There is a new mural at the east end of Collinsville's newest trail. It is painted on the abutment of an abandoned railroad bridge and reads "Ridge Prairie." A railroad depot and tower once stood near this spot, along with a post office, a school and a grain elevator. Today there is fresh asphalt, a trail junction and the mural. Madison County Transit opened the MCT Ridge Prairie Trail on Thursday morning, September 24, 2026, and its guests walked or rode to that mural after the ribbon-cutting.
On paper the trail is short. MCT lists it as 1.5 miles of asphalt from near the Collinwood subdivision at Barbara Street to the MCT Goshen Trail. Its value comes from where it ends. Its far end is Formosa Junction, a place the railroad built and later left behind, and a trail corridor has now made it a crossroads again.
Barbara Street to the Mural, in Order
The route runs northeast from Collinwood. Here is what you pass, in order:
- The Barbara Street end. The trail starts near the Collinwood subdivision. MCT's trail page lists no parking for Ridge Prairie.
- The old Pennsylvania Railroad bed. The whole trail follows a former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor. MCT had to piece it back together, buying 13 separate parcels along the abandoned line before it could build one continuous path.
- The Canteen Creek bridge. The project built a bridge of about 170 feet over Canteen Creek.
- The Ridge Prairie mural at Formosa Junction. The mural is painted on an abandoned railroad bridge abutment at the east end. This is also where the trail meets the Goshen Trail.
Keller Construction built the trail and Juneau Associates handled the engineering. Work started in November 2024 and finished in September 2026. The project cost about $3 million. The Metro East Park and Recreation District paid for most of it, and MCT covered the rest.
The Town at the Far End
Formosa did not start out with that name. A small community called West Troy grew up after the railroad arrived in 1868, and it was renamed Formosa in 1884. At its peak it had a depot and tower, a post office, a school and a grain elevator. Dairy farms nearby put their milk on the train to St. Louis. Theodore Roosevelt rode through Formosa by train on his way to the 1904 World's Fair.
Then the railroad moved its traffic elsewhere, and Formosa lost the reason it existed. The town's story follows the line itself. The tracks brought in people, mail and freight, and when they stopped being used, those things left too.
The new trail brings back that role, at walking speed. MCT's opening announcement says that a century later, the area will "once again serve as a vital transportation crossroads," with Formosa Junction as the point where Ridge Prairie meets Goshen. MCT Managing Director SJ Morrison put it this way at the opening, as reported by Collinsville Daily News: "Like many of our trails, we were able to take a former railroad corridor that once connected communities and give it a new purpose."
What the Junction Opens Up
The 1.5 miles matter because of what they connect to. MCT lists the Goshen Trail as 19.5 miles of asphalt from Kyle Road in O'Fallon to Wanda Road in South Roxana. It passes through Troy, Maryville, Glen Carbon and Edwardsville on the way. From the Goshen Trail you can also reach the Schoolhouse, Ronald J. Foster Heritage, Nature, Nickel Plate, Watershed and Yellowhammer Connector trails.
That means a Collinwood resident who heads out from Barbara Street is now 1.5 miles from a trail network that covers much of Madison County. MCT also lists shopping and food plazas in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon as stops along the Goshen. MCT does not publish distances from Formosa Junction to those towns, so check the official Goshen Trail map before you plan a long out-and-back.
If you're driving to the network instead, MCT lists Goshen Trail parking at Kyle Road in O'Fallon, at Old Troy Road and Route 162 in Troy, and at Russell Drive in South Roxana.
The crossroads is set to grow. The planned Formosa East project, still in design, would carry the trail across U.S. Route 40 toward Troy and connect it to the MCT Silver Creek Trail. If that segment gets built, three trail corridors will meet near the spot where one railroad used to run.
The Rules on the New Asphalt
Ridge Prairie follows the same rules as every MCT trail. One of them changed this summer.
| Rule | What MCT says |
|---|---|
| Hours | Sunrise to sunset; trails may close temporarily for maintenance |
| Dogs | Leash no longer than six feet, stay in your lane, pick up waste |
| Speed | 15 mph maximum |
| E-bikes | Pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed; gasoline-powered bicycles are not |
| Scooters and similar devices | Allowed, subject to the speed limit |
The e-bike rule is the newest. A new Illinois law, Senate Bill 3484, set statewide rules for electric bikes, e-scooters and other micromobility devices starting July 1, 2026. More requirements for high-speed devices take effect January 1, 2027. In a statement, Morrison said MCT supports responsible use of low-speed, pedal-assist e-bikes. He also said misuse has caused "widespread community concern" and that MCT plans to work with local towns to enforce the new rules. If you ride a faster device, the Illinois Secretary of State's guide is the place to check before January.
The sunrise-to-sunset hours matter more in October than they did at the opening in late September, because the days are getting shorter. A late-afternoon walk to the mural needs to leave time for the walk back.
A Fall Morning Built Around It
The trail fits easily into a Collinsville weekend that's already planned. One way to do it:
- Coffee first in Uptown. Verona Coffee Company is at 101 East Main Street. Its website lists Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Walk or ride Ridge Prairie out to the mural at Formosa Junction and back. That's 3 miles round trip from Barbara Street.
- Go farther on a bike. Riders who keep going on the Goshen Trail can reach Troy. Mokka Bon at 100 W. Market Street lists hours of 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. If your bike needs work, The Cyclery and Fitness Center is at 2472 Troy Road in Edwardsville.
None of these businesses date their posted hours, so call ahead or check before you go.
The rest of the season adds a few more reasons to head out. Navigation Church lists the Uptown Collinsville Fall Festival on Main Street for October 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It includes trick-or-treating, a chili cook-off and a costume contest, just down the street from Verona. On November 8, Great Rivers & Routes lists the City of the Sun 5K Trail Run at Cahokia Mounds, 30 Ramey St. On a trail weekend, the Ridge Prairie mural is now one more place to visit in town.
If PCS orders are bringing your family to the Metro East and you want to be close to a trail like this one, Christina Johnson and the Veterans PCS Group team can connect you with a veteran or military-spouse agent who knows which Collinsville streets are closest to the MCT network. Find an Agent and tell them what you want nearby.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
