Just talked to Illiniwek Ranger Mike Peterson about this and here are the facts:
1) Night riding is still NOT allowed at the park after sunset unless you have received clearance from the Ranger.
2) Mike did NOT give permission to unhunguy for this ride to take place. See below for an explanation of how this confusion came about.
3) Mike tried to track down those who were night riding yesterday to tell them it was not allowed but was unsuccessful.
4) I previously told unhunguy unofficial night riding was not allowed at the park on 10/9/14 during an officially organized night ride.
Trails close at dusk. This information is listed on both FORC's Illiniwek Trail Description and the Rock Island County Forest Preserve website. The sign at the entrance to the park, stating "park open until 10:00", does not apply to the trails, only the open grass field areas and campground. Yes, the park could be a little more clear about this.
Spreading this rumor is going to cause us a lot of unnecessary work to quell and shows a blatant disregard for the rules established by the county as well as FORC's mission of promoting responsible riding practices.After talking to all parties it appears unhunguy was fed misleading information from the Illiniwek park staff. He did call and ask for permission to ride and thought he talked to the ranger but instead talked to his assistant who was unfamiliar with the night riding policy and gave the all clear for the ride.
However, if we see any more non-official night ride threads posted for Illiniwek, they will be removed. Information about that ride may also be forwarded to the IFP Ranger so he can tell you the rules in person if you decide to follow through. If you want to night ride at the park we are having regularly scheduled weekly, ranger approved, night rides (posted in the Let's Ride forum).
Repeating what the ranger told me: trespassing tickets, fines, and bans from the park are possible if caught using the trails when they are closed.
Closing the trails after dusk was the decision of the RiCo Forest Preserve board shortly after the trail system was created. We pushed for more night riding opportunities at the park and were granted the current exception. Even though it isn't the optimal outcome (from our perspective), it is better than no night riding. Hopefully in the future we can convince the RICo FP board to be more open to night riding at the park.
The next official IFP night ride is scheduled for Thursday 10/23 @ 7pm.
