Last Centaur parking area

The Brown Trail traverses through bottomland forest containing trees over five feet in diameter, along the Sangamon River and through a small section of upland forest. This hike offers a wonderful approach to the Centaur statue; be sure to also notice the four pillars topped with urns within the open oak-hickory forest. The trail then continues down a slope, along to a point of transition between an upland oak/hickory forest on one side and a bottomland forest on the other. Here spring flowers such as Virginia bluebells carpet the forest floor.

After passing the intersection with the Purple Trail, you may notice trees of great size and diameter. Ash, bur oaks and sycamores represent an assemblage of the impressively sized tree species, including the State Champion Swamp White Oak (53” in diameter and 93’ tall; just north of the trail section that runs along the river and about halfway between the Yellow/Brown and Purple/brown intersections). Views of the Sangamon River and the watchable wildlife are also plentiful as you continue along the trail.

Look for: Virginia bluebells, migrating song birds, and blue-eyed Marys (spring); great-blue herons, wood ducks, and beavers (summer); coyote and white-tailed deer (fall); brown creepers and white-breasted nuthatches (winter)

There may be times of the year when the bottomland portion of this trail may be flooded. Please use caution.

There is one section of this trail that shares the path with the Yellow Trail.