This is a tricky question since it depends on the park/trail.

At the parks where FORC has control of closures, the website will be the most accurate representation of trail conditions. These parks are: Sunderbruch, Stephens, Sylvan Island, Prairie Park, and Westbrook.

At the parks where land managers control trail closures, the on-site signs are the final say: Scott County Park, Illiniwek, and, soon, Dorrance.

That being said, if the web status doesn't seem right when you are at the park (first check the time stamp in the trail status app popup message before heading out to the trails), let us know and err on the side of caution to keep the trails rut free. We try to keep the trail app as current as possible, but sometimes there are a few hours of delay due to communication lag between land managers and trail stewards or when a FORC trail crew member can get out to change on-site signs (for FORC controlled closures).